The Labyrinth of Indecision: Why Artistic Madness

The feeling of desperation is infinitely swirling in one’s creations, when left unwatched by their artistic creators.

It swings left and right, but always leads to motionless contemplation. 

Frozen by the deficiency of assertive thought, it gives way to idle, desperate times.

Emotions are uncontrollably scaling up to new heights, if irresolution lives in one’s mind.  

There’s no madder artistic climate, than the one that doesn't know where to go. It leaves no foreseeable end in near sight, to create new ways of life.

   

The Significance of Mental Limbo

The status quo of this modern world is full of faltering thoughts. It can leave an artist with nowhere to go as he or she tries to carry on. Such thoughts lead to endless limbo without any specific rhythm.   

In order to start understanding this static indecision, one has to look at its basic definition:  

Indecision is the inability to make one’s mind up rapidly, or failure to gain fast snap judgment on something that requires a resolution.

When an artist faces irresolution, it is usually manifested in two forms:  

1. Physical inactivity towards a needed or wanted action.  

2. Restless or wondering thoughts hindering one’s mental process.  

Any forward creative progress made by an artist towards their goals, whether small or large, they are always based on a mental decision as its basic foundation.

Thoughts are always behind any creative action, where they manifest themselves into a physical form. 

Even, free-flowing thoughts of spontaneity are deriving from an original decision in order to flow.   

When examining this further, a decision has a tendency to arrive from several sources, such as, one’s conscious volition to do something, unconscious concepts in one's mind from life experiences or preprogrammed ideas and actions through education and training.

So, if you're finding yourself in physical irresolution towards creative actions, it could mean that a maybe could exit in one's intellectual world.  

Now, stagnant thoughts on the other hand, they are normally a reflection of indecision at its root.

If the mind doesn’t arrive to a conclusion on a subject, it will endlessly swirl in contemplation. 

Thus, any thought process thereafter on the subject will be rendered inactive, which means any possible new realizations through mental observations won’t be reached.

But, how does an artist come out of this labyrinth?

The Insanity Behind “Maybe”

The mind desires certainty, but looses its grip with much indecision.

If facing doubt, it could bring the entirety of one’s artistic universe down to a full stop based on the level of uncertainty that one might be experiencing.

Thoughts are free flowing in one’s mind through new creative ideas and actions only when followed by decisive conclusions. Anything less, leads to unwanted emotions, resulting in a great deal of mental commotion. 

One could say that the gates of insanity starts opening up when the concept of “maybe” is allowed to enter one’s creative thoughts, and continues on end with no eventual resolution.

Unless, the idea of uncertainty itself is applied intentionally as a form of artistic style, it's one thing, but even that, it still requires a decision in the first place.

Thus, the element of “madness” can only be introduced to an artist inner world as frustration or desperation when the idea of doubt begins to overwhelm one’s thoughts for extensive periods of time.

Fruitless Crossroads

The location of a maybe is the home of nowhere at all.

In the crossroads of the world, one can only cross them in any given direction when one artistically decides.

If indecision sets in, it could bring about much inactivity for one’s potential creative work by leaving one’s thoughts in unceasing limbo. It would only be fruitless moments as a result.

The shadow of inaction has a tendency to follow one in every direction, until he or she decides their next action.

But, sometimes an artist simply needs fresh air or some sort of inspiration to help him or her set their mind free to freely create, as they please, with uncertainty nowhere to be seen.

Escaping the Artistic Labyrinth

In the world of art, a decision is better than no decision. You creatively won’t know if you don’t experiment or try something new.

The journey of life always includes moments of maybes or indecision, but the overriding factor is what you decide to do about them that matters.

As an artist, you have to choose left or right or any direction that produces forward motion, except being stuck in motionless doubt.

Of course, pondering thoughts are part of our creative world as we decide how to artistically create something new. But don’t let the feeling of uncertainty consume your thoughts and stall your creativity due to doubt.

The thing to do about a maybe is to decide to do something about it, as a yes or a no.

If you agree to do something, say yes and do it, but if the answer is no, good, simply don't do it at all, unless you find later on a reasonable reason why to follow through with it. 

The beast of the madness comes when an artist gets stuck in a maybe. 

Certainty gives an artist creative motion, whether it’s spontaneous or planned because in order to go, one has to decide in the first place.

The moment of a decision in one’s mind can be so subtle and minute at times that it usually goes unnoticed as a fleeting thought.

So, the best artistic route is creative “madness” through the certainty of having a firm decision.

Know your art as well as you know yourself and flow, as you want to go. 

Use it to allow yourself to create, not to halt your future new creations.

And that’s your guiding factor out of the labyrinth.  

Decide and go with the flow.

Written by,

Nathaniel Bernard—Art Blogger