Should I wait, or should I start?
Sometimes, I'm confused about what I should be doing. In particular, with creative work.
"I can think. I can wait. I can fast," says young Siddhartha to the merchant Kamaswami.
Instead, Stephen King, someone who knows a thing or two about creative work, says, "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work."
So, should I wait, or should I start?
And if I wait, what should I wait for?
That is the crucial question.
If we wait for the right time to begin or for inspiration, we might be in for a long wait.
The practice of writing every morning has taught me that action precedes inspiration. Most of the time, inspiration joins the party only once the party is started.
However, we must be ready to wait for the reward. Even when inspiration comes, it may take a while before we get rewarded with what we expect. So, I guess I should start and wait at the same time.
“I don't sit around waiting for passion to strike me. I keep working steadily, because I believe it is our privilege as humans to keep making things. Most of all, I keep working because I trust that creativity is always trying to find me, even when I have lost sight of it.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear