What I Learned Before 2018

Another year has come and gone. I’m doing my art thing, and luckily I still love it. That being said, it can be quite challenging at times.

I seem to learn a big lesson every year, especially through the chaos that is the holiday season. This year was no different, although I would prefer to learn my lessons without feeling like I am dying. I came down with what felt like a small case of the black plague in which I was pretty much incapacitated and struggled to move, let alone work.

Because I am hard headed, I pushed through it and got to work in the studio. Which always ended in me feeling worse and crashing. The next morning I would feel slightly better or worse and I would push myself again. This pattern continued for several days, until I just couldn’t push at all.

To my surprise my internal conversation had become vicious. I felt like I was a worthless waste of space because I wasn’t working.

I paused for a moment to evaluate my thoughts.

I realized that I was pushing myself hard because I was afraid that if I took time off, I would cause irreparable damage to my art career.

So here is what I learned from that experience:

1. If you’re sick, take care of yourself, the hell with work.
2. If you love what you do, be careful not to turn it into work.
3. The world will be fine if you take some time off.
4. Working hard is not the same as working smart.
5. If you start taking yourself too seriously, stop.
6. Just have fun, life is too short to be caught up in seriousness.
7. Don’t try to impress anyone, you’re already impressive.
8. You’ve got nothing to prove, just follow your heart.
9. I love chicken soup, lime, and cayenne pepper when I’m sick.
10. It’s OK to binge watch Netflicks when you are ill.

Yup… life changing if you ask me 🙂