Sticktoitiveness
The practice of purposeful persistence.
As promised,
Sticktoitiveness
Purposeful persistence is one of the most powerful pursuits to practice. It is the very backbone of an artistic life and any other kind of life. It is very simple but it is not easy. It is the practice of one-pointedness. In the Buddhist tradition this is called Ekaggata. This is a practice of concentration in vipassana style meditation.
I became an initiate in a Sufi organization back in the late 1970’s that was founded in Europe in 1910 by an Indian mystic and musician by the name of Hazrat Inayat Khan. How I became involved in this organization is a story by itself but the main point is that one of the central early foundational practices as an initiate is based on the discipline of the mind through concentration, contemplation and meditation.
While I am certainly no master of any of the three of these disciplines, I have practiced and continue to practice them to the best of my limited ability and willingness. I will say that without some measure of these mental disciplines it is not possible to develop a strong practice of stick-to-itiveness.
Any artist is always knowingly or unknowingly developing and honing these attributes just by virtue of developing as an artist. But at the same time, if one can be clear about this development enough to make a program for oneself to consciously develop deep mental discipline in a purposeful way all the better.
When an artist recognizes that this is their path in life one has to make a conscious commitment at some point to hold one’s artistic practice as the center of one’s intention and then build everything else around that center. This is what makes a creative lifestyle. It cannot be a side project. It has to be the main project around which everything else turns. Around this committed center is how an artist prioritizes the activities of their daily life. Then it is possible to build that life and gives purpose and rational to develop the skills and disciplines necessary.
To build one’s creative lifestyle is like building anything. You have to start with a blue print, a plan. At first perhaps you are just building a little hut in your mind but as you develop and gain confidence you will start to think on a grander scale. But it is always good to start with small achievable goals, develop routines, and experiment. Don’t project out to the ideal, it is a mirage that seems unachievable. This holds many back. The ideal will shift and change over time as you develop. Right now, today is the only real concern. What can happen between now and when you go to bed this evening? That is the only question. In the morning you start over.
Purposeful persistence, stick-to-itiveness is based on the commitment to the goal of heading toward a goal today and every day with purpose and persistence. Start somewhere and keep going. That’s the goal. Then things start to open up, things that were not there before start to manifest themselves. You cannot plan for the things that do not yet exist, but you can prepare yourself for whatever comes through the strength of your resolve to keep going. (539 words)
Very something - very, yes!! Even when I had a full time job job , as I call them, and I’ve had many non Art making related ones, I kept in my head that I was still and always an artist. And I made art work every day in my head as I drove endless boring miles to an appointment or training event. When I finally had the opportunity to get back into my studio, I had lots of references, self references, from which to great work. So keeping in mind our essence is so YES!!
I love the idea of our practice becoming the center of existence. That may seem extreme to most people who are not artists but probably resonates with those of us who are artists. There is a great sacrifice that comes from adopting this mentality but truly is the only way to live a long and successful career in the arts. I don’t think many artists know this from the start or they probably wouldn’t pursue art. It isn’t until art becomes a critical part of our existence that we arrive at the notion that it’s the most important part of our being.