Doing the work even when it sucks requires discipline.
So how do you practice discipline?
By doing things just because they’re not easy.
Yesterday was the last day of my seven week fast.
No meat, fish, dairy, eggs, nothing with added oils or sugars, nothing artificial, no alcohol or other kinds of drugs (except the gym)…
I do it every year now.
I’m not religious and it’s not about health for me.
I do it to practice self control.
Temperance.
One of the four great virtues of the ancients.
We’re trained to prioritize instant gratification and comfort over discipline and hard work. We’re told to let our emotions dictate our actions.
Here’s the thing. Our emotions are terrible at guiding us.
For example. I often don’t feel like making music. If I start anyway, 15 minutes later, I will often feel the opposite. And something good can come out of it.
How reliable are my emotions at guiding me toward what I actually wanted?
Not very.
Happens to me all the time.
In music and art especially, we face barriers and excuses at every turn.
So we have to build self-control.
Do something difficult simply because it isn’t easy.
Learn the discipline to face things calmly.
The better we get at it, the less we care about our petty emotions.
Ideally you don’t even make it a thing. You do what you know is right and that’s that.
Most of us are soft (myself included). There’s ways to go and it’s not always fun.
But we reap what we sow.