I stumbled across an idea a couple of years ago. Even today, I remember the concept clearly. It was intriguing. And it spoke to me. 

It described that feeling of frustration I get when doing creative work. It happens when I have an image in my mind’s eye of what I want to create, and yet the outcome is just not the same. I’m sure you have had a similar experience, like when you try and draw a cartoon of something and it turns out laughably horrible. Sometimes it can induce a laugh, other times it’s just a cause of frustration when your art means so much to you and yet the outcome is not the masterpiece you have in your imagination. 

I was reminded of this idea the other day, because I felt this frustration again, acutely. I was watching a YouTube video of someone playing a piano piece I play, and I could hear in the perfection of that performance all the things I did wrong in mine. The inner critic was quick to jump in – “you’re not musical enough”, “you don’t practice hard enough” – all those things that are not helpful to a creative and joyful experience at the keyboard. 

As I do, I decided to write about it. 

 I did a little Internet digging to see if I could find out who might have come up with the original idea, and found this fantastic article by James Clear on his blog describing the same thing. Ah ha! It was Ira Glass, the Radio Show host of This American Life, who calls this a “taste gap” – because you know what you want to create – you have good taste – but you can’t quite create it. Yet.  

This resonates so strongly with me because most of what I do in my life is creative. From my engineering work – where I see leaders in the field doing work I hugely admire – to writing and piano, I know what I want to create. But these also require skill – which means time, patience, and consistent practice. I have to be patient while I develop the skills, do the work, and give myself the grace of knowing that this gap exists. 

I wanted to share this idea of the “taste gap” with you, to help you feel less alone in this frustration, and to encourage you to keep showing up to develop your artistry. It takes years and years to master a skill, even with consistent practice, and so I thought I would share some bits of advice for when the frustration of seeing that gap rears its head and threatens to tell you to quit. 

First of all, let go of the inner critic

That dialogue I had in my head about the piano piece is unhelpful, and unfortunately, very common. I get frustrated and impatient so easily, but I have to let that all go. I know many of us are prey to it, and it might be a reason why it gets so tempting to give up. Try and recognise when you’re being overly harsh with yourself, and see if you can replace the critical thoughts with nurturing thoughts instead.

Taking steps to close the “gap” 

Instead of giving in to the inner critic and beating myself up, giving up or settling for smaller goals, I am committed instead to shaking off frustration and showing up, day in, day out. I believe in practice, and in practicing well. This means showing up, slowing down, taking things step by step, and enjoying the process towards mastery. It can be fun if you let it. 

Consistency is also essential – I know from firsthand experience that giving up and starting again over and over again does not yield the same progress and results as patiently showing up every single day. 

You might need to seek help such as mentoring, coaching or other professional advice, but you are the person to implement it. Show up for yourself. Combine all of this with patience and faith and compassion and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead towards closing that creative gap and becoming the artist you want to be. 

I’ll leave you with a quote from James Clear in the article I linked above. When you feel ready to quit or give up, remember why you started in the first place:

“Your love. Your passion. Your taste. That’s the reason you’re here. You still belong, even if you don’t feel like it right now.

– James Clear