PRODUCER ZEN: TRY TO NOT GET INFLUENCED BY "SOCIAL PRESSURE"

Hello dear Patreon fam,

once in a while I like to introduce new things to my Patreon. Today I am very happy to present a new category of posts to you: PRODUCER ZEN

These posts hopefully are a sort of support for your mental well-being as a producer. Of course I am not a psychologist or such, so please just look at these as me sharing thoughts which personally helped me going down that producer road. 

I surely can not take responsibility these thoughts or perpectives will always work for everyone, or that these thoughts are an all professional way out of situations. But there might be thoughts in there you can relate to and which might get the ball rolling for you to feel better about what you do (if needed at all ofc :).

In this first post, I'd like to talk about social pressure, or social expectations in any form. It can easily turn you down and make yourself doubt about yourself or about what you do. 

You want to produce or present your music, but you do worry too much about what other people think? Well, this concentration on external factors may just prevent you from taking your creations to a next step. Learning skills and building a healthy (not a blind) ignorance of other people's opinions can help.

In general, one probably won't be able to always block out legitimate doubts and constructive criticism, but it's usually better to avoid a situation where external factors create bad times or cause stagnation in you.

If you would like to stop carrying to much what other people think about yourself or what you do, then the following thoughts could be of help:

Maybe lay out some more defined goals you'd like to achieve; If you do not have any clear goals it usually is easier to become more prone to external pressure. If one feels like not moving forward or being stuck one can easily become jealous of other people's lives. 

Also, it often works when one does avoid to jump after every temporary trend; ofc unless that is really what you want to do and what you feel absolutely good about. If you do not really feel good/comfortable, the following might be happening to you: Once one start following trends, one often become a sort of slave to external pressure or expectations. Often it is better to stop caring too much about people's approval.

Usually you are better of when you build somewhat of a timeless catalog of values. Opinions, habits and plans can change; values, on the other hand, can accompany you on all journeys and can protect you from nonconstructive criticism.

Over all the years, I had learned that I am in music for the fascination of sound, for the adventure of exploring new things and for working with other somewhat like-minded people who share my passion. I am in there for the fun and good times I have when I write or work on music, to be somewhat independent in most matters. These are my values, and they usually outweigh the need for social confirmation.

Another thing which might be a help to not worry too much about what other people think is, to only listen to the right voices. Saying that, and with my Patreon being a sort of voice you can listen to (if you like), I personally would never arrogate the privilege titling myself as a right voice to listen to. This in the end is not my decision and up to your feelings about what I share with you, about what ticks with you. I personally just like to share my experience on here in a way I and hopefully YOU feel comfortable with :D

On the other hand, if one does stop to care entirely what other people say, one can easily become a robot or similar. So I do believe it is critical to block out harmful influences (voices), but it’s also vital to identify the voices you should listen to. Making use of the Pareto principle (80/20 principle) can be of help here to identify the right voices for you. For example, out of 50 voices, find 10 voices that help you most feeling good and becoming better. Identify the critics and influences that support your journey without destroying your self-confidence. Separating instructive voices from all the cluttered social noise that we encounter can be a really good help to keep believing in yourself.

Last thought I gathered is; building up more mental strength against unwanted external influences can also be an essential help. If you do something remotely interesting, you will eventually experience doubts and criticism. What can help here is to become more resilient against it. By for example taking on challenges regularly and by accepting that not everything will go to plan. This resilience can be a great asset to own when dealing with inevitable criticism.

I hope this might somewhat be of help and am sending the best regards to you.

Stay healthy and believe in yourself. In the end your sound and style is your sound and style. You do not really need to be anyone else than yourself in order to come up with cool things <3

Flo