adrian varnam

Ever since I was a kid I’ve had problems sleeping.  Not falling asleep, mind you.  That’s the easy part.  It’s going back to sleep once I wake up in the middle of the night.  My head is filled with such clutter on a daily basis that when I wake up, all I can think about is all the work I need to do when I get up, whether or not I locked my car, what my next facebook status update should be, what I need to get from the grocery store, and what my next blog entry should be about.  It works to my advantage sometimes – I wrote this entire essay in my head from 4:00 – 5:30 a.m. this morning as I thrashed around under my covers trying to go back to sleep.  At this point I’m just taking dictation.

But most of the time it’s absolutely maddening.  It used to be once or twice a week.  The past year or so, it’s only been about once or twice a month.  But these past two weeks as I’ve prepared to launch this site it’s been almost every night.  Too much to do and I just can’t seem to get off the mental treadmill.  The result?  I sort of look and feel like Droopy the Dog at this point.

Usually I have to just stop when all this is going on in the middle of the night and talk to my brain like it’s a child.  “Brain, you know that I love you very much.  Your body and I are very proud of you and so thankful that we have you in our lives.  But if you don’t shut down the chatter and stop trying to figure out the point of Twitter we’re going to have to put you in timeout.  And believe me, it hurts us more than it hurts you.”

The body and I aren’t usually very successful and the brain wins out most nights.  The only technique that ever seems to work, however, is getting my brain, body, and spirit in alignment and focusing on my breathing.  It takes A LOT of work and concentration to do (and I’m not sure if it’s really that effective or I’m just exhausted and resigned at that point that my brain just gives in).  But regardless of the reason, after a lot of determination, and hours, and mental gymnastics, it works and I can go on with my life.  It’s always a battle, but it’s super important that I win out.  My very survival depends upon it.

Being creative, sharing your ideas, and taking chances are all similar fights.  In his incredible book, The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield talks about our battles in overcoming what he calls Resistance (with a capital R) and how we not only need to do the work that makes us happy and creative, we must do the work that makes us happy and creative.  It’s a moral imperative.

I’ll be talking a lot about Pressfield and his book on this blog, to be sure.  It’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read and I can easily say without hyperbole, it changed my life.  I hope you buy it and take it for a test drive yourself.

But in the meantime, know that anything worth doing that raises our value and worth up a notch is a battle.  When our brains want to spend all of their time laundry-listing, or recalling obscure song lyrics, or planning tomorrow night’s dinner, know that it’s just Resistance and it can be beaten.  Get your brain, body, and spirit in alignment and focus.  Dig deep.  Finish that song you started writing.  Sign up for that acting class you’ve been thinking about taking.  Put together the plan for the business you’ve been dreaming of starting.  Begin those children’s books you’ve always wanted to write.  Please.  It’s a moral imperative.

It takes A LOT of work, concentration, and determination to win the battle.  But it’s super important that you win out.  We need you.  Our very survival depends upon it.  And no, you cannot have dessert until you eat your peas.  So, turn around in your seat, stop hitting your sister, and do the work.  Or else.

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