“Should” is the land that all good intentions go to die.

If you think you “should” do something — especially if it’s something that “they say” is “good for you” — you simply won’t last long. None of us do.

You might start well enough, at first. But “shoulds” only lead us to be impressed by our own discipline. And when we do that … we lose sight of our real why. And our well-meaning shoulds fade away in the rear-view mirror of all our other self-help-y- attempts.

Julia Cameron says in her book The Artist’s Way: discipline is not the point. The point is JOY! She’s talking about this in the context of creative practice, but I think it applies to all kinds of practice, including what we’ve been up to in 40:

"It must take so much discipline to be an artist," we are often told by well-meaning people who are not artists but wish they were. What a temptation. What a seduction. They're inviting us to preen before an admiring audience, to act out the image that is so heroic and Spartan -- and false.

As artists, grounding our self-image in military discipline is dangerous. In the short run, discipline may work, but it will work only for a while. By its very nature, discipline is rooted in self-admiration. (Think of discipline as a battery, useful but short-lived). We admire ourselves for being so wonderful. The discipline itself, not the creative outflow, becomes the point.

Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline. Enthusiasm is not an emotional state. It is a spiritual commitment, a loving surrender to our creative process, a loving recognition of all the creativity around us.

Enthusiasm (from the Greek, "filled with God") is an ongoing energy supply tapped into the flow of life itself. Enthusiasm is grounded in play, not work. Far from being a brain-numbed soldier, our artist is actually our child within, our inner playmate. As with all playmates, it is joy, not duty, that makes for a lasting bond.

Call it enthusiasm, call it joy, call it your own — whatever you’d say!

To keep going with daily practice, you need a better reason than should. What’s yours?

with JOY,
Cath

Meditation: Choose from one below. Your practice. Your choice.

Reflection: Revisit your original mission state, back from the early days of Week 2: Begin. Revisit what you wrote and write it again, anew — for hte next 40 days and beyond.

 “I, _______________ , hereby commit to 40 days of showing up for myself, my work, and my life in my daily practice because I believe….”