Artistic discipline

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

I would say that hard work doesn’t make me feel fulfilled. It’s challenging yourself and getting through that challenge… that’s fulfilling.

I’ve dug a plumbing trench by hand before and I wouldn’t exactly call that fulfilling. I certainly slept well that night and my body ached after using muscles I never even knew I had. I suppose it’s a bit like exercise and how you get a boost of endorphins that supposedly make you feel good after physical exertion. Some people even get hooked on that feel-good endorphin rush they get from exercise and it keeps them going. And other people just seem to feel the pain and don’t notice any gain.

For me hard work is getting up at 4:30 every morning. Hard work is raising kids. Hard work is paying the bills. Hard work is self care. Hard work is building a discipline around your art that pushes you to keep going when the world makes it increasingly easier to give up, by surrounding you with endless distractions. Hard work is showing up everyday to do the work you love, even if nobody cares.

But feeling fulfilled comes from the creation of what you’ve been chipping away at. Illustrating two kids books is something very fulfilling for me. And it represents many hours to being disciplined, not to get sidetracked by our distracting world. It required the hard work of showing up to do the work I love.

And speaking of consistency and discipline, I’ve made it to a 24 day blogging streak. And today I just illustrated my first entry into Inktober, where you illustrate using a word prompt for every day in October.