Discipline

I went to a writer's workshop during Hell Week last week. It was the highlight of my week for sure. The workshop was focused on music writing (that's writing ABOUT music, not writing music). It was a little boring, but everyone on the panel was pretty cool. I even got to meet and hang out with a few panelists afterwards at a bar across the street. So, fun.

I'm not really specifically interested in writing about music. I'm just very interested in music and since I have very little creative musical talent, writing about how music makes me feel is really the only chance I have of sharing that with others. That said, since I'm not really looking to make a career out of it, a lot of the panelists discussion was too in-depth and specific to the "industry" of music writing to really be useful to me.

However, one of the slightly more annoying (too talkative, otherwise interesting guy) panelists, a blogger named Jeff Weiss, said something really important. Roughly paraphrased.: "Writing's like anything else, you have to work at it. You have to be disciplined and diligent; do it daily. That's how you improve. That's how you make it work."

Well, damn.

So why can't I just do that? Why can't I keep my shit together on a daily basis and get stuff done? Sure, I can get up every morning and be more or less on time for work and get my stuff done there with people breathing down my neck. But when it comes down to the things I really want to accomplish - writing, HEALTH, art- I almost never get off my ass and progress. What is that, may I ask?

That's lack of discipline, and it's utterly retarded that the things I don't make time for are the things I really want. A writer once wrote about writing (how's that for word diversity?) that if you don't sit down and do it, if it's a chore every single time, and you have to force yourself, then maybe you don't REALLY want to do it. Of course, this can apply to pretty much anything in life. And his advice was to give it up, if it's not something you need to do.

But is it possible I don't really want to do anything I've ever dreamed of? Because by his logic I don't want to write, draw, run, ride horses, act, be a teacher, be healthy, anything. So where does that leave me? Looks like I'm throwing out that guy's logic and and changing my ways.

"You have to be disciplined and diligent; do it daily. That's how you improve. That's how you make it work." It's time to put those wise words from a fellow 20-something into practice, kids.

D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E. - that's how I spell success!