A Creative Warrior
I have used the word warrior in a few of my blogs, and titles for a couple of my painting series. I find the concept of being a warrior courageous, fearless, and inspiring. When I think about the warriors of today, I don’t necessarily see soldiers (though in their own right they are warriors as well). However, I personally will categorize anyone to be to a warrior. Anyone who is valiant, brave, and doesn’t settle for what’s just in front of them but moves forward to expose the truth, or the need for something that can help us all as a society and/or as a community , in my book is a warrior. There are various types of warriors; my favorite ones are the creative.
What do I mean when I say a creative warrior? A creative warrior is someone who is vigorous, courageous, and aggressive in displaying and/or promoting creativity within their community. I would consider Pollack a creative warrior, I would consider Basquiat a creative warrior, I would consider Maya Angelou a creative warrior, Langston Hughes, Silvia Plath, etc. You know who else can be a creative warrior? You can. Now to truly become a creative warrior you got to earn your medals, therefore you got to go into battle.
Who is the biggest arc nemesis to creative warriors? Procrastination, if you let it, it can destroy the creative warrior within you. By procrastination’s side usually resides General Excuses. General Excuses, will attack you with all the unnecessary reasons for why you can’t create at this time or moment. It will also dose you with why it is not important and then ransack you with self-doubt, nearly knocking you out completely.
Let me provide you with the counter attack and the weapons you need to win this fight. First off you’ve got to knock out General Excuses, the truth is what you want to create can and will have the effect the people you are aiming to affect. It’s not a dumb idea, it’s not worthless, your efforts are not in vain they are Important, because they matter to you. Thus, your first weapon is confidence. Secondly, STOP PUSHING TIME AWAY. You have more of it then you think you have. Remember the blog I wrote about “How to Incorporate a Creative Hour into Your Day?” This is your second weapon, planning! Organization and planning time to incorporate a creative hour into your day and sticking to the plan allows you to avoid procrastination. Lastly, remember your mission. Your Declaration of Intent, this particular weapon can be used really for anything you do in your life. Why are you doing this is the first place? What is your ultimate goal? Here is my impromptu idea for the week: Create a self-portrait of you as your creative warrior self. This could be a painting, a short story, a poem, a song, etc.
“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”
- Lord Chesterfield