[box options]Earlier Letters: Read these letters (here’s Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 if you need to backtrack) as if you wrote them.
You are the author. You wrote what you are about to read. You wrote it with your life.
Sounds a bit dramatic, eh? It kinda is.
Live accordingly.[/box]
Dear Me,
Welcome to Day 5 of your creative rehab bootcamp. Day 4 was about Identifying the Surrogates that have robbed you of your creative passion.
- Apathy
- Lust
- Indecision
- Busyness
- Fear
Strangle these bastards.
Hmmmm. Maybe that’s extreme language?
Good.
This should be extreme. This process of identifying why you’re not passionate and what specific surrogates trumped your creativity should be on the extreme side.
Strangle those (insert your favorite curse word here) creativity killers.
They’re stealers. They’re fake. They’re robbing not only you, but even more importantly…
They’re robbing others of the freedom and inspiration your creativity will bring them.
Creativity isn’t about you.
Strike that…. of course it’s partly about you. After all, you’re the one doing the creative work. But if it stops there, it’s ridiculously selfish.
Creativity is about making a connection with others. It transcends time, language, and even the five senses.
So how do you want to start investing in others?
To be authentic and make a true connection, the surrogates must be replaced with the real, the authentic, and the genuine. You’re going to go on the journey of replacing the surrogates over the next four days. Right now, we’re starting with the first surrogate: apathy.
Antonym of Apathy
[box options]apathy – noun
indifference, lack of interest, lack of enthusiasm, lack of concern, unconcern, uninterestedness, unresponsiveness, impassivity, dispassion, lethargy.[/box]
You don’t want to make this complicated. Why? Apathy tends to complicate things (which leads to indecision, the third surrogate).
Simply said…
- Get fired up.
- Swear if you need to.
- Find something to pour yourself into.
- Go 100%.
Days 1, 2, 3, and 4 should’ve gotten you angry. That was the goal of those letters that you wrote to yourself. Go back and read those again to realize where you need to go.
If you’re not pissed off about your lack of creativity, dreaming, and goal-setting, you’re sitting in a jelly-pool of apathy and it’s slowly swallowing you up into its lethargy and slumber.
Momentum
Apathy vanishes when you simply move your feet.
In other words, the antonym of apathy is a verb. Movement begets movement.
Start creating momentum today and apathy vanishes. Guaranteed.
All it takes is a tiny bit of movement forward. Just 1/4 of an inch. Maybe smaller… a millimeter even.
Do you see the ball in front of you? It’s asking you to push it forward. It wants to roll. It needs your help.
The ball has various labels…
+The book you’ve always hoped to write
+The exercise plan you’ve wanted to follow
+The fear you’ve wished to conquer
Just one little push on that ball creates momentum.
Push the ball.
You’ll be surprised how it just keeps rolling.
You’ll also be surprised that apathy vanishes when you decide to just tap the ball forward.
The antonym of apathy is simple: it’s movement.
Now, on to Day 6.
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Favor: if this post got your blood pumping and challenged you, please share it with a few others. Let’s create some momentum and banish apathy.
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“The antonym of apathy is a verb.” What a powerful mantra to live by – not just in regards to creativity. Absolutely loving this series, Andrew. Keep ’em coming and keep ’em edgy!
I’m so glad you like it. I’m a bit shocked when that edgy language comes out of my fingers and makes its way onto the screen.
I’m the same way. I rarely (if ever) use edgy language, so I too was shocked when some choice words made their way into my book. It’s funny, though, those words can sometimes have their place.