Introduction

If it weren’t for running, I wouldn’t be as creative as I am today.

It’s mile sixteen of the New York City Marathon on a hot November day. As I stride across the Queensboro Bridge, something feels...off. I’m sweating profusely. Muscle cramps squeeze my calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps into a vice. My right forearm locks into a forty-five-degree angle. I look like the Tin Man trying to run a potato sack race.

Curse the weather gods for suckerpunching me with this heat. Did I just sweat all my electrolytes out?

The cramps worsen with each step forward. One thing becomes crystal clear: My personal goal of a time juuust a little bit faster than four hours and twenty-two minutes (my previous marathon time), has been blown to bits—thanks to these muscle cramps. I’m frozen in place.

As the other runners bolt past, I slow my mind and let my thoughts simmer. This isn’t a race against them. This is me against me. If I can overcome this obstacle, I can raise the bar for what I’m capable of.

This tenet provides my body with just enough of a trickle charge to trundle toward the finish line, clocking in at five hours and thirty-two minutes. Not the time I was aiming for, but a huge mental win for me. This reframing tool is known to psychologists as cognitive reappraisal, and it’s the key to my creative endurance.

Cognitive reappraisal is a technique used to reframe a negative situation into a positive one. A tool commonly used by therapists to help patients deal with stress and anxiety, it’s applicable to your career as a creative.

Whether you’re a designer, writer, photographer, or any other type of creative, your career is full of obstacles. Confusing feedback, tough clients, and slashed budgets are as fun as a cramp in your calf, and they sideline you from making something great. But with cognitive reappraisal, you can reframe those obstacles as creative opportunities. For example, if my budget is tight at Fast Company, I’ll save money by deploying a typographic solution instead of hiring an outside artist.

Creative Endurance will teach you how to reframe your problems and make better work as a result. Jot this down: A positive response to a problem will create a positive outcome.

Here’s a brief overview of the book

Section 1: Your Day
In this section, you’ll learn how to overcome obstacles in your daily routine. You’ll build focus, race through distractions, be imaginative in boring meetings, and develop a sustainable creative practice.

Section 2: Your Project
Here, you’ll hone your creative process through proven techniques for brainstorming, researching, and prototyping. You’ll gain skills in selling your ideas to clients and employing their feedback.

Section 3: Your Job
This section will guide you through the creative industry with practical tactics for interviewing, hiring, and gulp getting fired. You’ll also learn about creative budgeting and presentations. Fun!

Section 4: Your Life
Finally, you enter the big-picture phase of your career. This section will help you discover your creative voice, personal values, and long-term goals for making an impact in your industry.

Each section ends with actionable takeaways and activities. The book is designed to be easily digestible, with stories no longer than two pages. Whether you’re running a race or tackling a big project at work, overcoming an obstacle will always be rewarding. While your career may feel like a marathon, with the tools and strategies in this book, you won’t have to suffer.

Rule No. 3 / Slow Down Your Response

Ping! A paranormal message pops up, late in the day. "Hey, I forgot, can you create one more graphic?" asks your coworker. Seriously?

Astronaut Jeanette Epps deals with her fair share of aggravating messages while working at NASA Mission Control as Capcom. In that role, Epps gathers the thoughts of every console in the room, consults with the flight director, and relays critical information back to space.

“Sit back, and think about it. Don’t be reactive,” she says. “Find out what the real story is.” If Capcom mucks up their communication with an astronaut in distress, that could make matters worse.

Whether you’re Capcom or creative, your initial response will set the tone. Annoyed at your coworker’s message? Don’t respond when you’re angry. Simple as that. Let the request sit for a bit, and your perception will change. In the morning, it might not feel that annoying.

Even better: Wait, and your coworker might realize they don’t actually need that extra graphic.

Look at the situation from the perspective of your coworker. Do they really need that graphic tonight, or are they just knocking an item off their to-do list? C’mon, that’s understandable.

Let’s say the coworker does indeed need that graphic, and these late requests are common. Resolve this situation, but acknowledge the bigger picture.

There might be a workflow issue. Are you discussing all of the graphic needs at the outset of a project? Is there someone else making these requests, and do they need to be part of the communication from the beginning? Spend some additional time collecting your thoughts, then set up a meeting to discuss these issues.

Talk about problems: When Epps and I spoke, NASA just experienced a coolant leak on the Russian Soyuz rocket. “It’s better to laugh than cry in these situations. So much can go wrong—as long as it’s not the worst-case scenario, then all is good,” she says.

Last night, the message felt like a crash landing. This morning, it’s a chance for liftoff.