Gutter Thoughts 012
How One Stoic Trick Got Me to Stop Procrastinating and Redraw My Comic Page
Welcome to Gutter Thoughts, where I share insights into my creative process and philosophy each week. From exploring big ideas to finding inspiration in comics, books, shows, and movies, this space is all about staying creative and grounded.
Weekly Creative Focus
Whether diving into creative work or spending time learning and reflecting, here’s what’s been on the mind and plate this week.
How One Stoic Trick Got Me to Stop Procrastinating and Redraw My Comic Page
Ever stare at a piece of work knowing it’s not right—but still refuse to fix it?
That was me.
There was a page in Boom Kid Chapter 05 that needed to be redrawn. It wasn’t working. Every time I flipped through the chapter, it threw off the flow. But instead of fixing it, I did what most creatives do when faced with something uncomfortable.
I avoided it.
I told myself I’d get to it later. That it wasn’t that bad. That I had already put so much time into it, and redoing it would be a waste.
But deep down, I knew that was a lie.
It wasn’t until I applied a simple Stoic trick—a mindset shift—that I finally stopped avoiding, took action, and got the work done.
Avoidance Feels Safe, But It Slows You Down
Avoidance is a trap.
It feels like you’re protecting your time and energy, but really, it’s draining both. The longer you put something off, the heavier it becomes. The problem doesn’t go away—it just lingers in the back of your mind, creating unnecessary resistance. And that resistance doesn’t just slow down this one task—it makes everything feel harder.
The only way to break free is to face it.
I didn’t want to redraw this page because I had already put so much work into it. The idea of starting over felt like admitting I had wasted all that effort.
But that’s the mistake.
Seneca said,
"We suffer more in imagination than in reality."
I was suffering in my own head—convincing myself that fixing the page would be exhausting, frustrating, and maybe even pointless.
But reality?
The only thing keeping me stuck was not starting.
Every time I looked at that page, I felt it. That weight. That resistance. That whisper in the back of my mind saying, “You need to fix this.” And it wasn’t just about the page. Avoiding it slowed down my entire creative process. The chapter couldn’t move forward. My momentum stalled.
Avoidance feels safe at the moment, but in the long run, it makes everything harder.
The Stoic Trick: The Creative Resistance Challenge
If you can’t start, shrink the task.
One panel. One sentence. One small step. It doesn’t matter how insignificant it feels—momentum builds from the smallest movement.
That’s exactly what I did.
This week, I decided to follow my Stoic Creative advice. Instead of waiting for “motivation,” I took on the Creative Resistance Challenge myself.
I leaned into discomfort.
For me, that meant drawing in public—a setting I usually avoid. I packed up my sketchbook, went to a local coffee shop, ordered a cup of tea, and told myself:
"Just thumbnail the page. Nothing more."
That was enough.
By taking action—even a small one—I broke through the initial dread. I wasn’t just thinking about fixing the page anymore.
I was doing it.
And once I started, everything changed.
You don’t have to wait for motivation to take action—action is what creates motivation.
Once You Overcome Resistance, Momentum Takes Over
The hardest part of any creative task is the first step.
Your brain resists because it views the task as overwhelming. The effort feels too big, too exhausting, too much to handle right now. But once you take that first small step, everything shifts.
That’s exactly what happened to me.
That first panel led to another and then another. Before I knew it, I had redrawn the entire page.
And the impact didn’t stop there.
That momentum carried over into other areas of my life. Suddenly, I had the energy to knock out some ghostwriting work. I tackled tasks I’d been putting off. I even found myself cleaning up my space and exercising more.
One small action had a domino effect.
And that’s what people don’t realize:
Creative resistance isn’t just about the one thing you’re avoiding. It bleeds into everything else. But the moment you push past it, you unlock momentum that makes everything easier.
Action leads to momentum, and momentum makes hard things feel effortless.
Final Thought: Action Sets You Free
Avoidance makes the task feel impossible.
The longer you wait, the heavier it feels. The key is to shrink the task down to something so small that resistance has nothing to grab onto. Once you start, even in the smallest way, momentum kicks in and does the rest.
After I finished redrawing that page, I had one thought:
"Why did I wait so long to do this?"
So if there’s something you’ve been avoiding—whether it’s a drawing, a project, or even an uncomfortable email—stop overthinking it. Just start.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.
Even if it’s just one tiny step.
Because once you do, everything else gets easier.
This Week’s Creative Sparks
Here are the shows, books, movies, comics, and more that have sparked my creativity this week:
Movie Spark: The Brutalist
I knew this film would stick with me from the moment I saw the trailer. It was the first movie I’ve ever seen in a theater with an intermission, and for any visual storyteller, it’s a must-watch—especially on the big screen. The cinematography is stunning, every frame packed with emotion and precision, but the film lives up to its name. It’s brutal in every sense. I cried during the opening scene (maybe that’s just the New Yorker in me), and by the final shot, I walked away with an entirely new perspective.
Show Spark: American Primeval
My good friend David came through with another great recommendation this week. I’m not sure he even knows I love westerns, but this one was right up my alley. It starts off slow but then takes an unexpected turn that keeps you hooked. I had to limit myself to one episode because if I kept going, I wasn’t getting anything done. My only gripe is the color grading—it feels too muted and dark. For a show set in the desert, the landscape should feel alive, not drained of its vibrancy.
The Stoic Quote of the Week
A Stoic quote to inspire and motivate, helping to stay grounded in the creative process.
“Erase the false impressions from your mind by constantly saying to yourself, I have it in my soul to keep out any evil, desire or any kind of disturbance—instead, seeing the true nature of things, I will give them only their due. Always remember this power that nature gave you.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.29
This quote from The Daily Stoic hit me hard this week. The things that bother us? The things that throw us off make us frustrated or weigh us down? They only have as much power as we give them.
We decide whether to dwell on what holds us back or what moves us forward. When we strip away false impressions—assumptions, insecurities, emotional reactions—we see things for what they really are. And when we do that, the next step is clear. No overthinking. No spiraling. Just action.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Gutter Thoughts. Thanks for joining me on this creative journey—hopefully, something here sparked an idea or inspired your own work. Until next time, stay grounded, stay creative, and keep pushing forward.
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