Why Great Artists Struggle With Self-Discipline

Attempted Impact: Feel less pressurised to be strict or over-prescriptive about their practice, with a little more of a barrier up around non-critical sales pitches of self-discipline narratives that might be limiting. Taking in that concept around self-management (separating tasks/mentoring yourself). Pushing for a confident, softer, more aware approach, ability to let go when necessary, and commitment to enjoy their creative practice and be secure in it (as opposed to reactive) over the long term.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:00 A message on voices used, limitations of my argument, and invitation for criticism
00:05:00 How to be lonely, sad, and deeply afraid
00:09:50 For those who sleep with headphones in
00:16:57 A wealth of incentives for main characters
00:35:03 To build yourself a value system
00:53:20 Working routines (with the wrong hand)

Featured Podcasts/Documentaries:

[adg]

This “tough” Self discipline is living from the mind not from the heart.
Living From the heart is called “Conviction”.
Finding the balance is called Wisdom.

[Jsmoovek]

It hurts to see so many people just fall into a pipeline that’s purposefully keeping them in a grift of shame & humiliation, cause that’s exactly what abusive relationships are

[coreyroberts]

I wrote the first two drafts of my first two novels over a year and a half or so, with fives pages a day. Ultimately trashed them as they were pretty raw. But I learned the rudiments of writing which is invaluable. I’ve completely reworked my worldbuild, and with the experience I’ve gained, the two will hopefully coalesce into something viable. I wrote those drafts six years ago. In between wrote a lot of music, practiced instruments, played basketball, lost 40 lbs and gained it back, read some great series (Brandon Sanderson is the man), went to my sisters wedding, went home for the first time in ten years. Not all who wander are lost. Y’all got this

[coz.y]

We are own best friend so remember to be kind to yourself during the process.

[patrick.hilgart]

You are doing a huge act of service to all artists by creating these discussions. I feel compelled to write my first YT comment, because this was important! Your content is important!

[lonelymobbaoe]

Balance... The key to literally EVERYTHING in life is balance...

[SomberCarlo]

I honestly think discipline is an overall good. But on the extreme end you are basically just torturing yourself and being abusive to yourself. Balance is everything

[KristiProkopiak]

in gratitude for this video. i’ve felt so ostracized for continuously maintaining a beginners mind in so many aspects of my work, approaching with heart above all else. refusing to sell things i no longer love, make for consumption or cater to market demands makes me unbankable. i continue to simply make things that feel meaningful to me… but also feeling like a failure the entire time (as far as external success is concerned). this video reminded me i’m doing it exactly as it should be done, and it’s not my business what anyone thinks, assumes or judges. just keep making. just keep exploring. just keep caring. thank you.

[philosopherstoned]

I think balancing between delusion and living a healthy lifestyle is important for any artist. Be delusional enough to make something you didn't think you had in you, but also live your life and apply yourself to just existing. A lot of inspiration could come from those moments and they will feed into each other. I've been on this "self help" journey, listening to the same guys (Goggins, Jocko) and it's something I really need to hear because the people I'm around are not supportive in the same ways. My philosophy is something I want to call "playful hustling".

[MattiasRayquaza]

I’m so happy you made this video. I’ve been feeling like this for a while & no one seems to talk about it !

I’m so happy you touch on these subjects as I truly relate.

All this self - centered pressure is eating me up & im not alone.

Thank you

This needs more spotlight

❤️

[craigsteyntheartistcraig]

2 days ago my art lecturer told me I'm the next canon in the art discourse of a particular ideology regarding a certain group of people. I immediatley felt anxious and the pressure to produce. I have recieved distinctions for my practical works, 100/100 for exams. I self sabotage myself, because I just can't deal with that man. I find reasons not to work so that I don't dissapoint anyone. Everytime he said this is the next you thing you should do, I don't know how you're going to do it, but I know you can. If a man with a phd in art doesn't know how, how the f must I know. I don't speak to anyone about this anxiety... but I'm assuming all the people that will listen to this... are my people, so I feel okay here. IThe only place I've never been scared to fail was in art... but now I am.

[itsamagain.]

I think this topic is actually super important. I am doing music since a long long time now and up to this day I am super surprised if a song is doing well where I didn't have 5 mental breakdowns in the process of creating it. It's kinda manifested that "if I don't suffer I don't deserve it". And this is so wrong. On so many levels. The worst part is: Literally all of my few musician friends feel the same.

[julianaparra]

I decided to resign from the career and comfort I had to devote to the things I always loved without any certainty I would ever be able to sustain myself with it. I made radical changes in my life to have the chance to work more closely with artists and culture. Very often I'm overwhelmed by the thought that I broke a path of progressive growth to divert into something that is not practical or productive. --- Thank you for posting this video ---. It has helped me to reconcile with the idea that something had to be done for the sake of expanding the frontiers of my own vision and creating some space for new things to develop. Even if it means doing things that seem illogical in this economy. I have no idea if the time and money I'm spending on this will ever pay back, I can't say I sleep at night with a clear conscience. But I'm trying really hard to stop beating myself for diverting from the discipline of building a productive career and reaching the "expected achievements" of someone my age.
If you are out there trying to express yourself by any means, don't stop because it doesn't fit our existing limited real world. Give others the chance to expand into your creation.

[jhusttshepiso_online]

This hits home!! ❤🔥💯 because as an artist this is what I am coming out of, now im finding balance between quality work that matters to the heart. A balance between my creative nature and its ebb and flow with life and its circumstance. A lot of hustlers now will tell you that, you NEED to get your work out there and all, narrowing your worldview by using words like, discipline, motivation, and worst of all CONTROL and all those terms that ACTUALLY take away your awareness to your being and creative force, into a more machine like being. They made me feel like the only way to produce work is to make something out of it and most of the time, the end is a financial one. It made me create a lot more but I became more distant from the artistic plane and more attached to what or who is consuming it, therefore losing all self perspective and connection to the flows of my creative being. We are being hustled to produce because we live in a world that it governed by mass consumption, and the worst part is those who consume, can't relate. Its just pure consumption, on a mass scale, eventually what falls is the quality of the work.

Its not just in art, its everywhere...in our food, technology and general production of anything these days. Its sad because, it all lacks HEART.

Thank you for what you do, its REAL and speaks to who we are and not what we think we should be. Big Up All the way From South Africa💯.

[FlatThumb]

As someone who is going though a sort of creative battle right now, I always love to hear how other creatives have weathered the storm and made it out the other side.

KEEP CREATING AND GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

[hklinker]

I made about 125 public affairs documentaries as a salaried TV producer over 17 years. More or less it was one every six weeks, and I needed 22-24 minutes of content for each. My idea, my research, my interviews, my transcriptions, my script, my voice - I did pretty much everything but the filming (and sometimes that too), video editing, and post production.

The boss always wanted me working on a second story at the same time so I could seamlessly transition from one to the next. I could never quite do that. What I learned over the years was that there were optimum times to tell a certain story and that actually I was keeping an eye (quietly) on all sorts of things at the same time, and as I moved from one story the next one would emerge because it was a good time to tell it. I could never begin to explain that process to my boss. She wanted an earlier commitment to an idea for the sake of certainty and scheduling, I suppose. I preferred an idea that had been brewing, sometimes for years, because it allowed me to learn along the way instead of hitting the button fresh and counting down from six weeks. During those years on that job, everything I did amounted to research and everyone I met was a potential resource. And I can say that I never did plateau.

[jessicarubio]

So many gems in this... "It took time to see a space for yourself and extend a limb into that space." This one particularly hit me hard. So many times, whatever the setting, it can feel like intense, controlled mechanisms are the answer, but actually taking the time to observe and sit in said space for a while shows a great deal of self love and self respect.

Love this video. Half way through and i think this is the best storytelling you've done so far. Great to see the progress and thanks for doing your part here.

[Turtlpwr]

I’ve been trying my best in the past year to slow down, hone my focus, and give myself more grace and not feel so overwhelmed by all the things I want and need to do - it’s caused me to be way less stress and get so much more done

[kevnev]

“Forcing oneself is short-lived. As all things that are insincere are short-lived. If one is honest and sincere about his motivations, he will move with himself, instead of against himself.”
― Kapil Gupta, Direct Truth: Uncompromising

[tanu.wakonyo]

this is such a wonderful video that gives a completely different perspective from the "rules" that have recently come up about "self discipline", "hard work" and others. The time and effort that you put into these videos is incredibly evident and very helpful as a creative. I love your work so so much keep doing what you're doing!!