Because workaholism is a process addiction (an addiction to a behavior rather than a substance), it is difficult to tell when we are indulging in it. An alcoholic gets sober by abstaining from alcohol. A workaholic gets sober by abstaining from overwork. The trick is to define overwork—and this is where we often lie to ourselves, bargaining to hold

For many creatives, the belief that they must be nice and worry about what will happen with their friends, family, mate if they dare to do what they really want to constitutes a powerful reason for nonaction.

The morning pages are the primary tool of creative recovery. As blocked artists, we tend to criticize ourselves mercilessly.

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.

When people do not want to see something, they get mad at the one who shows them. They kill the messenger. A child from an alcoholic home gets into trouble scholastically or sexually. The family is flagged as being troubled. The child is made to feel shame for bringing shame to the family. But did the child bring shame? No. The child brought

Whenever you are angered about someone else beating you out, remember this: the footrace mentality is always the ego’s demand to be not just good but also first and best. It is the ego’s demand that our work be totally original—as if such a thing were possible. All work is influenced by other work. All people are influenced by other people. No man

By tossing out the old and unworkable, we make way for the new and suitable. A closet stuffed with ratty old clothes does not invite new ones. A house overflowing with odds and ends and tidbits you’ve held on to for someday has no space for the things that might truly enhance today. When the search-and-discard impulse seizes you, two crosscurrents

This guilt demands that they set a goal for themselves right off the bat that they must be great artists in order to justify this rebellion. The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist.

LJ: What should I tell them about this inner wisdom? (Then I listen for the reply and write that down, too.) ANSWER: You should tell them everyone has a direct dial to God. No one needs to go through an operator. Tell them to try this technique with a problem of their own. They will.