Being committed when you just don’t feel like it – An artist’s struggle

Committed.  This has been a key word for my lately.  I am committed to working on my art on a regular basis and sharing it.  Today, the last thing I wanted to be was committed.

The weather was crummy and I wasn’t feeling great.  All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch, eat nachos, and watch trashy TV.

I did not want to work on my blog.

I did not want to work on to process my photos.

And I sure as heck did not feel committed to doing anything artistic that would further my creative goals.  I felt like this sheep.  Unimpressed.

That is one unmotivated, unimpressed sheep.

But unfortunately time has other ideas for me.  With only one day off from my regular job, my time to work on my art is limited.  So how do I get up the gumption to pick myself up off the couch and push forward?  How do I be committed on days when I feel completely unmotivated?

I pondered this as I ran errands (all of which I desperately did not want to do!) and I realized that today, I had surrounded myself with things that were feeding into my negative mood.  The movie I chose: The Pianist, a tale about an Jewish artist in the midst of Nazi Germany.  Not exactly uplifting.   The radio program: a musician who had lost his wife to stage IV cancer.  Inspirational but sad as hell.

I decided at that moment, I needed to focus on motivating myself.  I may be a grumpalufagus today (basically a grumpy snufflupugus, you know, from Seaseme Street?) but I had to pick myself up, dust off the nacho dust, and get to work.

At my dentist office (because of course, I have a dentist appointment on this kind of day), they had the book of Underwater Dogs  (See also Seth Casteel’s website for more amazing dogs and photos!  http://www.sethcasteel.com/#!/home) As I sat back and looked at photos of dogs jumping into water after tennis balls, teeth bared and lips flopping around, I felt slightly better.  Not motivated, per se, slightly less unmotivated.

As I mused about commitment, I thought about how hard it is to stay in it for the long game.  How tough it can be to put in effort when you are not seeing robust results.   Being committed means doing the things you need to do every day to get to your end goal, even when you don’t feel like it.  So I looked at more adorable dog pictures, endured the dentist, and came home and processed photos.  I didn’t write three blog posts like I had intended, but at least I made movement.  I took one committed step towards realizing my goals.  And all great things begin one step at time, am I right?

Slightly more motivated sheep.

What has been hardest for you about being committed?  How have you overcome it?  I invite you to share you thoughts and struggles!  HJ