PapaSeanski

I’ve been painting a picture of the Incredible Hulk on a t-shirt for a while now. I’m almost done, but I feel like the painting is always looking back at me saying something like,

“Fix this, fix that.”
“That color looks off.”
“The proportions aren’t right.”
“Add more shadows.”

I know it’s not really the painting that’s too picky and unsatisfied; It’s me. All my artwork goes through the same hyper-scrutiny. No drawing is ever good enough, and so, a lot of my work goes unfinished. Before this painting, I can’t remember the last time I drew anything, let alone produce a finished work. Even though the Hulk isn’t coming out the way I want him to, I’m determined to get him finished.

We forget how easily we all produced works of art for our parents in kindergarten. We drew a house and a happy sun in the sky in 2 minutes flat, and showed the drawing off like it was being displayed in a museum. Sometimes those days seem too long ago. Over time, we learn to beat ourselves down, and count ourselves out. We learn to pick ourselves apart and let everything eat up our creativity.

No more of that crappy thinking. While bringing the Hulk to life, I learned a few things.

1. Remember what you have done! A lot of confidence can be gained from remembering past work that you are proud of. If you are fortunate enough to have an old work of art, hang it up. If you have an old research paper, reread it. Maybe last month you wrote a funny email. Dig it up. If you can’t think of anything, ask your friends. Sometimes we are blind to our greatest accomplishments. You might be surprised what other people appreciate about you.

2. Don’t try to impress others! Sometimes it is easy to get caught up on what others may think of your work. If you try to conform to everyone else then you will lose your own unique voice. Being unique is what makes your work appeal to others in the first place. There will always be people who don’t like your work. There’s nothing you can do about that. Just be you.

3. Relax! You aren’t performing heart surgery. Take a chill pill. Have some fun with what you are doing. You don’t have to separate focus and determination from having a little fun.

4. Take breaks! If you are getting bored with your project, take a short break and come back to it with a refreshed mindset. Your project won’t get up and walk away on its own. Pinky promise.

5. Don’t work when you are hungry! This is especially true when painting the Hulk, because he always looks hungry. Don’t starve yourself for the sake of getting something done faster. Your brain is supposed to feed you ideas, not your stomach.

Ok, time for dinner. Want to see the Hulk shirt I made? Stay tuned.

Image by Tedsblog

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

Sometimes I’m at a loss for words when writing articles for my site. The ideas just don’t seem to flow unto paper even though I can write down anything I want. Then I realized, it is not so much that I have nothing to write about, but rather that I’m

Scared.
Scared to post writing that isn’t ‘good enough.’
Scared that no one would be interested in what I have to say.
Scared that my topics are too off base.
Scared that I haven’t revised my post enough.
Scared that I don’t have my facts right.

This can go on forever.

Of course it’s a little scary to post an article that is accessible to millions of people. You are putting yourself out there for everyone to see. But just think, isn’t that why you started your website in the first place? To reach, teach, and learn from others? Take that fear and write about it. Fear is a wonderful topic in itself. Not only can you learn a lot from yourself by writing about your fears, your readers will learn a lot from you as well. They will see that you are a human being with faults and fears, just like everyone else. In fact, I’d bet that your readers will be the first to support and encourage you. Anyone who laughs is a dirtbag anyway. They are too insecure to admit their own fears.

You think you don’t have any ideas, but that’s not true. Writing just seems like a trip to the dentist, prying out stubborn ideas, when you have self-doubt. That’s ok though. Lets channel that self-doubt to the pen.

Take out a pen and piece of paper, and write continuously about ANYTHING for 5 minutes without stopping.

Don’t worry.
Don’t worry about grammar.
Don’t worry if you write something that doesn’t make sense.
Don’t worry about making sentences.
Don’t worry if your handwriting looks like chicken scratch.

It doesn’t matter.

One rule I forgot to tell you about. ABSOLUTELY NO ERASING.

If the same thought comes up over and over again. Write it down over and over again. Draw diagrams and pictures if you have to. The point is not to articulate your topics as best as possible (although that wouldn’t be bad), but to train yourself to just write, to just get used to putting a pen to paper. If typing is easier, then do that.

When I used to teach 7th grade English at summer camp, I would begin each class with the same exercise. The stuff these kids would come up with is pretty creative. I don’t have the actually papers anymore, but a short sample might go like this.

“This sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks why am I here? this sucks this sucks this sucks I wonder what is for lunch if they don’t have chocolate milk I will be angry I want chocolate I want chocolate when I have chocolate I’m the mayor I’m the master of the universe. I’m going to hit 4 homeruns in kickball. I don’t know. What time is it? Time to get my TV show sipping on chocolate milk.”

Then I would take that paper, and ask

“What do you mean you have nothing to say? I want you to write me three pages in detail about what your TV show is going to be about. Master of the universe? I never knew you had super powers like that? I want you to walk me through a routine day for a master of the universe. Make me feel like I know what you go through.”

No topic was too silly or too serious. All I did was ask them to elaborate on their own ideas. Before they knew it, their fear of writing had vanished by the end of the summer. In just 5 minutes of speed writing, the kids had a wealth of topics to write on.

You have 5 minutes to spare. Try it. If you come up with something interesting, email me, or post your session as a comment. Let’s see what we come up with.

Image by Mayr

Torrential rain, monsoons, snow storms, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, it doesn’t matter. I have to exercise outside. Some people think that is foolish. Others think exercising outdoors is not as good as going to a gym. That may be true depending on what you are trying to accomplish, but I love being able to take an ordinary bar and make a gym out of it. A gym is never that far if you are creative enough. Use your imagination and you can turn a children’s jungle gym into a Bowflex. The possibilities are endless.

Do you think the Incredible Hulk has a membership to a gym? No. In every comic Hulk is always outdoors, bending streetlamps, throwing cars, and punching holes through buildings and villains. Hulk got it right. Exercising outside is the way to go. Of course there are pros and cons to working out indoors and outdoors, but as long as you aren’t doing anything and being lazy, exercising is all positive. Here are some reasons why I go outdoors:

1. No mirrors. Go to any gym, and you’ll see everybody spend just as much time or more looking in the mirror as they do actually working out. Sometimes we get too caught up on how we look rather than just striving to feel good. Not only are mirrors a huge distraction, they give you a false sense of accomplishment. After a set or two your muscles get a little pump. Then you look in the mirror, and flex a little. Next thing you know, you are walking out of the gym, because you think you look like Mr. Universe. If you can’t avoid the mirrors, then wear something that will hide your arms. Hopefully that will keep you from just doing a bicep workout.

2. Breath fresh air. We all spend way too much time indoors whether it’s in our cubicle or sitting at home watching TV. Why not enjoy the day and spend some time outside? Sometimes I get tired of breathing the same old, stinky, recycled air. The change of scenery is a welcoming break from the everyday routine of a gym. Being outside helps keep your mental windows open as well. If you aren’t convinced about the outdoors, bring a book or magazine to the park and see if it is easier to read there or in your home. While you are at it, do some pushups every few pages or so.

3. Less waiting time. Unless you are playing on the swings or trying to go down the swirly slide in the sand lot, there is much less wait time outside to work out. There is no waiting for this machine or that machine to get your sets in. Just pick a bar and do your pull-ups, chin-ups, and pushups.

4. More challenging. I shouldn’t say ‘more’ of a challenge, but rather a different kind of challenge. Sometimes I am the only one in the park, just me and the occasional squirrel. You have to be motivated enough to do what you got to do when no one else is looking, when there is no one else to compete against, when there is no one to impress. Outside, the enemy you face most is yourself, especially in the winter. The temperature may drop, but you have to stay disciplined. Someone has to make snow angels right?

5. Meet different people. Exercising outside can open up your social circle tremendously. I have met a wide range people including diplomats from Portugal, directors at ESPN, martial artists, boxers, ex-cons, you name it. Not only do I make new friends, I get to learn the different routines that others follow. People get pretty creative. Just when I think I knew it all, someone busts out a new exercise. By asking nicely, I can have a new work-out partner everyday.

6. Save money. No membership fees. No monthly payments. No renting lockers. No money for transportation to a gym either. Come outside and I will give you a lifetime membership for an unbeatable price of Free.99.

Do you exercise indoors or outdoors? Why? Tell me.