“We are what we repeatedly do.” – Aristotle
In case it’s never been obvious, I have a passion for creating images. And writing. The funny thing is, even though I thoroughly enjoy these two hobbies, when they’re the only two things on my plate… I procrastinate.
Funnier still, every time I’m taking a class, and there are articles to read and papers to write, I can’t seem to STOP creating images and writing. Homework can wait!
That’s not really the point of my post, but it’s cool to discover that adding “unpleasant tasks” to your to-do list literally catapults you out of your writer’s block, or whatever creative slump you might be in. For me anyway.
It’s like the choice gets laid out in front of me… work or play… and it’s suddenly a no brainer. Nowhere in those options do I get to ask myself if I’d prefer to do absolutely nothing.
Anyway, that was kind of off-topic. Maybe. I stumbled on the Aristotle quote the other day and I saved it in my notes. It is so simple, but it’s also kind of deep. It made me think about imposter syndrome.
There’s a phrase in recovery that’s similar. It says, “fake it ‘til you make it.” While I understand the meaning, I’m not too fond of the wording. I mean, for a person who already struggles with imposter syndrome (feeling like a fraud, or a phony) “faking it” isn’t the most appropriate lingo. Haha!
Taking for granted the fact that his quote is accurate… I’m becoming or already am whatever it is that I repeatedly do.
That actually sent a shiver down my spine. One of the things that I do repeatedly is pick myself apart. So… I guess that means I’m a picker!? Seriously though, maybe I should lay off on the self-critiquing.
I started my illustration because I wanted something funny. We had chinese food the other day and my fortune said “SHARE YOUR WITTY HUMOR WITH OTHERS.”
I kid you not. “Is this a sign?” I said to myself. “Is God or the Universe trying to tell me what my purpose is??”
Well, I didn’t say that exactly, but it crossed my mind. Maybe I was on the right path before. Maybe my purpose (at the moment) IS this blog… using images, words, and humor to talk about life, important stuff, and even things that can be uncomfortable.
So, I started on the illustration (trying something fun and lighthearted) and then went with the flow. I came up with Basic Training as the title because, like me, it looks like this poor girl is not really sure what she’s doing (can you tell??). And who works out in boots?!
But the thing is… she’s going to keep doing it… repeatedly… until she gets it right. Fake it ’til you make it, you know?
And then we ordered chinese food again and the next fortune said, “MAKE TIME FOR WHAT YOU LOVE.”
Aha! Now I know it wasn’t a coincidence. And like I said earlier, homework can wait!
I think that’s about all for now. If you made it this far down… thank you so much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed something here!
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” -Steve Jobs
a sprinkle of faith 
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