When you’re already moving the boulder, it has a natural tendency to maintain it’s own motion (especially if it’s in a low friction environment). The same could be said for habits, activities and the general routine of your own life.

I’ve been vegan for about five years. Hayley is pretty much the only reason I was a reasonably healthy vegan. She insisted on brown rice and fed me some of the most amazing stir-frys. However, last year I decided to ditch rest of the rubbish I was eating and purify my body. The whole detox thing is a myth (your liver and kidneys are the primary organs responsible for that, and if they’re not working already, you’re probably on dialysis. Sorry about that). I wasn’t detoxing. I just began to eat right.

The commitment I made to my body came with a change in mindset (and some incredible new information. Thanks Dr. Greger!)

When you persevere with something for a few days leading into a week and beyond, you’re more likely to keep doing it. I’ve been eating green smoothies and chomping on whole foods for over three months now and I’m a new man.

This whole process of persistence isn’t just about what I chose to put into my body, it relates to my craft and how I’m getting value out of my day – what it is that’s making me happy.

I sat down on a Sunday afternoon with four women, one of which was our instructor, in a three part short story class over a year ago. My goal at the time, was to work towards building the skills to produce a book. I had been writing about our travels across and through North America. We had been there for three months and we had so much fun along the way. It wasn’t only fun – there was frustration along with people that we didn’t particularly like.

All of this makes for terrific story telling, and I thought I was set.

I have written thousands of words – in fact, I've written the opening and closing chapters of the book along with some of the fillin’ in the middle. But I’ve realised that the point wasn’t necessarily to produce a book, but to create something. All the artists I’ve met are rarely satisfied entirely with their work. Nor do they think it is complete. As a writer, I think the same thing happens in my messed up head. You know it, because we’ve all written something..

that’s not right.. that needs changing.. that paragraph doesn’t connect well enough to the preceding one… will people understand what I mean..

It’s great to be critical of one’s work. It’s gives us a reason to ensure that it does make sense and that we’ve taken the time to re-read the work, edit it and ensure it’s not filled with spelling and grammatical mistakes. That’s one thing that will steer me away from clicking upvote, let me tell you!

But excessive criticism leads to the same paralysis and dissatisfaction that procrastination promotes. Little is achieved and you’re not allowing yourself to grow incrementally.

Courtesy of @itfoolsamonster, a brilliant cartoonist that I’ve recently started following. What a gem. While you’re at it, go check out @thunderbirdcomic.

That boulder I spoke of earlier wanted to keep going. Don’t place rocks and sticks in front of it. And at the same time, forget trying to manoeuvre it through a narrow crevasse. Have a sense of realism with a can-do attitude.

Create that space for yourself – both environmentally and mentally to keep going forward. I wanted to write and I am writing. I am revelling in the process and I have been rewarded with new ideas. As Dante Alighieri himself, invoked his muse in the beginning of his Inferno, I invoke my own muse through effort and persistence.

Right now, my recipe for happiness goes a bit like this:

Drink big green smoothie (kale is magical, you should know)

Go for a good walk, smell the air and breathe deeply

Sit down at the computer and write my little heart out

Sleep well. A tired Nick is a grumpy Nick.

If you think it’s all rubbish, I blame the muse. He does nothing right.

All the best,

Nick.

All content is original.

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I’m still looking for an artist to cover my work on my fantasy saga, Adventures in Elowyn Glade. Please make some noise if you’re interested.

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Acknowledgements

Procrastinating Cartoon @itfoolsamonster