“Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” - James Baldwin
The Dormer Window continues! Over the summer, we’ve been reflecting on the creative state and its relationship to other areas of life.
I must say, I always sensed there were similarities between artists and athletes. And then after a few readings, podcasts and discussions at a writing retreat last week, my suspicions were confirmed! It’s inarguable, and, so interesting to me.
And so, I’ve compiled a small list for you all.
Artists & athletes are both:
Obsessed by their craft
Driven to push past a limited way of seeing and being, which, Dr. Tomi Wahlström says, “helps humans evolve, physically and psychologically”
Intrinsically motivated. They must possess an inner drive to begin, to continue, and persevere when success and financial gain is rare and usually small
Willing to see their own limitations and try new things to expand their capabilities. They pursue self awareness work to move through this (more on this below).
Comfortable with discomfort, or some might say….suffering :)
In other words all artists and athletes are obsessive, bold, foolish, and necessarily so! Of course this way of being in the world serves a purpose to us all.
I enjoy author Beth Pickens’s take on the artist’s role:
“Throughout history, it’s artists who explained death and the divine to us. They’re our best hope. We rely on artists to help us understand and interpret this.”
If you’ve seen the documentary Senna, you’d find Formula 1 serving a similar purpose. Athletes and artists really do pursue conversations with death and life at its limits.
And it’s such difficult work.
ATHLETES HAVE COACHES, ARTISTS DO NOT
At the writing retreat, some of us discussed having a coach. It wasn’t lost on me how much sense that made.
I once had a wonderful writing coach.
Every week for six months, Chelene Knight held me accountable to my goals, helped me pinpoint where I was getting stuck, and provided techniques to keep me positive and on task. It was a game-changer for a creative project that has been anything but linear and short.
I’m on year 7 of working on my novel. In that time, there have been days where I’ve felt possessed by magic and others where the self doubt has been crippling. Three years ago, after an author and agent assessed my novel, I realized I needed to write a different story, which was both devastation and liberating. Many authors I admire speak of these twists and turns that define the creative process. Min Jin Lee shared that it took her 30 years to write the award-winning novel Pachinko. Anthony Doerr wrote the brilliant All the Light We Cannot See in 10 years.
But how did Min Jin and Anthony keep going as the years of failure and uncertainty dragged on? How do artists and athletes maintain a passionate devotion and exhaustive commitment that flies in the face of a culture pressing the individual to be efficient, and focused on achieving financial gain and upward mobility?
At the moment, I’m in a self doubt period with my story and process. My obsession feels more foolish than bold.
Yet, I will say, I am finding glimmers of hope.
THE ENDURANCE MINDSET
Thinking about athletics and art as close siblings is helping, so too are the words of my writing coach Chelene Knight, who made clear that writing a novel was an endurance sport. She added that, while the craft of writing will get easier with time, the mindset part will get harder. To press on, she said, one has to set boundaries, be transparent and constantly evaluate what’s working and what’s holding you back.
In other words, going the distance and keeping in the game of any creative project requires constant “resets” of the mind, wherein (hopefully) honest and loving conversations of the self occur to notice tendencies and where it’s necessary to subtract something you’ve outgrown while on the journey.
But it’s a war, says Steven Pressfield in his famous book The War of Art. What is holding you back is called Resistance, he says, and you have to face that dragon head on to move forward.
Here’s a 50-sec clip of Pressfield explaining it:
Have I done that? Have I slayed my dragons? Some, yes. Some, I’m still unaware of. And some have recently entered into my consciousness, and I’m in that fight.
And what does that look like?
It’s not sexy, it’s not glamorous but it changes you. A certain level of self-doubt falls away, Pressfield points out. And it’s true. Of course, you/I have to do the gruelling work, and it’s 2-fold, I think.
There’s the mindset (emotional) work, that helps you move more easily through the Resistance, which likes to tell you you’re not capable, you’ll face humiliation, disappointment, etc (my next post dives deeper into this, stay tuned. I’ve been in deep research mode on this).
And then there’s the physical component, that’s all about grinding it out, day-after-day, like an athlete. In Pressfield’s interview with ultra-athlete and podcaster Rich Roll earlier this year, they discussed how creative ideas often draw us closer to our authentic self. Pressfield likes to think of this energy as an underground river running through us. It’s mystical, it’s cosmic, but you cannot get into that river through mystical means. To flow in this river you have to “bust your ass” day-after-day, just like an athlete. Day-after-day, in obscurity, with dogged consistency. My goodness, yes. I recall my interview with Architectural Digest editor and athlete Nick Mafi explored this. Very grateful for this kind of coaching. I need it!
And for those who want to go back to the idea that athletes an artists help us relate to our limited and unlimited self, to death and the divine, here’s a favourite song of mine.
Nadia, this came at the perfect time. Feeling less alone over here.
Amazing Nadia! Just what I needed to read & reflect on post-Labour Day. Thank you for mentioning how personally challenging it can be. Grateful for the people I write with & for your ability to synthesize all the thoughts that are swirling around inside us!