Tune out the voice in your head

I am really inspired about my latest drawing. The image on this page is the bottom right corner of my current work in progress. Most of the time I have a vision of what I am drawing, but there are times when I turn my mind off and let my emotions and artistic ability flow onto the illustration board through the colored pencils without thinking about what is going on. It is in these times when I am at peace. When I tune out the voice in my head that tells me I'm doing it wrong or that I am using the wrong color or that I'm not good enough, this is when I have the freedom to draw like I want.

I rode my bike 134 miles this week and my odometer for bike rides in Georgia since January 2010 is at 1,142 miles.  This year alone I have ridden my bike 835.09 miles. I am getting to the point with my cycling just like my drawing where I have tuned out the voice in my head that tells me that I'm too old to ride a bike or that I will never be as strong of a rider like I was in Oregon.  Last night I shifted down a gear because I was riding too fast on my way home.  I have been riding in one gear in my bike commuting so that I can strengthen my legs to prepare for the hiles of north Georgia.  I also wanted to savor the time on my bike as I rode home in the dark.  For me if I can be happy bike commuting in the winter in the cold and dark, what is it going to be like when I ride during the spring and summer on weekend bike events?  I want to remember my training during these bike commutes when I had to tell the voice in my head to just shut up so I could ride.

Being in the now is so important.  Instead of me wanting to be an artist or wanting to ride like I use to ride, I am being that now.  Trying to live in the past or waiting until someday in the futre comes is not living at all.  The joy in my life comes from me being in the present and living into my future that I create.

As I look at my current drawing I have come to realize that here in southwest Georgia I have drawn more images worthy of a museum showing than I have at any point in my life.  I use to think (that voice in my head) that I would never draw as good as I was when I was in art classes back in 1970 when my brain was sharp and young.   As I look at all of the drawings that I have done here in Albany Georgia I can see an improvement in my ability to express my ideas in color.  I also see that I have gained a focus on managing my time to draw and no longer listen to that voice that tells me I do not have time to draw.

You may wonder why I write in my blog and include numbers and statistices about my goals.  One of the keys to getting to the future that you want is to set real goals that can be measured.  How can you know when you get what you want if you do not declare what you want and then make a plan to get there and then measure your way as you get there.  For me I have two goals related to my cycling and drawing.  I want to ride the 6 Gap ride next year and I have an art show in  a gallery next year in August.  Having an art show is a goal that I have always wanted.  I never declared this goal, but when I started being an artist the possibility presented itself.  Sometimes the future that you are living into reveals things that you never imagine, so it is always a good idea to declare to the world your intentions so that everybody knows what you are up to. I can hope some day will come when I will be an artist and have an art show or hope someday will come when I am strong enough to ride 6 Gap, but someday is not on a calendar.  Declaring that I will draw one drawing a month that is museum quality and bike commuting at least 100 miles a week is how I am going to get to my goals.  By measuring myself, enrolling others in my goals and playing the games that I invent to get me to my goals I will get what I want.  I will also know when I get to my goals because they can be measured and are real.

Tune out the voice in your head so that your true voice can be realized in all aspects of your life.  When I make a breakthrough in one aspect of my life that power is available in all areas of my life.  Just as I am making breakthroughs in my art, I am also making these same breakthroughs in my bike commuting and at my job.