what isn't working

The problem with self-discipline is that, like most discipline, it isn't pleasant. Often the Tera's Wish newsletters are driven by the synchronicity of email that I get from subscribers and visitors to my website. This month I have had a great deal of email around a single theme: I know what isn't working but I just can't seem to get myself away from it.

In my opinion, cutting out the stuff that isn't working can be as difficult as finding your purpose. Why? Because you are already doing the stuff that isn't working. Stopping means you have to change. It means you have to try something new, or cut out something that is familiar and easy.

Of course, knowing what isn't working is a big step. We've talked about poisonous pals and crazy-makers (terms from Julia Cameron's wonderful book, "The Artist's Way" ). Lots of you have written to me about these people in your life. However, cutting these people out of your life isn't easy. It may be for lots of reason. Maybe their distraction gives you an excuse not to work, or maybe you just don't want to hurt someone no matter how much they are hurting you.

It does take self-discipline to step back and say, "this just isn't working for me" or "this is not adding anything to my life" and then cut that out of your life. These are time zappers, or as Jennifer Louden calls them, "Time Monsters". Some of my own? eBay! Television. Letting paperwork pile up so that what could have taken five minutes to handle at the time now takes two hours to organize and put away.

All of us, at one point or another, will use these things to take up our time so that we can say we are "too busy" and just couldn't get to the work that really needed to be done. Refusing to give into the draw of these zappers is the hard part.

First step, identify! Think about your life. What things do you do that are truly a waste of time? Another one of mine is a game of solitaire on my palm pilot. I can lose a good 45 minutes playing with that dumb thing. What are your zappers? Who are the people in your life who take but do not give? Be honest with yourself. That is the only way this process can help.

Next, you have to make a commitment to yourself and acknowledge that you are more important than these peripheral things. Even if it is difficult in the short term, you have to decide that you and your art are more important than television, or surfing the web, or whatever your time zappers are. If you find you have a lot of things, don't try to give them all up at once. Take one at a time and commit to doing something else. If possible, remove the temptation from your way.

Acknowledging the importance of your work is crucial for an artist. Whether you are a full time artist or are trying to be, or whether you are a beginner just trying to find out what works, your creative time is important. Creative work makes us feel whole. It helps us feel like we are giving back. Without it, our lives are less. For that reason, when you begin to work, you have to acknowledge that what you are doing is important to you, and as a result needs to be honored and nurtured. Getting rid of the stuff that takes away from it is an important step.

home | articles | the workshop