Find (and nurture) your shoulder devils
Making anything is frightening. If you make something, itâs going to be looked at. And people might say mean things about the thing you made. And about you.
Thereâs a lot you can do to keep yourself moving forward. Iâve already talked about how I will finesse the Dunning-Kruger effect and gather project restrictions to get started and keep going.
But sometimes I canât supply all the energy I need. I worry about mean things being said, and I falter.
Sometimes I need a little help. I need a shoulder devil. A shoulder devil sitting on my left shoulder (umero sinister) is a key ally in my creative work.
"Shoulder devil? Like in Bugs Bunny?"
Yeah! You know what Iâm talking about. A cartoon character will face a moral dilemma, and two little doppelgangers will poof into existence on each shoulder, one an angel, one a devil. Each giving him conflicting advice. Usually, the angel is saying âno,â while the devil is saying âyes.â
And when it comes to making stuff, a single âyesâ can be worth a dozen ânoâs.â
So letâs explore the challenging blessings of shoulder devils. After the news.
Whatâs going on?
- The truth can now be told! Your Parasite and You has been selected to be part of the A Night of Horror Film Festival! I was in this festival back when it was in its original home of Sydney, Australia. How did it get from there to Eau Claire, Wisconsin? I donât know but Iâll bet itâs a story. If I find out, Iâll let you know.
Up the cliff...
Getting to the Endiburgh Fringe was a two year process. And that process began with a couple of pushes I got from a my two very bestest shoulder devils.
I would not have known getting to the Fringe was even possible if my brilliant and talented wife hadnât struck up a conversation with a New Zealand tour guide after he mentioned in passing that he had performed at the Fringe himself.
I was in full shy mode at the time, and wasnât going to ask for details. Mari knew exactly what I was doing, and started up a chat with him anyway. He was delighted to talk about his experiences, and that was where I first learned the shocking truth about The Fringe: They let anybody in. Anybody. All you need to do was rent a venue, and pay a fee to be in the official program. Et voila! You are a performer in the worldâs largest performance arts festival.
Of course, youâre on your own to get people to actually show up at your venue, and youâre on your own to keep them in their seats once they show up. But stillâŚit was possible. And more importantly (you will truly understand this if youâre married) my wife said it was okay.
So I found myself standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the vast ocean of Fringe possibility. All thanks to a push from my most treasured shoulder devil.
âŚand over the edge
So there I was, looking at this expanse of potential. But I still wasnât thinking that it was really for me. Other people did this kind of thing. People like a dear friend of mine, who is a talented and experienced singer/performer. I thought she'd be perfect to perform a recital there.
So I gave her a call. I donât have an exact transcript, but hereâs how I remember it:
Me: Hey, did you know that the Edinburgh Fringe is open access? There's no jury, no auditions. If you hire a venue and pay the fee, you're in.
Her: Oh, that sounds fun. You should do that. If you write a show, I can even sing backup for you. And I have a friend whoâd be perfect to join us!
Me: âŚokay...
Boom. There it was, the next two years of my life decided. Was I pushed, or did she just clear a path so I could do what I really wanted and step off the cliff myself?
Pohtato, Patahto. Either way, this is what a shoulder devil does.
Couldnât this get, like, dangerous?
There are good shoulder devils, and bad shoulder devils. If youâre trying to lose weight, have a substance abuse problem, or are trying to spend less time playing Starcraft II: The Heart of the Swarm (just me?), you know all about the bad ones.
A good shoulder devil is not the kind that tries to get you to do bad things. A good shoulder devil knows the direction youâre already yearning to go, even if you barely know youself. A good shoulder devil coaxes you to the precipice of your experience, to do more than you thought you could.
They canât do the actual work for you. You still have to build that thing yourself. And you still have to workshop/edit/test that thing to make sure it does what you want it to.
Shoulder devils are a source of energy and insight to give you the extra oomph to start and to keep going. They encourage you to be more you.
Fun facts to know and share
Kevin Berger
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The big question is: are they available to do yardwork? Asking for a friend.
Gorgeous? Ominous? I canât decide.
Over to you
I've described two of my prime shoulder devils who helped me get on the road to Edinburgh. And they did so much more all throughout the journey, as did many more shoulder devils I met along the way. I owe and love all of them dearly.
Who are your shoulder devils? Who pushesâor pullsâyou to be your best? When youâre in the thick of it, in the weeds, in a funk, whoâs there with the map? Your shoulder devils may not always send you to comfortable places, but they send you to the places you need to be, the places youâre glad to have been.
I hope you find your own shoulder devils. If you do, cherish them. You deserve great, surprising things in your life.
Until next time, I remain,
Your pal,
Jamie