WORKAHOLISM

Workaholism is an addiction, and like all addictions, it
blocks creative energy. In fact, it could be argued that the
desire to block the fierce flow of creative energy is an
underlying reason for addiction. If people are too busy to
write morning pages, or too busy to take an artist date, they
are probably too busy to hear the voice of authentic creative
urges. To return to the concept of a radio set, the workaholic
jams the signals with self-induced static.
Only recently recognized as an addiction, workaholism
still receives a great deal of support in our society. The
phrase I’m working has a certain unassailable air of
goodness and duty to it. The truth is, we are very often
working to avoid ourselves, our spouses, our real feelings.
In creative recovery, it is far easier to get people to do the
extra work of the morning pages than it is to get them to do
the assigned play of an artist date. Play can make a
workaholic very nervous. Fun is scary.
“If I had more time, I’d have more fun,” we like to tell
ourselves, but this is seldom the truth. To test the validity of
this assertion, ask yourself how much time you allot each
week to fun: pure, unadulterated, nonproductive fun?
For most blocked creatives, fun is something they avoid
almost as assiduously as their creativity. Why? Fun leads to
creativity. It leads to rebellion. It leads to feeling our own
power, and that is scary. “I may have a small problem with