Matthew McConaughey takes personal retreats to fuel his creative process
52 days alone in the desert with no electricity, only his thoughts and 35 years of journals. What he came away with was a playbook for life.
There was once a time when the thought of Matthew McConaughey conjured up thoughts of fluffy rom-com movies. The kind of easy-going entertainment that felt safe. I’d argue that the work McConaughey was producing wasn’t challenging. It was the sort of formulaic storytelling that gave audiences a sense of security in its predictability. While that’s fine, entertainment of that sort is enjoyable for a lot of people. Though, we know that taking risks is essential for creativity. It wasn’t until McConaughey risked his career, livelihood and reputation by declining to take on any more rom-com roles. His goal was to land more challenging work. The type of work that had as much vitality as he wanted from life.
“the story of a man that has pursued and prioritized creativity throughout his life.”
It took resilience and patience. Yet, by resisting tempting offers or droughts of work, McConaughey started receiving scripts for impactful roles and stories. Recently, McConaughey released his memoirs, Greenlights. He describes it as a playbook for life. He shares personal stories from 35 years of keeping diaries. Some of the tales he tells are in a type of Texan wisdom — where there’s a catchy turn-of-phrase for many insightful life lessons. His playbook also sheds light on McConaughey’s natural creative process.
Greenlights is not about creativity per se — but the story of a man that has pursued and prioritized creativity throughout his life. In this book, we learn a few insights into McConaughey’s practice for creativity.
Process for capturing ideas
Creativity is such a thoughtful process. In that, it requires thought and thinking about your thoughts. Ideas might be in an incubation stage waiting to mature into a full-fledge pursuit. One of the oldest tips for nurturing the ideation process is to capture ideas and reflect on them. The easiest way to do this is through journaling. Writing down your thoughts makes it more tangible and allows for further reflection.
Matthew McConaughey has kept a diary for the last 35 years — since he was 14 years old. This habit provided a life-long habit of self-reflection. He used a diary to understand himself better — a part of the self-discovery process. He wanted to understand what made him tick. His diary would serve as an example of the effects in his life when things were going well. When things were not going well, those entries would serve as an example of things he can do to get back to that state. Keeping a diary is also a driver for curiosity for McConaughey. It would be a place to question and uncover his thoughts. I imagine this practice serves as a tool McConaughey uses to understand the depths of his own emotions and thoughts. So that he can better convey the intricacies of emotions in the characters he plays on-screen.
Process for self-isolation to fuel creativity
Among all the interesting tidbits about Matthew McConaughey’s, there is one that sticks out for his method of getting creative work done. That is what he calls “forced winters” or “solitary confinement”.
To write the book, Greenlights, McConaughey took his diaries and went off into the desert for 52 days of solitary confinement (some of which was without electricity or power). He did this to be alone with his thoughts, to cut distraction and to get at the core of what he was trying to convey. McConaughey has done this type of retreat at several points in his life. Most notably for him, was a trip he took alone to Australia. He calls them “forced winters” and even describes the period we’re in with COVID-19 as a forced winter. A time when you hunker down and have the space to look inward. By stepping away from distractions and dedicating the time to craft, McConaughey creates the space to be creative. To explore his craft. To uncover ideas in progress. To allow for more divergent thoughts to come up.
52 days of solitary confinement can seem a bit extreme and out of reach for most people. McConaughey seems fortunate enough to have the financial freedom to pursue time away without sacrifice to regular responsibilities. There was likely a time in his life where taking off on the road in these types of pursuits were more regular. Yet, McConaughey does have other priorities that do need his attention — a wife, children and caring for his mother. Making it so that these retreats are more poignant when he takes them. He takes them seriously because he has commitments he can’t neglect. His retreats are also measured. Spending 52 days alone in the desert. 12 of which were without power. He would then return home every 2 weeks to check in on his life and the people he cares about. Then he would return back to his retreat.
Process for sticking with it, even when it’s hard
Journaling is a useful tool for uncovering aspects of yourself. It also is a great way to unpack questions you’re pondering on. Exploring things that drive your curiosity. In an interview with Tim Ferris, McConaughey talks about how journaling is a process of self-discovery. It can be a place where you talk to yourself. Where you start to ask yourself some questions. At times, those questions can be tough and they can be challenging. When it comes to creativity, we can even leverage this questioning to refine our work.
In this interview, McConaughey explains how it’s not enough to only have questions. You should find the courage to answer them. It’s easy to have the question and then when it’s too tough to put your hands up in defeat and search for distractions that take you further away from your goal. Some examples of self-sabotaging distractions can be looking for substances to alter your mood, seeking attention from others, or distractions such as scrolling through apps or watching TV. Anything that takes you away from the important and challenging work ahead of you.
For more on Matthew McConaughey’s book Greenlights visit here. As well, listen to his conversation with Tim Ferris on his podcast.
The Process Profile Series explores the behind the scenes work of innovative people. We’ll dive deep into their routines, habits, customs and processes for ideating.
