Workable #28: The Work is the Work
Focus on the task at hand. The results will take care of themselves.
Last week, I wrote about how the work will never be ready. The idea of “ready” stultifies; it causes stagnation in our act of creation. Artists, after all, must be like sharks: constantly in motion.
How, then, should we think about our work as writers?
Take a more mindful approach to your work. Instead of working toward some future goal, work for the sake of the work itself.
This idea, for many readers, will likely sound a little countercultural. It also, I recognize, won’t work for everyone. Many of us are trying to build something, to create something, to move forward. How can we build something if we’re not constantly focused on building it?
Here’s the thing…If you’re building a house, you need to focus on laying each brick. If you focus on laying this brick, then the next and the next, you will eventually build the house.
Therefore, just focus on the task at hand. The results will take care of themselves.
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