Progress, Practice, Process, and Purpose
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
I recently reviewed Eric Maisel’s new book, The Coach’s Way. It’s a great introduction to the coaching process, whether you’re formally or informally coaching other people, or want to be a better self-coach.
Last week I mentioned one concept from the book, think thoughts that serve you. Simple, but how many of us fill our days (and minds) with doubts, fears, complaints? If you’re going to create consistently, it’s important to keep the negativity in check.
According to Maisel, it’s also vital to focus on 4 other attributes of creative work: Progress, Practice, Process, and Purpose.
Progress, of course, is what we all want to make. If you’re writing a book, you want those pages to pile up. In order to make progress:
You define what progress you want to make – you don’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.
You decide the series of smaller steps that will get you to the Big Goal – writing for 15 minutes a day consistently is better than saying you’ll write for an hour and never doing it.
You prioritize taking those steps on a daily (or near-daily) basis – you make the decision to take action, and follow through.
Of course, progress is not a given, even with the best of intentions. Life gets in the way. Your own personality (negative self-talk, doubts, fears, or your ego) gets in the way.
Also, our idea of what progress looks like gets in the way. We can be so focused on getting to the goal we miss the joy of actually being present to our work and life. Yes, take action. But don’t be so adamant that there is only one way forward, or that only one thing counts as “progress.” Allow yourself to enjoy the creative journey!
And also, be aware of the ways in which life or your own personality can sabotage your best intentions. Actively plan for what you will do when that happens.
Practice is necessary if we’re going to make progress, especially in terms of skill. Writing itself is a form of practice; reading can be as well. Watching films and tv can also show us different possibilities of storytelling. Deliberate practice – working on specific craft elements we know we’re weak on, through craft exercises or focused attention in our work – is crucial as well.
Process refers to paying attention to the creative process itself. Allow it to be as messy as it needs to be. This can be difficult. We want to impose our own process and order, but it’s often counterproductive. We need to let things flow, to daydream, to not hold so tightly to ideas of impossible perfection. It can also refer to the processes we develop to aid us in our writing. Especially when editing or revising, having a process that enables us to go deep and make the work as good as it can be will save a ton of time and heartache.
Purpose is the foundation of creative work. It’s our deepest Why. Why do we write at all? Why this particular story? If we don’t have a sense of purpose for our writing, it will be pretty hard to do it consistently, through all the ups and downs of the creative process and the marketplace. Maisel points out that this doesn’t mean one, overarching, Life Purpose that we hold sacred; in reality, our purpose is defined by the choices we make every day.
Are your choices, your actions, your words, your beliefs, aligned with your purpose? If your purpose is to write books that touch people deeply, or entertain them, or help them deal with some issue in their lives, then your purpose is to write it. If you consistently choose not to write – to allow inner and outer demons and distractions to take over – then you are denying your purpose. Deny your purpose long enough, and depression sets in. It’s no great mystery.
Small choices, made from a sense of alignment with purpose. Small actions, taken consistently. These are the building blocks of the creative life. Take a look at your life today, and ask yourself these questions:
What is my purpose as a writer? As a creative human being?
How do I relate to the creative process?
How do I practice my craft?
How do I define progress?
How can I better align my purpose, my process, my practice, and my progress?
Feel free to comment on how any of these manifest in your writing life!
And if you’re interested in learning more about creatively coaching yourself or others, pick up a copy of The Coach’s Way.
