On daily practice, terrible posts, and the permission to start right now. Pottery Dailies post 893.

I started writing The Pottery Dailies on January 4th, 2024. I was inspired to do so by the business philosopher Seth Godin. I came to know about Seth through reading books by Donald Miller. I was introduced to Donald Miller by a friend who recommended his book StoryBrand. I found Donald Miller to be in line with the ideas on how I thought about literature and found a way to apply them to making and selling work. I am a huge fan of the late anthropologist and writer Joseph Campbell. Donald Miller took ideas from how Campbell thought about mythology, religion, and storytelling and applied them to running a business. I found the stories we tell ourselves, each other, and the ones we create are very important.

Seth Godin, whom I discovered later, added that those stories we create can be an act of generosity to bring about the change we seek to make in the world. Seth writes every day as a practice and encourages others to do likewise, just to get everything that we might be thinking about down on paper and out of our heads to make room for other things as we continue on. Seth said that there is no such thing as writer’s block, just the fear of writing poorly. So I decided to try writing each day. I thought that if I could write for three days, I might be able to write for a week. If I could write for a week, I might be able to write for a month. If I could write for a month, I might be able to write for a year. I also knew that ninety percent of the writing would be terrible. However, ten percent might actually be good enough. According to Seth, good enough is good enough to start. After making things good enough, we can work on making the good better.

I tried to apply this mindset to my artwork with the pots. I used Donald Miller’s ideas of finding what my core values and guiding principles might be, and also a good mission statement. I worked out why I would get out of bed and make pots in the first place and listed a few things I would like to change in my own life and in my community, however small or big. I have written some terrible posts for sure, missed days, and had to phone in sick a few times and start over. I have now been writing for over two and a half years, and it is now a practice for the most part. The hard part about a practice, I found, is being consistent. It seems the easiest was the first two years.

I do not write nor make pots because I am passionate about it. It might take a very long time to simply create because it is time to create rather than creating based on emotions or the perfect timing or setup. Nothing will ever be perfect, and the only perfect time is right now, no matter what happened before or what will happen after. When I miss a day of writing, I simply write the next, just like if I mess up a pot on the wheel, I wire it off and start a new one. You end up becoming what you practice. What are you becoming? I give you permission to start right now. Writers write, runners run, potters make pots, gardeners garden, and painters paint. What is stopping you from starting a practice?

If I were living yesterday a second time: I would have written the post in the morning instead of putting it off. Two and a half years in and the practice still tests me. That is probably the point.

Things I am grateful for:  Every terrible post that taught me something the good ones never could. Two and a half years of showing up at the keyboard, which turned out to be enough to make it a practice.

If I get to live to be 86, I might only have: 12,620 days left. Each one of them is a chance to practice becoming whatever comes next. The only question worth asking is whether you are going to start. I give you permission. Start now.

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