What Keeps Taika Waititi Creative? Chaos.

Have you ever felt burnt out? One of the hardest parts about working a side job and working in Hollywood is that I frequently find myself stretched too thin. There's a limit on what my brain and body can do, and I often find them not able to be stretched as far as I want. 

Sure, taking a break is great, but how do I sustain creativity in the long term? 

Some of the answers are meditation, breaks, and cookies. But aside from that, I go back to this interview Taika Waititi did where he talks about how he maintains his creative flow through the chaos.  

Check out this video from Tree Frog Studios, and let's talk after. 

Obviously, everyone's strategies depend on who they are and what's going on in their lives. But it felt good to know even stars feel stressed. One thing we can all do is take inspiration from what we are experiencing in life. He mentioned a speech from a funeral that he liked, and even the time he couldn't find socks. 

But the main way he stays creative is by knowing a lot of this is about failure. You chase lots of ideas! 

In his words, "90% off all movies are pretty bad, and if you take that ratio into account, you don't have to worry about making something good all the time..."

That sort of freedom to be bad gives you the elbow room to take risks and get uncomfortable. Films should never come easy. They should be hard to sketch and refine until you get it where it needs to be. 

I also really loved it when he said, "When it comes to process, mix up the letters and find cesspool."

No one really picks the theme first, it's something that comes later and you can use your skills to refine it. Or fake the theme when someone points it out to you. 

This brings us to the chaos of the whole thing. By embracing that a good idea comes from chaos, you don't feel the stress or pressure to find a clear way to make things work. Instead, you are sort of on an adventure to suss it all out. 

What did you glean from the video? Let us know in the comments.