Practicing in Public

No one is watching as closely as you think—and that’s freeing.

Many artists and creatives I’ve met often belie an internal doubt:

It’s as if they need permission from the outside to truly trust and follow their creative instincts.

It’s as if they don’t trust themselves enough, or their capacity to forge their own artistic identity, so they hedge, hide, and stagnate—sometimes for decades.

In my own experience, it took a committee to prod and encourage me to take steps towards my own creative output.

But most, if not all, of the resistance was internal.

For years, I wondered if I had anything to say, if my music was “good enough”, or if anybody would care.

After easing myself back into the music world a couple years ago, I came to realize that the majority of people are not concerned with what you do or create—people lead busy lives. They have their own fears, problems, and concerns.

And that realization is freeing.

When you realize that nobody cares all that much what you do, you are free to do what you want.

And the people who do care and pay attention aren’t there because you tried to appease everyone, but because you practiced showing up as yourself and saying what was true for you.

I often hesitate before I release something—a video, a performance, even a Substack note.

There’s always a voice in my head that chirps away in the background whenever I peer out over the edge.

But I jump anyway. And I continue to practice jumping.

And most people won’t notice—and that’s okay.

But the ones who do, they’ll care because it came from a real place, not from some outside committee.

That thing you’re creating? It might reach one person. It might reach a thousand people.

It might reach no one.

But every time you put something out there, something real, something you—even if you’re afraid—you’re building trust in yourself.

And paradoxically, the more we double down on ourselves, the more people pay attention.

And since no one’s really watching all that closely, we can practice in public.

Although we can logically know that most people aren’t paying attention, many of us still freeze up before sharing something we created. I wonder why that is.

What do you think? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading,
Dave