Let Go Or Get Dragged
What if letting go is the bravest creative act of all?
I don’t remember where I first heard that phrase, but I remember exactly how it made me feel. Like someone had caught me red-handed, white-knuckling a version of myself I knew had already run its course. I was exhausted from trying to keep something alive that was clearly ready to go. And the worst part was, I knew it. But I didn’t want to face what would happen if I finally let go.
How many of us are still holding on, convinced that if we just try a little harder or squeeze a little tighter, it might finally work out?
Sometimes it’s an idea that once felt exciting but now feels heavy. Sometimes it’s a project that keeps stalling, or a dream that no longer fits who we’ve become. Still, we keep clinging to it—out of habit, out of fear, or because we believe that letting go means we failed.
But refusing to let go is its own form of resistance. Not the kind that builds character, the kind that keeps you stuck. When you hold yourself to the expectations of a past version of you, you’re denying the possibility that you’ve grown. And maybe that version of you was exactly who you needed to be for a season. But seasons end.
Change is terrifying.
One day you’re fine. The next, you’re sitting in a Philz coffee shop with tears running down your face, listening to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac on repeat, wondering when the version of you you’ve been holding onto started slipping away.
A lot of us started chasing creativity when we were young. Back then, the dream was simpler, louder, and maybe even a little delusional. But time moves on, and we move too. We grow. And our dreams—if we’re honest—start to evolve. They stretch into unfamiliar directions. They ask us to loosen our grip on what we thought we wanted and trust where they’re trying to take us.
When I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert for the first time (highly recommend it), I was struck by her interpretation of ideas. She believes that ideas aren’t possessions. You don’t own them, you host them. And without action, they can leave you and go find another host. Inspiration will show up, but if you don’t nurture it—if you don’t meet it with discipline and follow-through—it will quietly move on.
Some of us don’t realize the idea has already left. We’re still clinging to the shadow of something that’s gone.
This isn’t a threat, it’s a gift. There will always be more ideas. Some of them will spark projects. Others will reshape who you believe yourself to be. The sooner you learn to honor the ideas that come to you, the more often they’ll come back.
Not everything you’ve started is yours to finish. Some things come to you for a season. And when that season ends, it’s okay to let them go. You didn’t fail them. You listened. You gave them a home. Maybe you helped them grow. And now they’re on their way, and that’s okay.
Create.Repeat is about just that: creating, releasing, and doing it again. It’s about building the muscle that helps you stay tuned in to what wants to come through next. But when you cling to ideas that have already left, you block yourself from receiving what’s next.
Your best idea hasn’t come yet.
And the greatest thing you’ve ever done might be the very thing holding you back.
Let go or get dragged.
Keep creating, releasing, and repeating,
- Zack
🪟 Creative Spaces: A look at greats and their “labs”. What environment are you a product of?
📺 ODIE.TV: Owen Summers is a filmmaker and artist using claymation and sculpture to create surreal fiction.
📈 The Art of Scaling Taste: “Our only goal when we started was to make anything we wanted and only what we wanted.”
🏜️ Robinsson Cravents: Hand-drawn adventures coming to life through an artists “Sketch in Motion.”
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This week’s advice…
Clarity in Confusion: Navigating Creative Identity and Direction
Wow. Last week, we put out another Instagram story asking if anyone needed advice, and I was blown away by how many thoughtful questions came in.
This week we’re excited to highlight Alicia Pastor, a Photographer and Creative Director from Spain. In her Substack, Unfiltered Creative Diary, she hopes to capture the feeling of grabbing coffee with a friend, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, lessons learned, and sparks of inspiration along the way.
One piece of advice that’s shaped her creative journey? “Work in silence and let success speak for itself.”
Create.Repeat is a community for creatives.
The Create.Repeat Substack is a project designed to be a weekly diary on creativity. Sharing inspiration for artists to keep creating and repeating.
Written and curated by Zack Evans & James Warren Taylor
Each week we will be sharing recent thoughts on creativity, some links helping us stay creative, and a talent show featuring an artist from the community. Thank you for engaging with us.
History repeats. Create the future.
So good Zack