[dc]I[/dc] listened to the Nerdist podcast episode with Paul Dini (writer for Batman: The Animated Series, and more), and something he said really stuck with me (the episode is worth a listen, Dini talks about being beaten by muggers when he was younger and the change it had on his life. It’s the subject of his new graphic novel, Dark Night).
Dini’s new graphic novel, Dark Night. Image via Amazon.
Dini talked about rewarding yourself. Specifically, how in your adult years “parenting” yourself is difficult and we are quick to reward ourselves first, without doing anything to merit such a thing.
For example, playing video games for a few hours instead working on writing (or insert whatever you have to do but don’t want to), ordering a pizza instead of trying to cook something healthy, or staying in instead of going out with friends or family.
It is a good discussion. It really made me think. I’m certainly guilty of this. I know I have stuff I should work on (comics, my in-progress novel¹, things around the house), but I’ll opt to play video games, or watch another episode of something on Netflix or Hulu.
Dini talked about the voice in our heads convincing us to take the easy (or lazy) route, represented in Dark Night as the Joker, saying No, it’s fine. You don’t need to work on anything! Just take a nap! I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the basic idea. I picked up a copy of Dark Night last week, and I highly recommend giving it a read.
The opposite voice, the voice in our head which makes us do stuff is Batman: The hard-ass, the drill sergeant, my dad when I was younger, and so on. In Dark Night, Batman appears to Dini, and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to telling him get his life together.
Dini’s concept of the Joker “voice” and rewarding ourselves without merit reminded me of a helpful book I read, The War of Art. It’s a self-help book of sorts for creatives, but it can apply to any part of everyday life. The author of War of Art, Steven Pressfield, has a name for the Joker voice too. He calls it Resistance.
Resistance wants us to fail and tells us it’s OK to slack off. Pressfield says to get stuff done (write our novel, stick to a new diet) we have to stand up to Resistance and say No. I won’t give in. It’s all about willpower and fighting against habits and urges. I will say, when I focus on Pressfield’s advice, it does help.²
I thought about what Dini said the other day when I had a block of free time at home. Part of me just wanted to play Uncharted 3³, but deep down I knew I wanted to—and needed to–practice drawing.
So, I put on a record (yes, a real record. Band of Gypsys), dug out my Preston Blair animation book, and focused on honing my skills for a bit, instead of rewarding myself first.
Work, then reward yourself. I’m a believer in taking breaks and rewarding yourself, certainly, but I also know from experience the reward feels a bit better when I’ve done something to earn it.
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¹ I started working on it again after a year off after reading this inspiring blog post by author Chuck Wendig (Star Wars: Aftermath).
² I’ve used to this help me get through the times when I’m feeling down, too.
³ I finally finished Dragon Age II, after playing it for a year (I think). I realized I needed to finish Uncharted 3, which I put on hold to start Dragon Age II last fall.
