Do you have a creative goal—write an op-ed, a poem, get back to drawing, singing, painting—that is endlessly pushed to the end of your to do list? First, you are not alone. So many people are with you—feeling mystified as to why they have such trouble realizing their dreams of self-expression.
This: “To change your behavior for good, you have to start believing new things about yourself” makes so much sense to me. And oh my goodness your last lines are so beautiful 💓💓💓 “Be less accountable to systems that don’t love your inner wisdom.” Mind-blown emoji! YES 🙌🏽 💕
Seeing this subject line in my inbox made me stop in my tracks-- feels like you've been listening in on my conversations with my friends haha! I shared this with one of them, so so good.
This is so timely, Courtney. Thank you. I'm just about to (hopefully) hear about a full-time job opportunity. It is a job that is "beneath" my skill set, but it's with an organization whose work I really respect and it's relative lack of responsibility will hopefully allow me the psychic space to still do my own work.
This seems the constant dance for me, and perhaps for everyone, as a creative. How do I support myself (and my family) while also having time and energy for my own creative work? I have yet to find the proper balance. Either I worked jobs that sucked the life out of me and there was nothing left, or I tried to only write and was constantly, untenably broke. Which doesn't work when you're the sole wage-earner in your family. SIGH. Hopefully, this new path will finally offer some possibility to hold everything at once. Or at least juggle them successfully.
Thank you Courtney. I needed this today! The part about feeling like you have to be an activist for every wrong stealing your creativity really spoke to me.
This brilliant quote from Merton adds a new dimension to the destructive effects of violence that I’d never calculated before reading this from a great prophet of nonviolent conduct. Thank you! DD
In a word, yowza. You (and the quotes you selected) hit it squarely on the head, more succintly and eloquently than I've heard it expressed before.
This is so deeply ingrained that even as a retired person (ie, not having to try to fit together the puzzle of creative work with job-work) I still struggle with it.
I recently came to similar conclusions about my pace, and also about the impact on my physical body of the depth of my passionate grief over (everything). Time to seek more peace and space between.
SO hits the spot this morning. Also, sending it to the entire nascent "We each want to write a book" budding here in Boston. here in my living room. thank you.
This is such a great post! I keep thinking about it in the evenings, when I've told myself I would write, but I'm too tired to. Somehow, we keep pushing our creative endeavors towards the last 10% of our energy tank. I've always wondered why that was, but your post captured it so well. We're not conditioned to think it's enough of the priority that it really is!
This: “To change your behavior for good, you have to start believing new things about yourself” makes so much sense to me. And oh my goodness your last lines are so beautiful 💓💓💓 “Be less accountable to systems that don’t love your inner wisdom.” Mind-blown emoji! YES 🙌🏽 💕
Seeing this subject line in my inbox made me stop in my tracks-- feels like you've been listening in on my conversations with my friends haha! I shared this with one of them, so so good.
This is so timely, Courtney. Thank you. I'm just about to (hopefully) hear about a full-time job opportunity. It is a job that is "beneath" my skill set, but it's with an organization whose work I really respect and it's relative lack of responsibility will hopefully allow me the psychic space to still do my own work.
This seems the constant dance for me, and perhaps for everyone, as a creative. How do I support myself (and my family) while also having time and energy for my own creative work? I have yet to find the proper balance. Either I worked jobs that sucked the life out of me and there was nothing left, or I tried to only write and was constantly, untenably broke. Which doesn't work when you're the sole wage-earner in your family. SIGH. Hopefully, this new path will finally offer some possibility to hold everything at once. Or at least juggle them successfully.
Thank you Courtney. I needed this today! The part about feeling like you have to be an activist for every wrong stealing your creativity really spoke to me.
Great piece. Thank you so much.
This brilliant quote from Merton adds a new dimension to the destructive effects of violence that I’d never calculated before reading this from a great prophet of nonviolent conduct. Thank you! DD
In a word, yowza. You (and the quotes you selected) hit it squarely on the head, more succintly and eloquently than I've heard it expressed before.
This is so deeply ingrained that even as a retired person (ie, not having to try to fit together the puzzle of creative work with job-work) I still struggle with it.
I recently came to similar conclusions about my pace, and also about the impact on my physical body of the depth of my passionate grief over (everything). Time to seek more peace and space between.
I had read and felt the truth of the Thomas Merton quote, seen myself in it.
I had not yet decided whether to read Atomic Habits. Now I will. Thank you.
SO hits the spot this morning. Also, sending it to the entire nascent "We each want to write a book" budding here in Boston. here in my living room. thank you.
This is such a great post! I keep thinking about it in the evenings, when I've told myself I would write, but I'm too tired to. Somehow, we keep pushing our creative endeavors towards the last 10% of our energy tank. I've always wondered why that was, but your post captured it so well. We're not conditioned to think it's enough of the priority that it really is!
What a perfectly lovely and true column, Courtney. I am a writing coach and often work with "blocked" writers. Your words could be mine!
Sooooo good Courtney, what an awesome, inspiring read!!!! I keep rereading the last paragraph -- mind blown. Cheers :-)
I needed this today, all of it, Thank you!
Thanks 👍 I needed this boost of imagining and the dream of supportive relational community!