Do: Sol LeWitt’s Electrifying Letter of Advice on Self-Doubt, Overcoming Creative Block, and Being an Artist

When you are creating and you find yourself stuck, let go and turn it over to the Deeper Wisdom dwelling beyond your reasoning.

True art only occurs when you’re nobody-but-yourself. This requires you to fully feel your gut feelings. Whenever you forget this, you’re basically a mediocre LLM, assembling other people’s ideas by running simple scripts on biological hardware. Art isn’t assembly.

The part of our brains with which we navigate the challenges of the everyday world is uneasy in the unpredictable sphere of art making. We cannot squeeze ourselves through the eye of the needle to reach the land of wild creativity whilst saddled to the frontal cortex, whose job it is to evaluate external circumstances and regulate appropriate behav

In filling the well, think magic. Think delight. Think fun. Do not think duty. Do not do what you should do—spiritual sit-ups like reading a dull but recommended critical text. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery.