The Happiness Project, Stumbling on Happiness, The How of Happiness and other recent books offer reflections on what makes us happy. While I don't pretend to be an expert on happiness, I do have some thoughts on what makes a happy writer. Guess what – your happiness isn’t as far as it may seem. This week I’ll share how I tap into the joy of writing, even when the writing life isn’t all fun and parties. .

Besides the article, I’ve got several ways to make you, your Muse, and your wallet happy! Check it out below.

To your happy creative success,

Cynthia
 

 

Making a happy moment in Amsterdam with notebook and tea

Make Writing a Happy Habit
Online and Self-lead Options!

This course includes everything I have used to help my clients be successful with in making a long-term and joyous commitment to writing. You’ll love it. It will make you and your Muse happy!

Special deal for Impulses subscribers! Use the coupon code HappyImp when you register to save $30 on your course fee. Join your happy writing tribe.

The Writer’s Success Group is full but there’s still room in the Creative Leap Club. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be offering these small groups, and my rates are definitely going up in 2011. Secure your spot now among the leapers – the early registration discount ends on August 30th, so you’ll pay only $400 to take your leap. Leap in here.

Speaking of leaping, there are a few spots left in the Curious Paris Excursion, October 19 – 25th. The early registration deal ended last week, but as a subscriber to Impulses, I want to extend it to you, plus offer you an extra $100 off if you join us by Saturday, August 28th. That’s only $800 to take this one of a kind creativity workshop using Paris, France as our classroom. Find out everything and reserve your space.

Again, I am not sure how much longer I’ll be offering these kinds of groups, and certainly not at these ridiculously low prices! If you’re on the fence, take the leap. You won’t regret it!
 

Writers - how do you know when you’re a happy writer – when your book is published? When you deposit that fat royalties check?

If you’re waiting for external validation to make you a happy writer, you might pass a lot of your time waiting. And that can make for a lot of unhappy moments as you revise your articles, dig deep for your angle, and add another rejection letter to the pile.

You’ll enjoy writing more if you’re finding joy along the way to those peak moments. Relish the satisfaction you glean from the challenging work of writing. Find happiness in the process, not in external validation.

Because honestly, writing isn’t always a joyful experience. The writing life is full of challenges and frustrations, doubts and fears. It can feel more like the scary forest in the Wizard of Oz than a field of blooming flowers and scampering puppies.

More honestly, in the fourteen years I’ve been coaching writers, I’ve avoided focusing on how difficult it is. I committed to being a positive voice, to encouraging people to go for it.

But for my own writing life, I found I needed to acknowledge the difficulty of the writing path. Doing so doesn’t make it harder, or more negative. Admitting that it’s hard strengthens me.

When coaching my clients through their writing challenges, I constantly weave their values into the process. Awareness of our values invites an engaged happiness that allows us to enjoy meaning and purpose in our writing rather than waiting for external validation bring joy.

Fortunately, writers have the skills required to savor happiness – attention to detail, sensitivity to nuance and meaning, and the ability to articulate complex states of being.

Happiness is…

I invite you to take a few minutes today to dip into your happiness well. How does your writing bring you satisfaction? Here’s how writing please me:

Happiness isn’t getting everything I want. Happiness is the vitality I experience when I reach for my goals. Values honored: zestiness and challenge.

Happiness isn’t being free of my day job so I can write all the time. Happiness is the ability to shift between work and my creative writing – on a regular basis. Value honored: variety.

Happiness isn’t about being perfect or an amazingly talented writer. Happiness is learning and being engaged in a challenge – finding the right word, wrestling with a subtle transition between paragraphs, settling on the right angle for the subject matter. Values honored: challenge, alchemy, and connection.

Happiness isn’t having everything all figured out. Happiness is learning, stretching, feeling those aha! Moments. Values honored: discovery and exploration.

Happiness is finding meaning through a creative medium. Writing, photography, calligraphy, filmmaking help me connect with and express my vitality. Value honored: meaning.

Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that outcomes and external validation have a place in the happy dance. Happiness is also:

• publishing my writing on blogs and in magazines
• receiving comments from readers sharing how my writing impacted them
• being StumbledUpon, reprinted (with attribution!)
• winning awards and receiving grants
• receiving money for my writing.

I know I’m happy when I let myself feel satisfied with my efforts. When I know I’m doing my best, when I recognize that I am expressing my values on a daily basis, and that my words help others.

How do you know when you’re happy with your creative work? What values are you honoring with your creativity?

It was important for me to make this distinction about happiness. Naming my writing course Make Writing a Happy Habit forced me to clarify what writing happiness means. If you’d rather be a happy writer than a grumpy one, you’ll want to join us.

Make Writing a Happy Habit is both an online class you can take with me or an e-course that you can follow on your own. Join me and other happy writers beginning September 13th and watch your happiness flourish.

Remember, Impulses subscribers can take an extra $30 off the registration by using HappyImp in the coupon box at check out.
 

Feel free to use this article on your website, blog or in your newsletter, and when you do, be sure to include this complete credit line:  Copyright 2010 Cynthia Morris. Cynthia coaches creative people to confidence and completion and inspires life as a creative adventure. Visit http://www.originalimpulse.com to get an infusion of inspiration for your art, writing and life.

Thanks to all who have been watching and commenting on Juju Infusion, my web TV show. Juju Infusion can be seen at the Original Impulse blog or at my YouTube Channel.

In recent episodes of Juju Infusion:

• Eating Paris

• Being an artist in Paris

Watch for giveaways, productivity tips for creatives and much more!

Cynthia Morris, CPCC
Your Creativity Partner

Cynthia Morris is a creative pioneer, leading the way for other creative geniuses. Cynthia is a master at helping people bring their ideas down to earth in real ways: books, workshops, new businesses. She has demonstrated how to harness abundant creativity into tangible things with her book, e-products, workshops and tours. Certified as a Co-Active Coach and Leader, Cynthia facilitates group and individual successes in the United States and Europe. Call Cynthia to unleash your genius and make your dreams a reality. More about Cynthia...

Contact Cynthia
303.442.0664
Cynthia@originalimpulse.com
www.originalimpulse.com

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