Why do we procrastinate?

Today I decided to finally clean up my art room. I had bought new storage containers for my huge amount of supplies. Since I haven’t been in the mood to paint, I thought I’d do something useful. I find whenever my space is cluttered, my mind is cluttered too. The best cure is to clean something! To organize, and get rid of the garbage that fills our space. What a difference, everything now has its place and is no longer on the floor or around my desk. It’s not perfect, but it is getting there, so if you ever have artistic blocks, and find yourself resisting art, clean something! You will feel so much better afterwards, and will have an atmosphere more conducive to creativity.

Artistic blocks are so common for creative people. The more I read on forums the more I see I am not alone. Why do we resist doing the thing that makes us most happy? Why is it the other meaningless things take priority over our own creativity? I don’t have all the answers, I just know what works for me. I would let years go by without creating art, because I felt it was too late to become a better artist, or it would take so much work, or the millions of other reasons. The funny thing is, the excuses I gave for not painting seemed to be legitimate. I kept postponing it, saying maybe next week when I have more time, or maybe when there is a long weekend…the excuses can go on forever! The bottom line is, what was really so important? Did I really NEED to watch TV? Do I NEED to watch a movie every night? How important, really, is it to go to the mall and look at art books? These were just excuses.

I can’t pinpoint what changed, only that I realized this is it, this is not a dress rehearsal. The moments I waste in idleness, I don’t get them back again. The stars of reality tv, or of the sitcoms that I used to enjoy couldn’t give a crap whether I live or die. They don’t know me, or care if my life is wasted. Now I cut back my TV viewing, and choose only what I really enjoy watching. Tv isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you just got to realize it is a great way of numbing yourself, of keeping you from what’s really important in your life.

I am happy to be in a place where I do create regularly, even if I still waste time. My art has improved, and people like it enough to buy it which is always a thrill. I am honored each time someone values my work enough to pay their hard earned money for it. My goal is to fill the world with beautiful art, and to make people happier. I put love into everything I do, and hope it shows.

**If you are feeling blocked and need some extra help, I recommend a book called 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield. I wish I'd found this book years ago, it could have saved me years of wasting time.