Comfort, Habits and Art

We're more likely to form habits when we're comfortable, when the first step is obvious and manageable. Practicing guitar is more likely to occur if the instrument is kept in plain sight and within reach. We're more likely to improve our coding skills if the computer is accessible, and we commit to opening the web browser. Habits, both good and bad, are formed with small, manageable steps, not giant leaps.

Creativity, on the other hand, comes from discomfort. The art of crafting something and delivering it in a meaningful way doesn't come from comfort. It comes from the hard work of making the decision to show our work and from the persistence, practice and effort necessary to create something worth talking about. The responsibility of the artist is to create something from nothing, without a script. And this comes only from discomfort. The artist is comfortable with discomfort, in fact seeks it...is lost without it. The guitar is placed out of reach to force a challenge...to go somewhere new.

Use comfort to do the work. Use discomfort to create art. Choose wisely.