For me, I make art

The notion of Self used to be lost from the moment I awoke.

Since I live in New York City, often my first thought was, "Oh my gosh, what am I late for?!" After my heart rate calmed down, I would remember my schedule for the day, my first appointments, and then my other "programs" kicked in.

"I should meditate in the morning."

"I should scan the Zohar." (A sacred Kabbalah text)

"I should do envision my day and how I want it to go."

"I should run to yoga."

"I should, I should, I should."

And then one day, it dawned on me: None of these ideas, no matter how valid, are mine. They are all things I was taught to do--for ultimate happiness, ultimate clarity, ultimate success in life. Yes, they are all well-meaning, life-changing, and for the betterment of society. However, from the moment I arise, I am living someone else's ideas.

With this epiphany, I stopped.

I thought: "If this life is for me, then I should start the day with me!" My career, my spiritual practices, my exercises are all important. But they are extensions of what I was taught to do. They are not me, and me alone.

With that thought, I reached for a dusty pad of paper and whipped out crumbling pastels.

For the first time in a long time: I drew.

Art was something I did as a kid without direction, without recommendation, without needing to be "the best." It was the one thing I would spend hours at, pull all-nighters for, and happily collapse on my bed when I finished a piece.

Nowadays, I pull all-nighters for projects--but not with a smile on my face.

The lesson: If I start my day with my own expression, my doings of the day will be authentic, they will be mine. They will ring true.

Your Turn:

Start the day that something that is purely your expression. All the rest will fall into place if you connect with yourself first. Doesn't have to be art. Simply, something that you naturally do--without expectation.

If you do not have anything like this, close your eyes and think back to your childhood. What did you naturally do? Did you burst into song every morning? Did you dance? Did you finish every puzzle in the house?

Go back to that experience and start each day with it. See how the rest of your day unfolds and how you feel.

Other people's ideas and methods can wait.