artisan

I’m more than aware of my dependence on social media as a means of connection. I don’t spend a lot of time scrolling these days because I’ve got some manual / analog projects to take my focus away from that which is… not real… mostly bullshit.

That’s not entirely true…
The not scrolling as much is true, but since I started removing superfluous rage-bait and polarizing views from my feed, and replacing those things with photos and discussions between people who are actually doing things on their own, while trying to connect with others doing the same. That helps… to be able to lend advice or help someone who is struggling to understand a concept I learned, and to similarly be provided the same from other people further down the road than me, is it’s own reward.

That might be the closest I’ve been to ‘gift without reciprocation’ in a long time, which is the ultimate act of service, really. To help someone without them really even knowing who helped them.

I digress… I am much happier when I am doing something.
Making records. Writing songs. Building guitar pedals. Writing in this blog. Beating myself up at the gym.
These things have a lot in common, not the least of which is a consistent practice.

The conversation of ‘motivation’ comes up from time to time with people, and the response is always “It’s not motivation. Motivation is a temporary fancy, and when motivation moves along, discipline takes over.” Though; if I’m being honest, sometimes discipline and stubborn persistence kinda look the same.

This coming week I have 2 different mornings where getting a workout is going to be a challenge and/or likely not happen. Byt the second one, I’ll be entering the “no! fuck you! I’m going to the gym!” phase, and I’ll be trying to finesse things so I can get 5 x 90-minute sessions in.
I’ll probably settle for 4.
3 is not something I want to do.

Beyond that is a skill level that is always building, and material knowledge that is constantly growing.

This is where I tend to think that as someone on the autism spectrum (AuDHD, if you’re interested) I am able to zero-in on the practical knowledge and learn a lot in a short period of time. However,there is a patience I have, as someone with ASD, and a patience I lack, as someone with ADHD… and my personal history will dictate that I am capable of building and following a plan, but and prone to hitting that ‘home stretch’ before running for the metaphorical finish line… where I will figuratively trip over my own shoelaces and fall on my face.

But I get back up.
And I fix it.
And I keep building.

They say you have to be “happy where you are” and as long as I am in a state of learning and growth, I am at my happiest. Problems don’t bother me much, because although I can lose patience on occasion, I know I will eventually understand how to correct any problems. I WILL get it. It WILL be okay.

This is how you get good.