--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I walk into [the studio] I am alone…" description: "\"“When I walk into [the studio] I am alone, but I am alone with my body, ambition, ideas, passions, needs, memories, goals, prejudices, distractions, fe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg" --- # When I walk into \[the studio\] I am alone, but I am alone… ![“When I walk into [the studio] I am alone, but I am alone with my body, ambition, ideas, passions, needs, memories, goals, prejudices, distractions, fears. These ten items are at the heart of who I am. Whatever I am going to create will be a reflection of how these have shaped my life, and how I've…” quote by Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg) > ““When I walk into \[the studio\] I am alone, but I am alone with my body, ambition, ideas, passions, needs, memories, goals, prejudices, distractions, fears. These ten items are at the heart of who I am. Whatever I am going to create will be a reflection of how these have shaped my life, and how I've learned to channel my experiences into them. The last two -- distractions and fears -- are the dangerous ones. They're the habitual demons that invade the launch of any project. No one starts a creative endeavor without a certain amount of fear; the key is to learn how to keep free-floating fears from paralyzing you before you've begun. When I feel that sense of dread, I try to make it as specific as possible. Let me tell you my five big fears: 1. People will laugh at me. 2. Someone has done it before. 3. I have nothing to say. 4. I will upset someone I love. 5. Once executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind. "There are mighty demons, but they're hardly unique to me. You probably share some. If I let them, they'll shut down my impulses ('No, you can't do that') and perhaps turn off the spigots of creativity altogether. So I combat my fears with a staring-down ritual, like a boxer looking his opponent right in the eye before a bout. 1. People will laugh at me? Not the people I respect; they haven't yet, and they're not going to start now… 2. Someone has done it before? Honey, it's all been done before. Nothing's original. Not Homer or Shakespeare and certainly not you. Get over yourself. 3. I have nothing to say? An irrelevant fear. We all have something to say. 4. I will upset someone I love? A serious worry that is not easily exorcised or stared down because you never know how loved ones will respond to your creation. The best you can do is remind yourself that you're a good person with good intentions. You're trying to create unity, not discord. 5. Once executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind? Toughen up. Leon Battista Alberti, the 15th century architectural theorist, said, 'Errors accumulate in the sketch and compound in the model.' But better an imperfect dome in Florence than cathedrals in the clouds.”” [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work reflects inner self; fear and distraction are the biggest obstacles that can paralyze projects unless confronted directly. **In simple terms:** Your inner self shapes your creations; fear can stop you unless you face it. Key Takeaway Identify and confront specific fears to keep them from halting progress. Themes creativity self-awareness fear discipline Mood determined reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - studio work - writing - painting - performance - entrepreneurship Key Concepts psychology creative process self-regulation Questions to Reflect On - What specific fear holds you back most? - How can you turn fear into a motivating force? A Different Perspective Fears may be deeply rooted and not easily dismissed with a simple ritual. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Certain Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-fear-1733733/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fears/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Good intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) [Good person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-person/) [Habitual Demons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitual-demons-4085586/) [Irrelevant Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrelevant-fear-4085587/) [Loved ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loved-ones/) [Start now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-now/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There is a fear of voluptuousness that is itself voluptuous, just as a certain fear of death can itself be deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/there-is-a-fear-of-voluptuousness-that-is-itself-voluptuous-just-as-a/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [I, like everybody else, have a certain fear of heights, and I have to be very careful when I am in the clouds, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-like-everybody-else-have-a-certain-fear-of-heights-and-i-have-to-be/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [There's just a certain fear that people have when they put meat coming out of a printer in their mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/there-s-just-a-certain-fear-that-people-have-when-they-put-meat/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) > [That's the beauty of life, the uncertainty that we experience, literally, as we go about our day-to-day activities. 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To the pages of baffling forms I had simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-had-received-my-first-establishment-grants-in-response-to/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-think-that-scheduling-is-uncreative-i-think-that-structure-is/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have always felt one of the things dance should do - its business being so clearly physical - is challenge the culture's gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-always-felt-one-of-the-things-dance-should-do-its-business/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [There really is nothing I ever had access to that I didn't appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-really-is-nothing-i-ever-had-access-to-that-i-didn-t-appreciate/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Destiny, quite often, is a determined parent. 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Whatever I am going to create will be a reflection of how these have shaped my life, and how I've learned to channel my experiences into them. The last two -- distractions and fears -- are the dangerous ones. They're the habitual demons that invade the launch of any project. No one starts a creative endeavor without a certain amount of fear; the key is to learn how to keep free-floating fears from paralyzing you before you've begun. When I feel that sense of dread, I try to make it as specific as possible. Let me tell you my five big fears: 1. People will laugh at me. 2. Someone has done it before. 3. I have nothing to say. 4. I will upset someone I love. 5. Once executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind. \"There are mighty demons, but they're hardly unique to me. You probably share some. If I let them, they'll shut down my impulses ('No, you can't do that') and perhaps turn off the spigots of creativity altogether. So I combat my fears with a staring-down ritual, like a boxer looking his opponent right in the eye before a bout. 1. People will laugh at me? Not the people I respect; they haven't yet, and they're not going to start now… 2. Someone has done it before? Honey, it's all been done before. Nothing's original. Not Homer or Shakespeare and certainly not you. Get over yourself. 3. I have nothing to say? An irrelevant fear. We all have something to say. 4. I will upset someone I love? A serious worry that is not easily exorcised or stared down because you never know how loved ones will respond to your creation. The best you can do is remind yourself that you're a good person with good intentions. You're trying to create unity, not discord. 5. Once executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind? Toughen up. Leon Battista Alberti, the 15th century architectural theorist, said, 'Errors accumulate in the sketch and compound in the model.' But better an imperfect dome in Florence than cathedrals in the clouds.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Twyla Tharp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-but-i-am-alone-with-my-body/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-but-i-am-alone-with-my-body/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/twyla-tharp-1069_advice_when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-b_2894984.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I walk into [the studio] I am alone, but I am alone with my body, ambition, ideas, passions, needs…” — Twyla Tharp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Twyla Tharp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When I walk into [the studio]...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-but-i-am-alone-with-my-body/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-i-walk-into-the-studio-i-am-alone-but-i-am-alone-with-my-body/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```