✨ Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert 📚 (book review)
Hi friends, welcome back - in this post, I'll be sharing insights and a brief summary on the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
The overarching question of the book is "Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasure buried in you?"
Gilbert truly believes that we all have this hidden treasure inside of us, whether it be the skill to write, draw, cook, share wisdom, whatever it may be, and it's through creative living that we can bring these treasures forth.
Creative living is life driven more by curiosity than fear, it's an amplified life, a path for the brave. How often have we wanted to share something, but been so held back by the fear and the opinions of others? I used to experience this too, before posting a selfie or a story on Instagram, I would doubt myself or think to myself, "wow this isn't good enough" and just not end up posting.
But living in fear is the same, day in day out, you're too scared to take that next step and do anything about it. Gilbert says the goal is not to be fearless (because then you're a psychopath with no emotions) but rather to be brave and overcome that fear.
If you're a perfectionist like me, you'll know that that's stopped you so many times because your work is never "good enough" in your eyes. But craving perfection stops us from living creatively, because we're too scared to even start.
A point that really stood out to me was when she says "done is better than good", getting something done is so much better than thinking about it, planning it, worrying that it's not going to be perfect - just get it done and try to improve for next time because consistency and working diligently is so much more powerful than trying to get one thing perfect.
We must work consistently, even when the big magic doesn't happen. You could post 199 videos and not see any growth but its that 200th video that goes viral, you might write everyday for 5 years, but the manuscript you write in the 6th year that turns you into a bestseller author. But even if none of that happens, working on your craft and having this creative outlet brings so much more colour to your life.
Now you might be thinking that what you want to start sharing has already been done before and that's true. Think about how many books, instagram posts, youtube videos there are on any given topic - so what's the point right? WRONG, the point is that none of these things have been done by you - and its the lens that you bring to these topics that makes it different.
For example, if you were to summarize this book, the insights and lessons you gain would be at least slightly different than my version.
Another big fear, at least for me, was "what if I fail? what if everyone notices?" and Gilbert says it's not that serious, no one is thinking about you. We think there's a spotlight on us where our failures and challenges are under constant scrutiny by others but in reality, everyone has their own problems and their own insecurities - no one's looking at you. And plus, so what if you fail? You had the courage to put yourself out there which 99% of the population wouldn't dare to do.
So to wrap up: it's never too late to start, just start wherever you are, and be consistent. Don't give up, don't worry about what others will think, dig deep and uncover that treasure.
Sending you lots of love and light,
-Reina xo
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