Drawing is one of my hobbies.
Drawing gives you the opportunity to snapshot beauty. Drawing can generate beauty.
Drawing gives you immediate feedback.
Drawing leaves you with an artefact, proof of your efforts.
Drawing is inherently iterative.
Drawing shows you your limits, every session.
Drawing does not necessarily lead to any destination.
Drawing usually includes an “ugly phase”.
Drawing demands focus.
Drawing demands letting go.
Drawing for more than 1 hour (for me) can be tiring.
Drawing can turn you into a conduit for a spirit greater than yourself.
Drawing can feel like you’re always at the base of the mountain, no matter how much you’ve already climbed.
Drawing is glorious.

Street Fighter is one of my hobbies.
Street Fighter is a game.
Street Fighter is precise.
Street Fighter is PVP, fighting other people.
Street Fighter is a science.
Street Fighter is an art.
Street Fighter is rock-paper-scissors.
Street Fighter ranked is always putting you at the edge of your ability.
Street Fighter has observability.
Street Fighter has clear progression.
Street Fighter is iterative.
Street Fighter demands focus.
Street Fighter demands letting go.
Street Fighter I can play for 3 hours, easily. Street Fighter I can do deliberate practice for, easily. Street Fighter has me popping off at times.
Street Fighter can feel like you’re always at the base of the mountain, no matter how much you’ve already climbed.
Street Fighter is glorious.

I’ve been thinking a lot about deliberate practice and honing one’s craft.

Why do you want to Do The Thing?
How much are you willing to give to the process, before the process even shows a hint of giving you anything back?
How do you survive off the crumbs in between the hits of magic?

How much discipline or belief or drive do you need to stick with something? Vs how much do you need the process to be enjoyable, so you aren’t exhausted after 1 hour, or wanting to bash your head into a wall?

For as much as I’ve thought about this, I’ve never arrived at a satisfactory answer. There are too many hypotheticals, too many competing desires, too many whims, too many possible trade-offs.

What has brought me closer to answers, has always been action.
Do The Thing, and see how it feels.
Do The Thing, and then decide if you want to do it again the next day or not.
Do The Thing, until you start to grow weary or a new spark ignites somewhere else.
And then decide if you want to stick to Doing The Thing, or do something new.

Street Fighter feels good right now. I’m even in the lab, doing deliberate practice and VOD analysis regularly. This almost never happens. So I’m going to keep playing. A lot.

Drawing feels alright right now. It feels effortful, heavy, but still rewarding. So I’m going to keep at it, and see if I can make it light and fun again.