Member-only story
Stop Looking for Your “Good” Brush: Why Bad Tools Are Killing Your Creativity, Not Really
You know that moment when you’re hit with inspiration and you rush to your workspace, ready to create something, only to find yourself digging through drawers…
“Where’s my good pen?” or “I know I have that one brush somewhere…”
My good one is always accessible and close to me.
That little phrase — “my good one” — is revealing something important about how we organize our creative lives.
It means we’re keeping tools around that we don’t want to use.
We’re storing mediocrity alongside quality, and it’s creating unnecessary friction at the exact moment when we need flow.
I learned this the hard way after years of hoarding art supplies.
I’d buy a new set of markers, use the ones I liked, and then shove the whole package in a drawer
Good ones mixed with the ones that were already drying out or had colors I never reached for.
Same with brushes that had lost their point, pens that skipped, pencils that felt scratchy. I told myself I was being practical, not wasteful.
