slump up the jam!

ever been in a slump? a comedian friend asked me for advice on pushing through slumps. here's what i said!

dear friends, readers, writers, comedians, artists, humans, and/or others,

i’m glad that you’re here. thank you for being here! you are nice!
usually i use this space to share short jokes, poems, and other quick funs.
sometimes, i use it to share longer pieces i’ve written, like this one that i wrote in response to a younger comedian friend who asked me a question about pushing through slumps. i hope you find it some combination of enjoyable and meaningful!

THE QUESTION:

As a young comedian, how did you push through slumps, either real or of perspective? I’ve been having a hard time not feeling frustrated and a little hopeless about my career.

MY RESPONSE:

first, i would say that All slumps are "of perspective." i don't know if that's true, but that's my perspective. nothing is objectively real! (if that helps.) or if you need things to be objectively real, then they are. whatever perspective is helpful. ¹

a helpful idea that i've thought about a lot recently ² is "focus on the action, not the result." which is a variation of “process over product.” or “go with the flow.” or “be in the moment.”

those are all things that are easy to remember the words to, and not as always easy to apply IN the moment. "i'll be in the moment later. right now i've got too much to think about."

thinking about one's "career," especially when at the beginning of it, can certainly be a daunting thing, because so much lies Ahead. so much unknown. and while the unknown can be challenging, i offer this as a way to rise to the challenge, or at least lower the challenge down to you. (perspective!)

here is a thing i wrote to another friend recently about uncertainty:

sometimes, uncertainty can be a positive. like an opportunity. if you don't know what's going to happen, anything can happen. if you KNOW what's going to happen, only that can happen. so, Not knowing is powerful in a way. and now you know. ³