Creative Pep Talk #109: Ignore It

In the wild, chaotic world of 2025, we tend to think we have to pay attention to EVERYTHING. Here’s why you might want to challenge that belief and ignore it instead.

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Transcript: Ignore It

Please note: This is an unedited transcript, provided as a courtesy, and reflects the actual conversation as closely as possible. Please forgive any typographical or grammatical errors.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:06]:
Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity. Ordinary people, extraordinary creativity. Here’s how to get unstuck. I’m your host, creativity coach, Nancy Norbeck. Let’s go. Why don’t you just ignore it? Hi, I’m Nancy with this week’s Creative Pep Talk. And have you ever thought about what things you pay attention to and what things you don’t? It’s an interesting question, but the things that we give pay attention to are things that we give a lot of power to. We also don’t think about that. I was listening to Tosha Silver.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:42]:
She’s an author recently, and she said there’s a lot of power in ignoring the things that deserve to be ignored. And it really hit me because a lot of us think we have to give our attention to everything. And in some situations we do, but in a lot of situations we don’t. Right? I mean, yes. When you are driving, please pay attention to traffic rules. When you’re with your kids, please pay attention to them. They know if you don’t. But you know, there were a lot of things that come up that don’t deserve our attention.

Nancy Norbeck [00:01:21]:
And it requires discernment on our part to start to figure out which things we can successfully leave by the wayside and which things we don’t have to. But in general, I would say if something is getting in your way and does not require your immediate attention or some sort of preventive attention, you might wanna see if it’s something that you can ignore. Right? If it’s a hot summer day and your air conditioning doesn’t work, you probably need to pay attention to that. But, you know, if it’s an email you got from someone who has annoyed you that doesn’t actually need an immediate response, it’s okay to ignore it, at least temporarily, maybe forever. Depends on what it is. Again, discernment is the key here. And I raised that one because I’m really good at thinking that I have to answer every single stinking email, because if I don’t, I will forget and they will pile up. And maybe that’s true, but maybe it isn’t.

Nancy Norbeck [00:02:34]:
You know, there are a lot of things that pop into your inbox that do not demand your attention right this second. There’s a lot of other stuff that falls into that category too. If you’re at work and your boss gives you something to do, does it have to be done right this second? Is it way, way, way down the priority list? Is it something that needs to happen right now? Maybe it is. But sometimes these are things that you don’t even really need to worry about or that you can ask to have delegated to somebody else so that you can focus on the things that are important. I know some workplaces don’t work that way. I get it, but it’s still worth asking the question to make sure that we are focusing on the things that really need our attention in any given moment. Especially in 2025, this is an attention economy. Do you really need to pay attention to your Instagram’s goal? There’s a difference between needing to and wanting to.

Nancy Norbeck [00:03:40]:
And even if you want to, it might not be something you wanna do as much as something else. Maybe it can be ignored while you go make some art yourself. Just some things to think about. There is power in deserving ignoring the things that deserve to be ignored. With all great respect to Tosha Silver for making that comment and bringing it to my attention. So just think about it. Think about what you really need to give your precious, precious valuable attention to and what you don’t. It might just make a difference in how you approach your life in general and also your creative practice.

Nancy Norbeck [00:04:21]:
Give it a shot. See you next time. If this episode resonated with you, or if you’re feeling a little bit less than confident in your creative process right now, join me at the spark on Substack as we form a community that supports and celebrates each other’s creative courage. It’s free, and it’s also where I’ll be adding programs for subscribers and listeners. The link is in your podcast app, so sign up today. See you there, and see you next week. Follow Your Curiosity is produced by me, Nancy Norbeck, with music by Joseph McDade. If you like Follow Your Curiosity, please subscribe, rate, and review