Desirable side effects

From exercising to writing and the power of right motivation

I had a great idea to write about. I was in bed when two first sentences came to me and I smiled, because they were actually funny. I even thought about writing them down, but then, of course, decided that this is something I wouldn’t forget. I did, though. Will I ever learn?

Lucky for me, this morning while I was exercising and swearing like a sailor, I had a thought, which I didn’t forget, about the connection between exercising and creative pursuits. Bear with me here please.

I’ve always had difficulty with exercising regularly, but about a year and a half ago I’ve discovered that it’s much easier for me to do this when I exercise in the mornings, the only thing that was still often holding me back was my motivation. And not in general, but the type of motivation, the reason I was doing it for. At first I started exercising regularly because I gained some weight. You know how we have a picture of ourselves in our heads and then we look in the mirror and we’re surprised with what we’re seeing? Well it was a big shock for me, every time I passed the damned mirror (fortunately we only have one big mirror at home, so I’m not looking at myself that often). I didn’t like what I was seeing and I knew that I had to do something about it. only it turned out that the workouts weren’t doing the job, not fast enough anyway. It was highly demotivating.

But then I noticed that my back pain was gone, and my joints were less painful (the joys of hypermobility) and I felt lighter on my feet and could stand longer without getting tired or feeling any discomfort. And that was when I realised that getting stronger, feeling better, being healthier is far more motivating than loosing weight (which happens too as a nice side effect). Also, changing the reason for exercising made me more patient with it. Because I know that getting stronger needs time, that I just need to keep going, keep working out and I’ll be building the strength up gradually, while at the same time I’ll feel better and healthier.

And that’s where the connection to creative pursuits comes in. I feel about them like I feel about working out for weight loss, I want to see the result almost immediately. But creativity needs patience and dedication. It shouldn’t be solely about the outcome, it should also, if not mainly, be about the regular practice. When I write regularly I feel better, my mental health improves, I look at the world with different eyes, I smile more. And this is what should motivate me, not an outcome I can’t predict.

I feel that seeking enjoyment in the process, the practice of the craft, the time spent at my desk, in my attic room can be a better motivation, a bigger drive to keep going than something that seems unreachable at the moment. I need to do this for me, for my own good and maybe, just like the exercise, it will have a side effect that is desirable too.