The Artist’s Way: Week #10

Week #10: Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection

This week we explored the perils that can ambush us on our creative path. We searched out toxic patterns we cling to that block our creative flow.

There was a lot more reading than tasks this week but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything.

We were made aware of the “the deadlies”. These are possible addictions that prevent us from creative self-care. One is workaholism. I don’t have a job so that doesn’t apply to me. Sex addiction, alcohol addiction, going on spending sprees or issues with money, food addiction, drug addiction, or constant socializing are issues that block creativity. They are self-sabotaging.

None of the above applied to me. My addiction of choice is television. There are a lot of television shows that I don’t want to miss, many that I tape. I have been like that all my life. As a child I was left to my own resources in the basement rec room with my Barbies and baby dolls and the television. Television is a secret passion of mine. I want to know the ins and outs of every production. I want to see the out-takes. I want to be in that life.

As an effort to create self-care, we were to write a list of things we love. We are to put this list up in our workspace so that when we see it we can feel comfort. I don’t have a workspace but I wrote the list and typed it up:

Angels

Books

Music

Musical movies and plays

Pizza the way I like it (extra cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and green pepper)

The smell of autumn leaves

The sound of the ocean

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

My first cup of tea in the morning

Massages

Hot showers

Being loved for who I am

Lemon meringue pie

Fresh flowers

Pictures of my children

I’ve been meaning to buy flowers for myself and I have photos of my children everywhere in my house. I wrote “being loved for who I am” because this week was a particularly bad week for me. There was some tension and turmoil in my home. I spent a few days keeping to myself.

It was time to face The Awful Truth. We were asked the following questions: 

What habit gets in the way of your creativity?

What do you think might be a problem?

What do you plan to do about the habit or problem?

What friends make you doubt yourself?

Which friends believe in you and your talent?

What is the payoff in keeping your destructive friends?

Which destructive habits do your destructive friends share with your destructive self?

My destructive habits are my own. Only I can change them. I was supposed to set bottom lines for myself, for example “I will no longer work weekends”. What my bottom line boils down to is setting a schedule for writing and exercise and sticking to it. And I also need to get to bed earlier. I need more sleep and less stress. Bottom line? I need to make MYSELF a priority. In my list of actions I could take to comfort my artist I mentioned going for a massage (I have one scheduled this week), buy myself some flowers (hubby bought me some this weekend), take some time to put on some music and dance.

We don’t just need to make time for self-care, we need to protect ourselves from ourselves – and our bad habits.

Affirmations:

I deserve to have a joy-filled life.

I can and will change my destructive habits.

A positive attitude will bring good things into my life.