When a writer puts a practice in place, it may be that he writes something every day. Or every week.
Or a painter might create a painting every month.
Or a musician might make a tune every other week.
Or a cartoonist might produce a cartoon every Monday.
One might put a similar practice in place for anything one wishes to do.
An exercise routine. Or an investing program. Or food habits. Or meditation schedule. It could be anything.
The problem with putting any practice in place is that not every article or painting or cartoon or jingle is going to be good.
Some of them will be average. Some may be lousy. Some will be brilliant.
Nor is every workout going to be great. One will be tired some days.
Neither is every meditation going to be calm. One’s mind will be restless some days. Or wander on others.
These are not problems. There is nothing wrong with the writer.
Or the painter. Or the musician. Or with their creative brains. Or their tools or software.
Nor is there any problem with the gym goer or the meditator. Or the equipment or the surroundings. Or their trainer.
These are not defects. This is a feature. Any practice just comes with this bundled in.
“The most demanding part of living a lifetime as an artist,” Anne Truitt observed in her ceaselessly insightful diaries, “is the strict discipline of forcing oneself to work steadfastly along the nerve of one’s own most intimate sensitivity.”
So one should not stop the practice. It will never be a win every time. One wins some, One loses some. The job is to turn up.
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