Stuck between the intention and the act, we often fail to carry out what we’re meant to do.
Motivation is fickle. Distractions are plentiful. Doing is not a matter of talent but discipline. Every repetition is a bicep curl for the brain.
Wrote William James in The Principles of Psychology: “This very day I have been repeating over and over to myself a verbal jingle whose mawkish silliness was the secret of its haunting power. I loathed yet could not banish it. What holds attention determines action.”
What holds attention predetermines action and protects us against the pitfalls of the next shiny object or stirred emotion.
Focus is our only guard, without all the narrowness of attention. We need to keep our eyes on the donut over the donut hole.
So we keep going, showing up despite there being no guarantee of happiness at the end of the tunnel.
Greater use of the palette insulates the individual from the dizziness of anxiety and the needless aim for the pedestal of fame.
A creative flow hardens the brain’s sticktoitiveness and summons a type of artistic unity.
We throw the rock into the hard place. The daily practice is our only durable storage.