Doubts regarding my life purpose

[Valeriu]

I have a strong desire to do art. I used to think that was my life purpose, but now, I am unsure.
To do the kind of art that I want, I need to work at least 15 hours everyday. I can discipline myself to do this, but the problem is: is not this going to ruin my life? If I spend minimum 15 hours a day working, there will be no room for self-improvement, for relationships, for journeys, for health activities, for family etc.
I love art, but in the same time I love going to the gym, reading, socializing, travelling, studying etc... Is it worth giving up on all these things, to fulfill a dream and live an altruistic life?
What should I do? Chase that insane goal or find another one?
 

[Ayla]

Who gave you that 15h/day number? 

[Valeriu]

I watched dozens of interviews of people that are doing the same thing, they all said something similar: around 17 hours per day, given that they have couple assistants to help them.
I have tried to do the work by myself and see what if this is true. I completed around 30% of the daily tasks required in 12 hours. It took me so long because I am not at the same level as them, but still...

[Draconis Chaser]

I don't think you need to be working at that harsh pace for a prolonged period of time. Yes, I believe some sacrificies will be made, but  this just seems like an overkill. 
There is a generalized way to improve any skill, and there is a smart way to improve any skill. 
I think you might want to practice art more affectively, and not so much build mileage. 

With that being said, I also believe you won't be 100% satisfied with your 15 hours art/ 8hrs sleep/ 1hr eat life. And being satisfied with your life is kinda the point here...  

[Ayla]

You have picked up two nasty  beliefs: 

1. you are not at their level
2. you need 15 hours to do the work

What about working smarter, not harder? Use your imagination, your talent and your drive to find solutions to ameliorate the process

Set aside as many hours as you feel comfortable with, and start from there. Invest 100% in that time, the rest, use for whatever else is of value in your life.  

[denselayman]

i have met people living on street performing great art/music and be more happy with who they are than friends/collegues/others that still believe money is only safety there is, as well only answer.

if you make your art priority, focusing survival [not 4star or more living] as your second point you can do it in more cases than not.
country you live plays big role for survival, but if you are determined enough, there will be way or rather yet, you'll pave one for yourself!

[Emerald]

I have my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and no professor that I ever had said anything about 15 hour days, and many have them acquired a decent amount of notoriety. There is literally no reason to hold yourself to working 15 hour days. That's 105 hours a week. A forty hour work week will probably suffice. Some probably get by on a 20 hour work week and others get by on a 60 hour work week. There is so much variation to the type of art someone makes, that time will vary. But there is no reason to run yourself ragged based on hearing that some artists spend that much time on it. That to me, sounds like a very destructive belief that will set you up for failure. Start with ten hours a week and see how much product that yields for you. Setting 15 hour a day goal is already setting yourself up for failure.

[MIARIVEL]

Its all about balance lovely, You can't just consume yourself in one thing despite how much you are in love with it.

I was like that in my past relationships where I forgot about friends, took days off work to take care of him, my whole world was all about him. BIG MISTAKE. You need a healthy balance and good time management to be able to do everything you want to do. 

I studied a 6year criminology and law degree only to realise after all that hard work, my life purpose is personal development life coaching. I am in love with what I do now and I can't picture myself doing anything else. I also work a 8-5job, I am studying another diploma in CBT and I still manage to see my friends, run a side business, have time for my relationship, see family.. you need balance in order to live a healthy lifestyle. It is good for developing a strong mind as well. 

[Leo Gura]

Human work performance actually plummets after working 3 to 4 weeks @ 60 hours per week. If you continue beyond that, your work will actually suffer for it and eventually you will burn out.

Don't forget that many artists are neurotic as fuck. It's not a good idea to model your life after artists. Many of them are HIGHLY dysfunctional and miserable human beings.

[Jackthelad]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Human work performance actually plummets after working 3 to 4 weeks @ 60 hours per week. If you continue beyond that, your work will actually suffer for it and eventually you will burn out.

Don't forget that many artists are neurotic as fuck. It's not a good idea to model your life after artists. Many of them are HIGHLY dysfunctional and miserable human beings.

I had this belief a few years ago myself, when I was learning the drums. I had a big plan to practice so much I would have to become expert. Instead I got tinnitus and had to stop. The recent movie "whiplash" actually represented this obsessive drive to learn and master something very aptly. Drummers can be very focused on practice and mastery. People often decide to dedicate so much time on something and forget about burnout. Maybe it's taking the 10,000 principle and trying to shortcut or better it?

I have a very close friend myself who has decided he needs to work 10 to 12 hours a day every day in order to get ahead. The stress he puts on himself is just unnecessary. A lot of it is ego, he just wants to be better (smarter etc.,) than other people. He has done this for years in various areas; it has never worked out as he really wants. One time he had a meltdown taking nacolepsy drugs trying to eridicate the need for sleep when preparing for exams. But I can't really judge him because I am capable of acting like this (well, not as extreme, perhaps) when I desire to succeed and feel like I have wasted time already. My ego tells me I need to beat others or fast forward my progress.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Jackthelad
spelling mistakes; redundancy

[Pere]

Hello, a fellow aspiring artist here, studying a Fine Arts degree!

I think I understand you, since I've been on your same place. There are a lot of artists around who just tell this lies on interviews in order to get others to admire them. A LOT of artists do this, "mangaka", some digital illustrators, and some of the most well-known artists of the history. 
If you really enjoy doing art, and want to make a living out of it, you should be able to be practicing around 4 hours a day. That's what I've done, and if you practice in a smart way you will improve in no time. Also, this days, if you are a good comunicator and sales-man you can make money from your art without being a master in your craft. 

Hope it helps!  

[Jackthelad]

3 minutes ago, Pere said:

Hello, a fellow aspiring artist here, studying a Fine Arts degree!

I think I understand you, since I've been on your same place. There are a lot of artists around who just tell this lies on interviews in order to get others to admire them. A LOT of artists do this, "mangaka", some digital illustrators, and some of the most well-known artists of the history. 
If you really enjoy doing art, and want to make a living out of it, you should be able to be practicing around 4 hours a day. That's what I've done, and if you practice in a smart way you will improve in no time. Also, this days, if you are a good comunicator and sales-man you can make money from your art without being a master in your craft. 

Hope it helps!  

This seems like sensible and healthy advice! 

[Jackthelad]

5 hours ago, MIA.RIVEL said:

Its all about balance lovely, You can't just consume yourself in one thing despite how much you are in love with it.

I was like that in my past relationships where I forgot about friends, took days off work to take care of him, my whole world was all about him. BIG MISTAKE. You need a healthy balance and good time management to be able to do everything you want to do. 

I studied a 6year criminology and law degree only to realise after all that hard work, my life purpose is personal development life coaching. I am in love with what I do now and I can't picture myself doing anything else. I also work a 8-5job, I am studying another diploma in CBT and I still manage to see my friends, run a side business, have time for my relationship, see family.. you need balance in order to live a healthy lifestyle. It is good for developing a strong mind as well. 

From everything I see as well, people respect and value those who have that balance and choose to make time to do certain things in different areas. As you say, I've also given everything to some singluar areas before, and without the healing balance of other ones, you really can feel overwhelmed or unsatisfied. 

[Namo Narayanaya]

I have deep belief that if you work 8 hrs on your goals + 8 hrs handling other activities like ( family, relationships, friends, food, sanitation , meditation, gym, driving, hangouts, what ever you like) +8 hrs good sound sleep= 24hrs  is very healthy life style and good time management, improves productivity, you can attain mastery over a period of time.

[Ben Landrail]

If in doubt, don't do it. For a really fanatical artist, there's no question of choice. They just fucking do art all day, every day.

Whatever you do, if you practice deliberately with 100% concentration, you will get exhausted in several hours.

Also consider this - you will die and even the most beautiful art you create will be forgotten. What do you want to achieve and why? Isn't it better to enjoy yourself regardless of how many hours you put in? 

[DreamSpirit]

You definitely need to have that balance in your life.  Consider how you can do both; contemplate on a life where you do your art, go to the gym, read and all the other things you love to do and still come out on top, producing even more effective art because of it

[Cookiesliyr]

@Draconis Chaser

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

remember, life is an experience, a big one, who said working must be 15 hours? who said you have to do what they do? who said working 15\h a day will ruin your life?

don't focus on EVERYTHING that you have to do IN ALL YOUR LIFE man, you need to focus on what is going on in the mean time. when i was young like 4 till 18 years old i loved video games and couldn't live without them, and my passionate dad who was obsessed with the ideas "my sons should be all be men, REAL MEN" he hated that to the extremes and tried to raised us in a successful way with unfortunately with this kind of logic. discipline, responsibility, and sense of purpose and off this seriousness matter and proven yourself worth ... all have their right times.

beside as some great answers we have, yes there is a difference between healthy life, and some one famous life who was financially successful because he was using some kind of ... dark weapons and methods ... hmmm, have you ever heard about bipolar depression? try to search who was "a creative person" and had that nasty depression. try to study about humans in all kind of forms and evaluate yourself and see what's your true goal.

And yes, check the damn shrink! jk!