The burden of daily creativity

Today I’m thankful for the burden of daily creativity.

In 2018 when I took on my first 30-day blogging challenge, I did it in November. This means at a certain point on Thanksgiving, I slipped away to write a short blog. In 2019, my 60-day challenge was in November as well, so I wrote on Thanksgiving again. The same thing happened in 2020 during my 100-day challenge, and in 2021 during my 365-day blogging challenge. And today, in the middle of another 365-day challenge, I’m writing on Thanksgiving again. 

As a younger creative, I would have hated the idea of making anything on a holiday. The resistance loves holidays. It loves the built-in excuse to kick back, to let the streak go. “Not today,” it says. “Today, you’re off the hook.” 

But just as the committed runner needs a little exercise to center their mind before a hectic holiday, so the committed creative needs a moment to do their work, so they feel grounded, having more to give on demanding days like these. 

I write helpful blogs for freelancers and creative people—but I do it for myself. I do it because I love it, because it helps center me, and because it fills my cup. It helps me give more throughout the day, knowing I’ve already stolen a few minutes to do what I love the most. 

Now, I’m off to wrestle a turkey, bake a pie, and tell some bad jokes. Wish me luck. In the stressful moments ahead, I’ll be thinking back fondly to the ten minutes at my keyboard, hacking away at the empty page, pushing the blinking cursor forward into the void.