Losing sets you up for winning. Losing makes you think in ways victory can’t. You begin asking questions instead of feeling like you have the answers. Questions open up the doors to so many possibilities.
Maria Sharapova, from Tribe of Mentors
This week I dove into (or rather, was thrown into) dealing with the idea of losing. While I know artists and designers that have embraced a zen attitude of “do it for the process”, I haven’t been able to do that myself. I’m prone to dissect, throw away, and go as hard as I can toward the solution… process be damned.
Why?
I think because it feels good to wrap something up.
Processes can be painful.
But painting IS a process. It’s quick starts, then you’re thrown into the middle, which drag on for ages. Many “finales” are never reached. It’s a demon I ran from a decade ago, and confronting it hasn’t been easy.
So what do you when you need to figure out how to “enjoy the process”; to “endure”?
The answer kept popping up in my reading all week: embrace it.
Learning to enjoy the process, rather than always striving for the future…The good–the painful–it is all a privilege.
Bear Grylls, from Tribe of Mentors
Embrace uncertainty, groundlessness, and fear as the place where you’ll really learn and grow. Go into that place, rather than shrinking from it.
Leo Babauta, from Tribe of Mentors
My mind understands. Finding peace in my heart is another thing completely. I’m trying gratitude practices and meditation, but the doubtful voice that asks, “Is this going to make a difference?” is very loud.
Do you have any practices that help with the doubts? Please share!
Until next time, I’ll be revisiting this quote I wrote in my planner over and over again:
Empower the master to win; trap the fatalist. The margin that leads to victory is small.
Jerzey Gregorek, from Tribe of Mentors
P.S. If you are interested in any of the new art that I show on Fridays, please send a message through my contact page. I’ll email you personally with any details you wish to know. I try to list them as soon as I can, and you’ll eventually find them via my SHOP button.
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