The Gap

My writing stinks - stinks like garbage sometimes. I’m embarrassed by it. But, according to Ira Glass, this is normal to think.

It’s like when I started playing the guitar — I was really bad. I could see where I wanted to be, what I wanted to be playing. And where I wasn’t was more visible than where I was.

I knew that if I kept playing chords and songs that I would inch my way toward my goal of playing like Nick Drake or Kings of Convenience. And in the same way, I know that if I keep writing, even small amounts every day, I’ll get better. I’ll need to endure the writing calluses.

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This is the gap, the void between where I want my work to be and where it actually is. But this gap is good, it’s great. It gives a reason for improvement. If there’s no gap, there’s no need to find a way to cross it.

I think the closer I get to the other side — where I want my work to be — the more it will evade me. Because my goals will keep changing and getting bigger and harder to achieve.

It’s an unattainable goal.

This is how people get better at their craft - by having giant expectations of their work and trying to make their work meet those expectations.

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“It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s going to take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” - Ira Glass