Do then be.
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Notes
Writer, leader, artist are all choices, not birthrights or fixed traits.
If you want to be a writer, write; if you want to be a leader, lead; if you want to be an artist, make art—”And once you begin, you are.”
This is an antidote to the compliance or convenience that we’ve been taught. It’s uncomfortable, but “that means you’re beginning to see the pattern?
Thoughts
I’m going to admit that Seth’s style bothers me sometimes. The short chapters that offer bite-sized thoughts are cool enough—I enjoy his blog, and that’s what he offers there most of the time. But occasionally the bite-sized thoughts clash or contradict. That’s the case here: “do then be” seems to be the opposite of “identity fuels action, and action creates habits,” etc.
As I mentioned in response to an earlier chapter, one of Seth’s important concepts is “the benefit of the doubt.” It’s something that we can offer another; it’s also something that can be earned through generous acts or work. Seth has earned that from me, with years of blog posts, podcast episodes, and interviews. So I’m willing to consider either (a) he’s doing this on purpose, or (b) I’m misunderstanding (or, I suppose, (c) both).
Identity fuels action isn’t quite the same as identity leads to action, which I think I may have reduced it to in my mind when I wrote “identity –> action” in my notes. That would be (b). Or he may be capturing the insight I mentioned in my “aside” on the previous chapter, when I mentioned James Clear’s notion about habits being votes in support of an identity. The fact that identity and action are in a dance would suggest that one is not really prior; they arise from each other. I have an identity (even if I don’t believe it, even if I believe I’m an imposter) that arises out of and leads into (or fuels) action, which builds the identity, etc.
And that, of course, would mean that both “do then be” and “identity fuels action”—even if they did seem to contradict outright—would both be true, just viewed from a different point in the process.
I feel like I’m nitpicking. It’s probably a symptom of impatience (which I am trying to sit with!) for advice on how to figure out a practice—my practice. Not a recipe; I get that. But I’m eager to bring it into focus.
(To my credit: I’ve already started!)
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.