Bumpy roads.

Driving on highways is quite straightforward. You know where you are going. You can guess when you'll get there. You have made this trip many times, along with thousands of others.

We expect our creative work to feel like driving on a highway - smooth, fast and predictable.

But the work that matters hardly is.

Rather, it is more like a bumpy village road. Every forward motion comes with its own challenge, unpredictable and painful. Sometimes you get stretches of smooth driving. Mostly you are by yourself. Sometimes you see someone else driving along with you.

Once we accept that we are on a bumpy road, we can stop getting disappointed that it's not a highway.

Bumpy roads have ways to make us reach where we need to be. Highways rarely go there.