Jason Theodor's Creative Method and Systems Channel

Let’s break away from the smiley, happy, uncreative people. Smiling can only damage reputations. Be miserable, darling – immediately! It’s really cool. Misery is the new black.

Designbridge.com, the source of this quote, is speaking with tongue in cheek. But I used to think this way. I used to believe that depression and demons and distractions and addictions and bad behaviour was the path to creative genius. Now I believe that creative genius happens in spite of this way of thinking. So much energy goes into being unhappy, that if you can free yourself from it there's an almost unlimited source left over. When I quit smoking and drinking I thought my life would become stale and boring. But that was the residual addiction speaking, not reality. After a few months, a few years, the exact opposite is true. I am more creative than ever: without as many anchors dragging down my ambitions. Don't buy into the hype that misery is genius. Misery is misery. Genius comes from being different, trusting yourself, and doing what you believe in without compromise. I refuse to be a suffering artist on purpose just for the sake of masochism and martyrdom.