Have you ever started a creative project (or a project that involved changing yourself or your life, like learning a new language or get back in shape), and find it increasingly difficult to just do it each day? I bet you told yourself that you didn't have the willpower for it. Or maybe you came up with another reason: it's not the right time, I'm too busy this month, no one is supporting me, etc. I have.
For me now, day in and day out, my main creative project is painting. It's the one I love most and the most challenging one.
The hardest part of painting is the first 5 minutes when I sit in my studio. These first minutes when I sit down to paint but I’m not painting yet. I pick my brushes and mix my colors and I hear this voice in my head telling me that what I’m about to do is unimportant. That there are so many things more important or urgent than painting: paying my bills, fixing my website, answering a text or even working out. The voice tries to convince me that painting is a reward that I can indulge in once I’ve completed my numerous duties.
I know this voice is a liar. I know it’s resistance that wants to keep me small, keep me mundane, keep me where I’m at. She tries to instill panic in me so I back off. This is the tricky part.
Sometimes, I have a tube of paint that refuses to open, right during these perilous 5 minutes. I get tensed because the longer it takes to start, the more likely something will derail me. So I call upon my guides to breathe through me, I can upon the Muse to look through my eyes. I remember that resistance gets stronger as we get closer to what is really important to us (thanks to Steven Pressfield for this life-changing wisdom).
The hardest part of any project is sitting down to do the work. Putting on your shoes to go out. Unpacking your gear... It's hearing the voice and not backing off.
You can do this.