The Ass-in-Seat Principle

There's something deep inside you that's been itching to come out; art that needs to be made, ideas that need to be put down on paper, music that needs to be written, bills that need to be paid (okay, maybe not that!). Everytime you sit down with the intention to create SOMETHING, you suddenly remember that the tub needs regrouting, the car needs to be waxed and the garden needs to be weeded RIGHT NOW! What's going on?

The root cause of all this procrastination is a little four letter word: FEAR. We fear that if we publically express ourselves, we'll be shot down before we even start. We'll embarass ourselves. We won't be good enough. People will laugh at our efforts. So what does one do to get past the fear and do it anyway? It's called The Ass-in-Seat Principle. This concept is so simple that anyone can do it; put your ass in the seat and just do it. Your writing can suck. That's okay. Your art can come out all dark and strange looking. That's okay. You might want to be the next Jimmy Hendrix but your music sounds more like a four year old on a Playschool guitar. THAT'S OKAY. The point is, if you just sit down and start - and this doesn't even have to be at the beginning - you're doing SOMETHING. Things don't have to be perfect, and they probably won't. But you've begun your creative project. You can always go back and edit, re-sculpt, or switch to an easier song. It doesn't matter. You've set in motion the creative process that's been longing to happen and, once started, won't be easy to turn off. And how did this miraculous thing happen? You simply plunked your ass in the seat and started. That wasn't so hard, was it?