At The Water's Edge
Motoring
Motoring (as in using the motor in a sailing yacht rather than the wind and the sails) is a term I coined in the At The Water Edge Story for when you're pushing constantly towards a goal. It's something that I'm very prone too.
I've noticed that when I am motoring, my intake of "rubbishy" foods goes up, my alcohol intake goes up and my inclination to do exercise goes down. I seem to develop tunnel vision where the goal is the only thing that matters. To use another analogy: it feels like you've got the "foot to the floor" all of the time.
If I'm motoring and trying to do something creative, the result usually feels "forced" (unsurprsingingly). I think it might be akin to what writers call "writers' block".
An alternative to motoring is sailing. This is where you seem to be "in tune", everything is turning out right and falling into place and is happening easily. This has happened to me fewer times than when I've motored but is happening more often recently.
I think we have an inclination to motor out of fear. We want to get to our destination as soon as possible. We want to feel secure.
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