LOVE BEING MISERABLE

Everyone has something they are shooting for or working towards. Everyone has a creative artist in them. Unfortunately, most of us allow the spontaneous, creative side of us to be beaten by adults or other authority. We feel as if these ideas and feelings should be left in a child’s place. Some of us fight back against the temptation to do what our heart longs to do. It may be because we feel pressure and doubt from others. It ultimately falls back on us giving in to our own doubts and fears. It sucks when we can get in the way of ourselves and become our own enemy.

How can you win against yourself? You may have to enjoy being miserable.

Introduction

Everyone has something they are shooting for or working towards. Everyone has a creative artist in them. Unfortunately, most of us allow the spontaneous, creative side of us to be beaten by adults or other authority. We feel as if these ideas and feelings should be left in a child’s place. Some of us fight back against the temptation to do what our heart longs to do. It may be because we feel pressure and doubt from others. It ultimately falls back on us giving in to our own doubts and fears. It sucks when we can get in the way of ourselves and become our own enemy.

How can you win against yourself? You may have to enjoy being miserable.

What It Means To Be Miserable

I remember when I initially started working on my book Teenage Chronicles back when I was fifteen, I came across a book that would eventually change my life. I at the time, was too young to understand the author’s words and ideas. The book was “The War Of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It emphasized the struggles all artist and dream chasers alike deal with. The War Of Art said that we would all face resistance. In fact, we already have and most of us have lost over and over again.

So how do you win against this “resistance” we face? What are the many different masks “resistance” wears? Well for some of the information you will have to buy the book. I am here to focus mainly on his take on being miserable and what it means. What does resistance feel like? “First, unhappiness. We feel like hell. A low-grade misery pervades everything. We are bored, we’re restless. We can’t get no satisfaction.” I think Steven just summed up the feeling completely. When we feel this way we find excuses. We search for parties or anything to pick us up from the depths of “resistance”.

It could be as innocent as food or sinful as drugs. Either way, we indulge and avoid. It’s such a miserable feeling. What makes it worse is that we can’t place our finger on what’s causing our pain. It hits us as we wake up making us want to lay back down. We feel it as we think about life and hate starts to build. The question still remains, where is this pain coming from? We may become depressed and hate ourselves but I promise you it’s all for good.

We are most vulnerable and submissive to all distractions at the moment. I’ll end your speculation here. Place your finger on “resistance” because that’s what it is. However, the question you really want to ask is how to beat the feeling. I assure you resistance is playing with you right now. Blocking your judgment and rationality. I know because you know the answer it’s in front of you. You have to do your work.

How To Power Through Being Miserable

So how can you make it through this miserable stage? What can possibly push you forward? When I ask the last question I think about the scene from Shawshank Redemption.

How could he crawl through all that for miles and make it out free? For many, they keep the end goal or the results that will come to mind. That could work for you. Some think of their family or friends or someone or thing they are going through this grueling process for. This might fit you too. Some just want to say they did it. Either way, they all have a why or a reason in mind. That’s what helps them power through.

How To Win The Day

You win the day by just doing or starting. That’s it it’s that simple. I wish I had some type of mastermind blueprint for you. I just don’t have a blueprint and whoever says they have it is selling you a lie. It’s simple sometimes we trick ourselves out and force complications. We misguide ourselves so often when it can all be so simple. Keep in mind I said it’s “simple “not “easy”. This will never be easy how could it be? It’s more rewarding when you fight through to the finish line right?

When you climb the final case of steps and realize you did it and jump with joy like Rocky.

Do you want to know how Rocky did it? He took a step, he started. Then he took one more and another and so on. Here is how that can translate to you. If you can’t write and won’t write you lose but if you type or write just one letter you win. I will explain the logic here. There is no such thing as writer’s block. Why? Simple if you fight against the grain and just jot something you win. I thought the definition of writer’s block was that you can’t write a thing. Well then just right something and be unblocked, unchained, and free.

I remember reading the section of Steven’s book and how he broke down the miserable day of a writer. I will shorten it here and trust me no matter what profession you are in, this will relate. You basically wake up with dissatisfaction. You are either in disgust with the day already or you are strangled by fear already. Take your pick. You feel the urge to give up already in your gut. You can’t fathom the idea of starting on your work. You rather lay back down or distract yourself.

Why? It’s just much easier to do that then to put in the work. It comes down to one decision in just five seconds. You finished all other chores, maybe you don’t have chores. Either way, time’s up now your work is calling. You can either ‘A’ indulge in another distraction or ‘B’ despite all negative feelings you get back to work. What will you do? Here is where you win. Here is where you fall back on your “why” and push forward on what’s important. That importance lies in your work, so get it done.

If you start I promise you that you will win the day. You will beat resistance and you will soon get used to that miserable feeling and beat it every day. It won’t leave it will naive to think you only need to beat it once. If you don’t know your “why” or how to push forward I need you to do me a favor. By another great book called “Start With Why”, by Simon Sinek. I am sure you have heard of it if not the title says it all.

Signs That You Are Close

Don’t run from the pain especially when it gets worse. Use it as your compass in order to keep you on the path. The road to your dreams paved by your hard work, sweat, and tears get bumpier further down. No matter what detours and potholes that may arrive don’t get deterred and tricked into thinking you have to take on a new direction.

The road gets tougher but the destination never changes. I promise you the finish line is close by and will be so rewarding. Being miserable in short means sacrificing. You may have to tell your friends you can’t party today because you have work to do. You may have to ignore phone calls and miss your favorite TV show. You may have to stay on a bean and rice diet for awhile. Sacrifice in order to win. I’ll end with this excerpt from Steven’s book.

“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt and humiliation. The artist must be like that marine.

He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier or swabbie or jet jockey. Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.”