Does it take discipline or devotion?
3 chapters…
01.
“I just don’t have the discipline like you, Jodie.” That was my friend, a beautiful visual artist, when we were talking about her latest project. I paused. Because yes, I do have discipline. But discipline hasn’t always been my friend. And I don’t think discipline is what’s fuelling my creative activities right now, at all. The fuel is devotion. Discipline and devotion feel fundamentally different to me. I’ve allowed my creative and working life to be ruled by both at different times, and I know which one I prefer.
02.
When discipline ruled my creative and working life, I stayed at my desk, working, long after I was being productive or effective. I didn’t take breaks, I didn’t pause, I stayed because I was being disciplined. I had long to-do lists, colour coded calendars, plans and systems. I was hustling. I was strategising. I was optimising. And I was absolutely exhausted. What I was creating was solid, sure. But only from a this-makes-sense-from-a-strategic-business-standpoint. Was it feeding my soul? Did it reflect my true creative expression? Was it uncompromisingly, maybe even uncomfortably, what I really, truly wanted to put out into the world? Well, no.
03.
That’s why I don’t do discipline anymore. I do devotion. I show up for my creative works because I believe wholeheartedly in them. I follow their creative rhythms because that’s how they come into their true form. I pause, I reflect, I listen, I receive. I sit in the great uncertainty and see what wants to emerge rather than trying to plan my way through it or shoehorn my creative expression into a shape that makes sense to me or the market. I trust the process. I look after any of my parts who are doubtful, who don’t trust the process, who are freaking out. I’m devoted. Does it feel my soul? Does it reflect my true creative expression? It is uncomfortable sometimes? Well, yes. But would I have it any other way? Well, no, because I tried the other way and it was way worse.
My question for you this week is, do you need a little more discipline? Or would devotion serve you better?
3 endnotes
Never, Not Ever got long listed for Best Designed Young Adult Cover in the Australian Book Design Awards. Woo hoo! A massive shout out to my super talented designer, Christa Moffitt. I knew I was working with the best - and she is the best!
I had the absolute pleasure of being a guest on The One Inside - An Internal Family Systems (IFS) Podcast. You may know that IFS sits at the heart of my fiction and my creative process. In this lovely chat with host, Tammy Sollenberger, we discussed how fiction can serve as a safe space for transformation, how romance novels tap into our true essence, and how the creative process mirrors the IFS journey. This conversation is all about the power of stories—both the ones we tell ourselves and the ones we read.
Here’s a little clip from the podcast where I share about my writing process. If you’d like to listen to the whole conversation, it’s here or on your favourite podcast app.
Until next time, love to you and yours!
Check out that award winning book, right here!
