Showing Up For Your Creative Work Is More Important Than Showing Up Perfectly
A Creative Lesson I Am Coming To Terms With
I have been physically exhausted and mentally-emotionally drained for a week now.
2022 Summer has decided to play with my energy during the day and with my sleep during the night.
This results in me not being able to give my 100 per cent to myself.
One crucial portion of my life affected by this exhaustion is my creative work. My output has drastically reduced, and I have no energy to objectively decide if it's quality work or not.
But I know that I must keep the ball rolling.
I know showing up for my creative work is more important than showing up perfectly.
High-Performance Coach Sarah Arnold-Hall says it best -
There have been days when I am so energetic at my keyboard that it feels like I take Red Bull through IV. On such days, I write 2k words for posts, about 1k for my fiction WIP, and another 1-2k in notes of the non-fiction book I am treading. I might also workout an extra 30 minutes and help my mother with errands.
Then there are days when I wake and feel like going back to sleep. On such days, I drag myself through the house to reach my keyboard, and pushing one key feels like a Herculean task.
This year, I have come to terms with this aspect of life.
You are not the same every day. You won't have the same energy or the same mood every day.
The high days are fun. Words just flow. Brush just glides. Time seems to fly and fly high.
But it is the low days where you need to be kinder to yourself. On such days, if you can do the bare minimum, it's okay.
As my best friend once told me, "Some days, you have to just exist."
And that human. That's natural, and that's Nature.
When I hit such low days, like I am in right now, I show up and try to roll the ball. Even if it's for an inch. Then I rest because I know I gave the best I could today.
