NickVenturella.com 9-4-16

Happy Labor Day

September 05, 2016

With this being a long Labor Day holiday weekend (at least for those of us in the States), I thought it fitting to share a story about rest.Have you been in a rut recently?A rut where you definitely want to get out of it because the rut you're in is one that is connected to you in a very meaningful way.You feel there are times when you think you're about to pull yourself up out of the rut, you get a rope thrown your way, you start to pull up, you can see daylight then you drop down again into the darkness.That's the rut I've been in as a creative person, and specifically as a musician.With a young growing family at home some of my creative endeavors have been squeezed out in the last year or so. Not purposely; it's no one's fault. It's just certain things have to give when you have the priorities of a baby in front of you.If you've found yourself in a similar situation with a part of you that you no longer seem to have time for then you know what I'm talking about.Then what happens to me is, the more I'm away from my craft the more anxious I get about it - it's like a muscle you need to consistently work it out to maintain peak performance. Then I start to get depressed about my seemingly diminishing abilities. Then my motivation starts to wane, "why even bother to pick up the guitar for 15 minutes when I'll just get pulled away," are the thoughts in my head.Then something has happened recently. I just stopped. I stopped worrying about it so much. I decided I needed to simplify my mental approach - between family, work, freelancing then feeling tired and exhausted at the end of the night when I most likely could have a half hour to myself to do something - I just decided to not do anything but rest.I just recently got to spend three days off with my oldest son before he started the new school year, and I didn't really get online, I didn't do work on my day off like I normally end up doing. I was just in the moment with my son.I thought, "will the world end if I beat myself up for not doing all of these other things that are on my mind that I think I need to be doing, including honing my creative craft?" ...and I realized in those three days that my world didn't end. In fact, the weight of my own manufactured anxieties began to lift. I had some level of clarity and mental breathing room.Since those three days, I haven't forced myself to do anything that fuels those anxieties I previously held - totally easier said than done, but I'm working at it, and I feel better about it.I'm also finding time to play guitar and in some ways start over honing my craft, but it feels like the right rope this time to pull me all the way out of the rut.My advice this Labor Day weekend...breathe out. Let things go. Be in the moment with those you care about and who care about you. You'll be surprised by the clarity you'll gain.Enjoy your Labor Day. Be safe.

As always, thank you for your time and attention.