006. Habit Beats Inspiration

Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not.

6/100: What habits or disciplines have contributed most to your personal growth?

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice.”

―Octavia Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories

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Dear Chineze,

I wish this letter could show all the shit you have to trudge through, mentally and physically, when flighting to make a positive change in your life. I wish it could show how there’s no shortcut, no quick fix, how it’s the weeds that grow freely while the garden you want requires effort. I wish I could articulate how annoying it is that even when you form the habits and build the disciplines, like any muscle, if you don’t consistently use and maintain it, it withers away as if it never existed.

I started practicing 3 disciplines with no finish line in sight, and after 3 years, they are still the ones that continue to shape me.

Morning Pages

Morning pages have changed my life and overall approach to creativity. They are 3 longhand (yes, they have to be longhand!) unfiltered early morning brain dumps coined by Julia Cameron in the Artist’s Way. I’ve been practicing them every day for almost 4 years, and they’ve provided clarity, inspiration, the words I need for a difficult conversation, the last shot in the video. Those pages are a place where you can be angry, jealous, arrogant, obnoxious. You can be joyful, hopeful, gentle. You can grieve, remember, release. Put all of yourself on those pages, and I promise you, if you don’t give up on them, they won’t give up on you.

Movement

The older I get, the easier it is to sit. My work requires tedious hours behind a desk, body hunched over a keyboard, fingers draped over a mouse. My decision to move my body every day is forging a relationship beyond aesthetics. Movement, for me, can be a CrossFit class, the rower we have in the basement, or walking around the neighborhood. It’s the least I can do to keep this mystery of blood, water, flesh, and bones intact. My mood and motivation shift after a tough workout, and it is the most visceral reminder that I can do hard things even when I don’t feel like it.

One Creative Act.

I have to make. This is my ministry. Whatever yours is, it probably involves some form of creation, whether you think so or not. Every day, I dedicate time to creating, whether it’s writing, shooting, shot listing, painting, or directing. Chipping away at bigger projects has humbled me. The process has made me a better person and artist.

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6/100: What habits or disciplines have contributed most to your personal growth?

Thank you for watching, reading, and listening. I’m looking forward to reading what habits or disciplines have changed your life for the better, friends.

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If you’re a creator or just like to make cool shit on the internet and don’t want to worry about copyright issues, this is a gamechanger <3