The ridiculous addictions which steer you away from creative pursuits

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Wow. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for Julia Cameron (“The Artist’s Way”).
She helped me learn to identify and then be honest about the addictions I was stacking in front of myself in order to avoid creating music.

I finally got real this week and saw that the behavior I was indulging in, for MONTHS, was carefully designed to numb me out and make me avoid the painful process of sitting down and setting up to make music (not to be confused with the easy and fun part of actually making it)

My pattern was late night food, documentaries, and YouTube. I’m telling you, to some people, that may be nothing…easily surmountable…but for me, I felt like a butterfly caught in a dopamine web, trapped, fluttering, screaming.

I took YouTube off my phone last week and that helped wipe the glasses of my emotions and I could then see more clearly the pattern of nightly docs and food instead of what I really wanted to be doing.

Anyway, point is, addictions can be layered so that one masks you from seeing the others. Deleting YT off my phone has been amazing. I recorded some very satisfying jams after probably 3 solid months of avoidance. Analog Rytm MK1 + DFAM (clocked by Toraiz Squid to add shuffle).

:relieved::relieved::relieved:Feeling very light today :relieved::relieved::relieved:

Any stories of courageously identifying and then bypassing some addictions, even temporarily?

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#2

My doctor’s kinda made me give up eating shit and drinking alcohol recently and it’s definitely made me realise how much of a problem my eating was and how much I used it to mask other issues.

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#4

I have been making an effort to consume less Youtube and it’s been working good so far. I still procrastinate, although maybe not as much since I started this new approach. The good thing is that my procrastination involves doing short exercise routines, reading a book, relearning a couple of languages, walks, and a little Youtube (instead of all Youtube all day). These keep my brain from dying, haha, in other words, keep my brain engaged and help me focus when it’s time to get back to music.

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#5

I’ve been sober long enough now that I don’t think about it too much anymore, but quitting cigs a couple years ago started me on some real bad eating habits, just traded out addictions I guess. Combine that with a few years of rough health and injuries, and now I’m at a point where I have some answers and should be getting back to taking proper care of myself and I’m finding it really difficult to break out of watching too much tv after work and eating like garbage. I think about it all way more than I try to do anything about it, which I suspect is probably a trap I’m not alone in falling for.

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#6

I’ve thankfully avoided the family history of alcoholism, but I pretty compulsively check here and discord (and I don’t use the term “compulsive” lightly). I specifically avoid fast-moving threads because I can only engage 100% or not at all

Unfortunately, since I don’t have any music friends irl, a lot of my drive to finish things comes from jams and challenges here and on discord. All the challenge and jam folks have been really cool, at least

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#7

I have this stupid addiction that keeps me from doing more drugs and making amazing music called make wife happy and raise kid… I can’t ever seem to kick this addiction and it had absorbed my whole life!! Help!!!

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#8

I have a small suspicion this thread is going to be one of these nofap november support groups.

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#9

In as much that it’s full of wankers trying not to be wankers, you’re probably right.

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#10

I enjoy shit tv, shit food, alcohol and other things that aren’t good for you. I’m fine with it though, balance it with good things and accept it’s all my choices.

I do cut shit out every now and again but chose if to indulge myself in them again. Choice, all about choice

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#11

I’ve started setting the clock for 40 minutes and making a beat every night I have time. I “only” use DT, Live and Push 2, which I all know well.
When the clock rings, I have 5 minutes for mix down.
It’s done wonders for my procrastination. I surprise myself by what I can manage, I have a lot of fun, and I’m left with a feeling of wanting to do more and explore ideas further.

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#12

I am clueless. I just like to entertain myself.

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#14

The real addiction for me is some story I tell myself about being special, as a musician, when I’m not special. I’m no better or worse than a million other wankers, which is fine.

But I unconsciously tell myself all this bullshit: I’m a victim, or I’m an unrecognized genius, or I’m a person whose luck was bad over and over and over and missed their chance at creative success … etc etc ad nauseum.

All these egotistical stories I tell myself are just ways to avoid making music and presenting it to other people … which actually feels good, even with only the most nano level of response. I’m a musician and should make music, like a bird should fly, been a musician (but not a great musician) since I was 14, and other people could always see it … but instead of accepting being in the middle of the bell curve, I want more and all these ego myths get in the way ….
I expect brilliance of myself and freeze up, don’t produce or present as much as I could—because I’m pretty good but I’m not brilliant, and somehow that feels like failure, when it isn’t.

Hope this makes sense.

[edited for clarity, I hope]

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#15

until shitty weather comes: cycling.

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#16

Sports teams, AKA lifetime brand loyalty. Trying to ween myself off

[Edit gif too annoying]

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#17

I’ve been struggling recently

My wife does productive things constantly. Even when she’s watching TV she’s doing knitting, sewing, crochet, pottery or something else creative.

I’ve just had nearly 3 months of doing nothing which also included putting on a bunch of weight and letting my exercise almost completely stop.

I managed to do a jam last night for the weekly challenge and I feel really proud of myself.

Places like this are a blessing and a curse. On the one hand the challenges are a source of great enjoyment and inspiration on the other hand the death loop of checking and rechecking is a big time sink procrastination trap

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#18

It’s ok to do nothing. In fact it’s a huge luxury so many don’t have. To be financially comfortable and in a situation to sit about doing nothing, watching rubbish tv or just chilling with music on is something I’m extremely grateful for. To be able to sit in safety with no huge worries in pretty awesome. Everything is perception and how you see your actions, technically not being creative or productive isn’t impacting the world and it’s our own self imposed judgements that measures the importance of how we spend our spare time.

So basically, don’t stress, chill and enjoy whatever fills your day :slight_smile:

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#19

Purchasing

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#20

This thread. Oh and all the rest of elektronauts of course. :slight_smile:

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#21

Gear obsessing and GAS.
In periods when I can keep that in check, I can make some averagely satisfying sounds.
When I can’t all that time goes on obsessing about gear, deluding myself that I need it, and then buying returning it as the guilt sets in.
Savage.

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#22

Currently Elektronauts and Youtube (https://yewtu.be helps with YT and I don’t really watch it on phone, so that’s good). Also GAS, but recently lack of space on my desk helps with this one.

At least I’m over FB (it kind of did it itself by only showing me suggested and sponsored content instead of posts from groups and friends I actually followed, so once it finally pissed me off). I’m also over GAS for software (I basically bought everything I “needed” and now constant updates annoy me to the point I’m actually thinking of uninstalling most of it… yeah, that was money well spent :)).

1 Like