Creating isn’t safe

“What does resistance feel like? First, unhappiness. We feel like hell. A low-grade misery pervades everything. We’re bored. We’re restless. We can’t get no satisfaction. There’s guilt, but we can’t put our finger on the source. We want to go back to bed; we want to get up and party. We feel unloved and unlovable. We’re disgusted. We hate our lives. We hate ourselves.”
–Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

It always sets in for me when I’m about to start a new project. This “low grade misery.” I feel it now as I gear up to write my second book. Distraction. Low motivation. Annoyance. Fatigue. None of this matters, and none of it is in relation to my writing. It’s just there. 

The body, the mind, and the soul…they have their ways of keeping us safe. But creativity was never about being safe. It was about bringing something to life for the sake of it. Creating isn’t safe. Just ask God. He lost a lot to do it, but he had to do it, right?

Acceptance is a super power. I believe that, and I think the sooner I accept this “low grade misery” the sooner I’ll get the book done.