My brother recently tagged me in a video for "Letters Live." The video consists of a letter, being dramatically read by actor Benedict Cumberbatch. The letter was written in 1965 by artist Sol LeWitt to his friend, sculptor Eva Hesse. It was LeWitt’s attempt to help Hesse muster up her emotions and banish her sense of creative block after she moved from New York City to Germany with her husband. Cumberbatch does a great job of mustering up the passion in the letter and conveys that to the audience. I got tagged in a post of this video and I love the whole thing. Listening to passionate people yell and tell me I can do anything is definitely my guilty pleasure; this video is another for the collection.
If you haven’t read the letter or seen the video, here is an excerpt from it:
"Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself. Stop it and just DO.
… stop worrying about big, deep things such as 'to decide on a purpose and way of life, a consistent [sic] approach to even some impossible end or even an imagined end.' You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO"
Essentially, the letter speaks to our lack of motivation and how sometimes it is linked to the fear within us. Fear of whatever, whether that be the people who will comment on your failures, judge you for them, or the ones who do not have your best intentions in mind. Most of all, the letter reminds you to not let yourself hold you back. Sometimes, our biggest enemy is ourselves and while it is okay to doubt yourself and be scared, sometimes you need to push through because if not, you will stay in the same place.
Do not allow self-doubt to consume you. Do not allow what people think of you or what you think they think of you to hold you back. You are for yourself, you fight for yourself. At the end of the day, how you feel about what you do is the most important. So, do not be afraid, go out there and do. If you don't do it for yourself, no one will do it for you.