Cynthia Morris

Another dose of creative juju in my weekly web TV show, Juju Infusion!

Quick links for things mentioned in the show:


Rhiannon Connelly of Starry Blue Sky

Article about Carl in the Boulder Daily Camera

Wild Heart Dancing by Eliot Sobel

Original Impulse Inc.

Welcome to episode five of Juju Infusion. Thanks for all the comments and support you’ve shared with me. It makes it that much more fun.

Enjoy this wee pause to inject an infusion of Juju – good, zesty creative energy – into your day.

In this episode:

• Paris Juju Shrine
• The Carl Show! Carl breaks news in Boulder, does magic at the table and asks good questions.
• Things I Love: Two Balls in a Sock
• Q&A: What’s the biggest block creatives face and how can they get over it?
• Journal Juju – Last week’s winner of the journal juju giveaway* was Kathy Loh. Who is it this week? Watch to find out!

   
*Winners of the journal juju giveaway must contact me with your address so I can mail your journal. Without that, I can’t send your journal!

To your juju infusion,

Cynthia

(There are no paid endorsements in this episode. Other than my own. Original Impulse Inc. pays me to do this silly show.)

You’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In a nutshell, as humans, our basic needs are: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization.

Parisian pastries aren’t on the list, but we like them anyway, especially on Valentine’s Day.

Creative people, those who are making things – books, businesses, design, art – have additional needs. Recognizing these needs and making sure they are met are essential to applied creativity.

When we don’t acknowledge our needs, we’re allowing life to dictate our experience. Knowing your needs and being willing to take action to make sure they are met will make the already challenging work of creating much easier.

Over ten years of coaching and almost twice that time creating things myself, I’ve identified ten needs creative people have. But unlike Maslow, I don’t prioritize them. Each person will have their own hierarchy for these needs and will also have their own needs to add.

Here they are:

1.    Need for creative space, as Virginia Woolf called a ‘room of one’s own’. Depending on what you’re creating, you may not need as big a space as you think you do. Write or draw out your ideal space and then assess how you have elements of that in place now.

2.    Need for creative peers. When you’re on the leading edge of creativity, you need other creative people who understand the risks you’re taking and who encourage them. We need creative peers to talk, share, spark insights and ideas and to encourage us. Commit to connecting with people who ‘get’ you more often. This is one of the most common reasons people hire me, because I ‘get’ them and what they are trying to do.

3.    Need for creative fuel. In her book The Artist’s Way Julia Cameron calls this need ‘filling the well’. I get so inspired when I am out in the world seeing what other people are doing. A favorite source of inspiration for me is museum shops.

The Tate Modern shop blew me away and gave me an idea for my work that I love. You can draw inspiration from books, magazines, blogs art galleries, and other well filling activities. Wherever you get it, get it often.

4.    Need for imaginative space. This is different than physical space. It’s the time we need for noodling, doodling, wandering, and gathering thoughts. While it appears to be the antithesis of productivity, it’s actually vital to a productive creative cycle. Don’t pack every moment full of activity.

5.    Need for the body to be expressed. We’re out in the ethers most of the time, us artists. We need to remember to take good care of our bodies by walking, dancing, practicing yoga, playing tennis, or whatever moves you regularly. I receive so many of my ideas when I am exercising. Get moving on your terms, but get moving.

6.    Need for your creative edge. Solving problems, pushing boundaries, developing something new is at the heart of the creative process. Rather than despair about how difficult it is to write a really good article, embrace the challenge of your craft.
While you’re at it, embrace the challenge of your creative industry. For instance, publishing a book traditionally seems nearly impossible these days. Take that challenge on by either figuring out the publishing game or self-publishing. Relish the creative edge – you need it.

7.    Need for ample amounts of faith and belief. When we’re making something from nothing, we need to be able to rely on faith and belief in ourselves and our work. Without this we can operate from despair and give up before our work is complete. Tap into your belief that you are on the right track, and do it often.

8.    Need to have our work responded to. Whether it’s ego or a deep desire to share your creative work, most of us need for our work to be seen and received by others. This will vary for each person, some wanting just close friends to see our work, others wanting a wider audience.
Just be sure to get feedback from the right people at the right time.

9.    Need for certainty. Ironically, one of the needs for artists is the ability to live in uncertainty. Traveling the creative path can make you feel lost most of the time. That’s why certainty in other areas of life: home, relationships, income, can help you have a sense of being held while you soar.
Have some rootedness so you can be ‘out there’ as much as you need to.

10.     Need for time. This seems to be the need that people struggle with the most. If you never get any time alone to work on your art, your life will be filled with other people’s ideas and thoughts.

Make choices that allow time for your art. The laundry, your e-mail, your garden will all be there an hour later, after you have spent time with your art.

Again, I did not prioritize these. While I believe we all share these needs, everyone will have their own sense of the needs’ hierarchy.

In a comment below, tell us which needs have priority over the others, and add a need you have that I haven’t mentioned.

To go further, make a list of your needs and assess how well those needs are being met right now.

Brainstorm one thing you could do to work toward having those needs met, and then do it.
And then go get a pastry! 😉

The end of the year provides us with the perfect opportunity to assess our progress over the past months. Why not do this with a focus on your creativity? Take some time to look at where you have been. This will help you to acknowledge the progress you have made. Taking this step is incredibly empowering.

Whether you have done all that you wanted or not, your actions can show you where your commitment is, what got in the way if you didn’t write as much as you wanted to.

Be kind as you look at what you have given to your creative life. This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up for what you have not done. Take into account the other obligations you have committed yourself to. Be honest about where you could have done something differently, given your circumstances. Be grateful for what you did do.

Use the following questions to guide your inquiry, and jot your answers down in your notebook.

• What are the major accomplishments of your creative year?
• What are the minor accomplishments?
• What happened that you didn’t expect?
• What are you most proud of?
• What did it take to have this kind of progress?
• What have you learned?
• What was missing from your creative life this year?

Now that you have a sense of where you have been, next Monday I’ll share ideas on how to set powerful intentions for next year.