CMV: Living more healthy would kill my creativity

I don't exactly live unhealthy to many peoples standards.

Probably not true. Lots of people think they're healthy just because they aren't fat. If you smoke and drink regularly, eat poorly, sit all day, and don't exercise then you are by no means healthy.

I like sitting and working by my desk along with a cigarette and a beer, because I think it heightens my creative flow when writing or working on a subject. I simply feel more creative with a lit cigarette in my hand and having a buzz going on.

You are addicted to nicotine and alcohol. You "feel more creative" because you are able to focus. If you didn't have a cigarette and you weren't drunk then you would only be thinking about how much you wanted a cigarette and a drink.

My behavior with drinking and smoking also puts me in touch with more interesting and laid-back people, which I think has a good effect on the creative work I want to do.

This has no bearing on the work you produce. Other people don't control the quality of your work. Only you do.

I think people who spends their energy on staying healthy, do fitness and on diets are less interesting.

This is a matter of personal preference. However, being a drunk doesn't automatically give you some kind of artistic merit. It just makes you another wannabe Charles Bukowski.

I just don't think the troubles are worth it to become a less interesting person and what could potentially make my work less authentic and less creative.

This is a common line of reasoning given by people who are hesitant to start getting fit. The fact of the matter is that the shit you smoke and drink doesn't make an impact on your work (which, since you haven't linked to any, we don't know is any good in the first place). It may seem cool and bohemian to fancy yourself as some self destructive yet truly artistic genius, but most readers get bored of that shit when they leave their college sophomore lit classes.

If you want to keep doing the stuff that you're doing that's fine. But at least cop to the fact that you like it because you're addicted to it and not some lame excuse about how it makes your writing more honest.

/r/changemyview Thread