The “LEVEL UP” Experts
4 "Leveling Up" Secrets You Forgot and Summer Recap
We ALL level up a lot more than we realize.
The leveling up process is a smaller cycle than we know. I’m highly aware of this because I’m a mom. I’ve watched my own kids level up every year, every month, and every day. One day my babies drooled and cooed, then the next day they could actually talk. Overnight they walked. Levels left behind like they never even happened. Grade levels checked off quicker than I can process. Chubby cheeks a distant memory. More recently, my 6 year old son was so persistent he taught himself to snap his fingers in a a few hours. Now he snaps all the time. New skill unlocked and he loves showing it off! He leveled up right before my eyes. Just like that!
Kids are in fact Level Up experts.
Each month, members of the IlloGuild answer a question together. We all live around the world, have unique styles, and approaches to creativity. So, make sure to follow IlloGuild to hear a variety of other illustrator perspectives!
This month’s question: How do I level up?
At some point as we age, we become more self aware, stressed, fearful, and complicated. We start asking questions like “Am I doing this right?” Especially when the stakes feel higher and the failure much greater than ever, we desire the quickest route to success. So, it’s natural (and recommended) to seek out experts.
When you research “how to be an illustrator” or “how to sell you’re art”, you’ll find there are thousands of answers to your questions out there. We just happen to be in an age of endless information. There are shouting voices, sneaky distractions, and scrolling pages of beautiful, intimidating art. Between promised paths to success and robots threatening to take the creative work from us, it’s overwhelming! I’m ironically very aware that my own words as I type this is contributing to that noise. A noise that evokes a growing suspicion that everyone is leveling up faster than you. It’s no wonder people are experiencing burnout at a rapid rate. We can’t keep up with all these impossible tasks and high expectations.
Truth is, everyone’s path to success is wildly different. The idea of what success is, happens to be a very personalized measurement. Unique to you. So, you really can’t compare your leveling up against anyone else and you wont be able to perfectly follow someone else’s path either.
Then, what is left for us to do?
Let’s learn from the REAL Level Up Experts: CHILDREN
Now they know how to have fun and let loose! Kids observe the world without being told to. They are sponges absorbing everything that crosses their path and experimenting like wild animals. They make huge unapologetic messes and clumsy mistakes. Friendship is an open invitation to anyone that happens to be at the playground with them. They wear their emotion on their sleeves. They create without questioning the process and then go run around to burn off any steam. They are barely taking notice of all the changes. Their leveling up cycle is incredibly fast! Like lightening. Their rebound rate is so high that the troubles of yesterday are often forgotten over a few days or even “one sleep”.
Let’s find our way back to our childhood dreams and antidotes. We knew what to do all along before someone or something made us think we were doing it wrong. So, let’s play this game the way kids do. Let’s be more naively FREE when it comes to leveling up our creative careers.
4 “LEVEL UP” Secrets you forgot along the way…
Game on!!!!
In adult lingo: Respect the level you are currently on.
There is no age limit or specific requirements. This is your time. This is your era. These are your dreams right now. It’s your playground. Mistakes and all. Just have fun and be nice!
Call it collecting experience. Call it experimenting, hard work, learning something new, believing in yourself, accepting mistakes, finding a community, seeking advice, listening to feedback, being dedicated to the craft, or expanding your comfort zone. Call it what you wish, but it should be fun!
Wherever you’re are in this moment is perfectly fine. Play the game your way. Run fast or run slow. Jump high or crawl. Be a sponge. Be present.
You might have BIG dreams, but embrace where you are today. A beginner. A fighter. An emerging success story. Check as many big boxes as you can, but also be okay with the little wins too. Do you know how to snap your fingers? My son thinks it’s pretty cool. Honestly, it’s the little stuff that add up. Learning a new tool or finding a cool resource is a WIN. There is always new growth coming through. You are silently or not so silently breaking new ground every day!
Take notes from experts if you must, but make it your own. There is not a perfect path, just your way.
Play! Play! Play!
Translation: Enjoy the journey.
In a real video game, there is always a long journey before you reach the end of the game. There are smaller quests, unpredictable obstacles, tools to collect, wise owls to talk to, and maps that only reveal themselves more as you go. It’s honestly a reflection of real life. The perfect metaphor. So why are we in such a hurry to reach the end? I don’t know about you, but I’m always a little sad after beating a game. Sure it feels good and gives you a certain satisfaction for figuring it out, but it can be short lived sometimes.
Embrace each chapter and break it into as many levels as you can! Relish the fact that you get to play. One level can be simply learning to open your planner and stick to your schedule every day. Another level can be finding a critique group. Perhaps, you can add a level for healthier eating habits. Sharpening your skills is a layered experience – positive experiences compounding to lead you to the next step. There are lots of points of interest to experience along the way, letting you acclimate at your own pace.
As I stand at a REAL playground, I watch my kids play. I take notice of the slide. You don’t slide down a slide with out taking each step up first. This is the WORK. Step by step. Level by level. If you skip a few steps you risk falling. If you lose your focus you might not reach the top. If you climb up before you’re ready, your mom has to come get you off. Ha! If there were any less steps it wouldn’t be as fun to eventually slide down. Feel the wind in your face and do it again!
It’s all part of this beautiful and thrilling journey.
Gotcha!
Remember, you can change the rules at any time.
As a toddler, my daughter used to actually FEAR the slide. FEAR it! She didn’t go near it. While other kids blissfully enjoyed the rush, my daughter eyed it cautiously from far away. One day, she finally worked up the courage to climb it. She flew down like an Olympic athlete and then did it on repeat. I was shocked and so proud! Her leveling up came out of no where, but maybe she was mentally working up the courage the whole time. She suddenly changed her own rule – “DON’T you dare!” to “DARE!” Her leveling up was invisible, until it wasn’t. Fast forward and now she’s in middle school. She hardly looks at the slide for a different reason. It’s a thing of the past. A level for the history books. Now she waits at the bottom to catch her little brother.
Perhaps that’s why there are so many artists sharing their advice online. It’s a noisy playground with kids of all ages and levels. We conquer the fear of climbing the slide and then we want to catch others at the bottom. We want to cheer others on! We know the climb. We know the rush of flying down. We all have something to squeal at each other as we race down the slide in peculiar ways. Some come down face first, others super slow, maybe in a flash, yelling at the top their lungs, hitting every bump along the way, scared silent, or straight as an arrow. Then there are those brave souls that attempt to do the unthinkable task of climbing up the slippery end! Risking being knocked down by incoming dare devils.
Kids change rules to games ALL THE TIME. Suddenly proclaiming, “It’s backwards day today! If you’re last in line, you’re actually first.” It’s silly really, but brilliant. Those little tricksters are full of jokes, clever hiding spots, and redirections. It must be critical to leveling up.
Keep your rebound rate high! Be flexible. Goals and rules can change as you go.
Miss a step or a day of play…no worries! The game is still afoot tomorrow.
Sleepy tired.
Hit the refresh button as needed.
WARNING: You CAN NOT skip this part. It’s VERY important!
This is the break between levels you’ve been looking for and you control when it needs to happen. You just need to listen to your own cue to STOP. When you reach a plateau and feel like you’re getting no where, please allow your creative spirit to rest. When you’ve been climbing so fast you are out of breathe, stop and look around for a moment for goodness sake. Did you notice? You can see the whole playground from the top of the slide!
It’s always in moments of rest, my kids seem to double in size. After just “one sleep” I feel like they’ve magically changed into a whole new person. Every summer break they seem to be growing as rapidly as the weeds. Resilient and unstoppable. I’ve seen scrapped knees and bruised arms on their path to learning something new, but it’s nothing a hug, a band aide, and a good cry can’t fix. A quick rest and then off they go!
Eureka! Pausing and taking a break is the KEY to leveling up!
Especially when you’re to the point you’re having a full blown fit! The resent button is the only way to get through extreme exhaustion or stubbornness.
Maybe a REAL vacation isn’t in the cards for you, but a mental rest is all you really need. Maybe that means giving yourself time away from a project to clear your head, some dedicated self care for a few days, or spending a few hours in nature. Play a video game if that’s your jam. Maybe a good cry is order, who knows!
Get away. Take Care. Let yourself relax. Leave social media behind for a moment. Detach from anyone’s expectations, especially your own.
Then watch what happens.
It’s in this moment of rest, you realize where you’ve been and where you are going. Experience is collected. Knowledge allowed to soak in. Mistakes are forgiven. Reflection unlocked. Inspiration begins to load. Mind finally cleared for new goals! The happy, reconciled version of yourself is ready to complete the level and start something new. Ready to work again. Lighter. Wizened. With new inspiration brewing.
Work, Play, and Rest. Work, Play, and Rest. Repeat it over and over.
According the “the experts” aka “masters of creativity”, leveling up happens when you’re not even trying or looking! It’s when you’re having fun and dreaming!
What Leveling Up Looked like for me this summer…
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a true vacation. The kind where you just stop thinking about your to do list to the point where you forget about it all together. It was good timing too because I was feeling a little exhausted from life and like I was spinning my wheels a bit. Working really hard, but feeling unproductive. Wondering what I should do next and scared to stop the train for fear of not being able to get back on. Burnout was on the horizon.
This summer, I truly unplugged. I blissfully ran away with my family. Off on epic road trip adventures. We visited Glenwood Hot Springs, Washington State, Glacier National Park, met some mountain goats, climbed mountains with big horn sheep, read books, floated in lakes, indulged in lots of ice cream, jumped in pools, and woke up late. I can confirm that taking a break is a secret weapon to leveling up! I can’t wait to share all the goodness that came from it!
Take Care! Next time I’ll be chatting about Forging a New Routine.
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