Why we show up

Protecting your creative process.

I recently published a brief Medium post on the value of building Quiet Tribe: a group of people as equally committed to the personal growth of their peers as they are to their own. Quiet Tribe holds you accountable to focus so you can actually get your work done. Quiet Tribe blends work and play because it knows inherently that you play better when you feel more fulfilled in whatever you define as “work.”

One of the questions the post provoked was:

If I pull off building a cadre of supportive, driven people, how do I not take advantage of the great minds in the room? How do we stay quiet?

It’s true. An unspoken magic exists when you’re surrounded by inspiring souls. When you’re in a space where you belong, that encourages your growth, you feel like you can move mountains. It’s the opposite of feeling depleted by and resentful of your workplace. Suddenly you find yourself no longer needing to flee to Facebook to satiate pangs of loneliness and boredom. Instead, you can look around and see *real* people who genuinely *want* to be with you in the room. People like you, who strive to develop a kinder relationship to their 9–5.

Imagine your boss calling one day to say:

“Let’s all work from the beach today.”

How would that decision affect the quality of your day? Suddenly you’re responding to emails and managing meetings wearing flip-flops in the sunshine. Access to the fresh air alone could very well transform your calm and therefore your productivity. “Working hard” mustn’t require your physical presence in a sterile office under fluorescent lights. A shift in your environment begets more creative, enthusiastic work.

To produce your best thinking, you often do need quiet. You do need patience. And focus. But not exclusively. Research reinforces the theory that people do their best work in 90 minute spurts, allowing for brief healthy moments of pause between periods of problem-solving and output. Despite our adamant hopes, we’re actually not production robots. We give ourselves a hard time when we have a less than perfect day, when we’re feeling moody or distracted or blocked. We forget we’re human. Human with so many beautiful imperfections.

Quiet Tribe takes you as you are, flaws and all. Quiet Tribe encourages you to show up initially for yourself, only to naturally find others struggling to overcome similar challenges. What differentiates the shared struggle of Quiet Tribe from an average struggling person is we’re brave enough to acknowledge our sameness. We all want to feel fulfilled. We all want to feel seen. It behooves us to band together in this shared desire instead of deluding ourselves into thinking we’re all unique, independent butterflies.

We’ll never quench our desire to live purpose-driven lives if we don’t show up to get to work. To permit open-ended mental wandering and draft form. To make space.

Quiet Tribe exists to protect your creative process. To do this, sometimes you have to step away from your computer or your manuscript and make space for serendipitous connections. The power of saying your ideas out loud, after you’ve been mulling over them in solitude, is incredibly powerful. Despite this reality, I’ve noticed how often folks are hesitant to attend networking events predicated on the expectation of pitching and explaining. These circumstances can feel contrived or competitive. Unlike a typical event, Quiet Tribe gatherings come with zero expectation of sharing (or even talking); when folks do find each other, it’s purely out of circumstance and choice. They seek connection when it’s meaningful for them.

By cultivating a safe environment with zero expectations, you make space for unlimited possibilities.

How did this social trust experiment play out? Read the update here.

Jenny Feinberg moved to San Francisco six years ago to pursue her dreams.
She is currently building creative workspaces for compassionate dreamers who seek encouragement, honest feedback, and accountability.
Learn more about our Quiet Tribe at showupmakespace.com.

Makespace gathering #5 in the Mission, San Francisco. Photo by russlevi.com