The Artist’s Way: Week Ten Reflections
August 26, 2025
Hi! It has been a minute since I’ve been on here. In the last post I wrote, I was only just beginning The Artist’s Way workbook, and now I am almost done with week ten. It has been a crazy journey so far. Here’s what I’ve been up to…
the morning pages
The first few weeks I LOVED the morning pages. They released my brain from so much junk I had no idea I’d been carrying around. I was feeling lighter than ever.
Not only did I feel more free, but I was discovering parts of myself I had long ago buried beneath shame, fear, and guilt. Some of these parts I hadn’t seen since I was seven. Meeting her again felt like I’d taken off sunglasses and my life was bright with possibilities again.
I’d forgotten how much I loved to dance, sing, and even act. How I could look at any problem completely fearless—“nothing is impossible”, I’d always say. Through the morning pages, I was able to connect with the lighthearted part of myself that really, is the true me.
the artist dates
The artist dates have been so fun. Although I do have to admit, they’re usually the first thing I start to skimp on. Maybe it only has to be just thirty minutes, or maybe my daily walk around the lake can count today…
It’s interesting how resistant we can be to change even when it is good—even fun!—change.
When I did stick with the artist dates and truly planned something fun for myself, I always had the best time. I’ve done things like take myself out to dinner and a play, gone to the art museum, and had a picnic at the park. My favorite date is probably when I went to the movies and packed a blanket, a pint of ice cream, and even wore my pajamas.
near defeat
Week nine nearly took me out. I almost gave up on the whole thing. And you know what it was? One of the activities for this week was to read through our morning pages. All of them.
By this point, I had already filled three full-sized notebooks at 90 pages each. But I tried, I really did. I wanted to do absolutely everything this book told me to do to reap the most benefits possible. And so one morning I gathered my notebooks, a couple pastel highlighters, and got cozy on my bedroom floor.
I made it through four days worth of morning pages before I just couldn’t anymore. Those twelve pages took me over an hour! Imagine going through 180 pages!
I understand the point of this exercise, but for me it was more triggering than I expected. Reading through some of the things I was going through and had experienced many months ago was very difficult. It brought up all those emotions and I had to relive it all.
In the end, I decided that this particular exercise just wasn’t for me. I was doing all the other work and making huge changes in my life that I was really proud of.
making changes
It didn’t take long for the morning pages to inspire me to make some pretty big changes in my life. I had gained an intense level of clarity I hadn’t felt in years.
Within the first few weeks, I signed up to volunteer as backstage crew at my local theatre, committed to weekly singing lessons, acted in a commercial, and registered for a summer dance class that met twice a week. It was all heart. I had reached a point in myself where I didn’t need to overthink and ruminate about my next move. I just moved. I danced, I sang, I flowed with life.
Throughout this summer of experience, I grew as a person in ways I never had before. Pushing against my boundaries of comfort strengthened me. Doing things that terrified me made it to where the next thing wasn’t so scary. It’s like I was walking up the staircase of my fears and things that used to seem so far away, so high and unreachable, were now just beneath my feet. I was in control. I had gained my power back.
Fear and anxiety would no longer rule my life. Fear and anxiety will no longer rule my life. Of course, I still feel the feelings. The rushing heart rate, the shortened breath, the sweaty palms. We’re only human. But now I can grasp that feeling and set it aside, just long enough to do what I need to do.