What’s your plan for staying on track with your writing project this summer? This year’s sunny season is different for me. I have a couple of big projects plus a coaching skills training I am taking. I’m also hosting a 14-week session of Write ON, my coaching group for writers with a project they must focus on. We have a few spots left, and we start soon. Find out if you are a fit for Write ON here.
Why you must create
If you’re reading this newsletter, you are an artist of some kind. A writer, painter, knitter, gardener, chef…your creativity is a force of nature that you must express. You likely have experienced the consequences when you don’t let your art into your life on the regular. If your creativity is on the shelf too long:
- a lingering sense of dissatisfaction can permeate life
- jealousy replaces the joy we deserve to have around our creative drive
- we lose touch with the part of ourselves that makes us whole.
Our original impulse, the drive to make things that matter, is as necessary as our need to eat, be sheltered and be connected to others. I assert that creating belongs on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
I’ve been coaching creative people to be their most creative selves for 25 years. When we make space for our creative work, more happiness, more connection, and more satisfaction come almost immediately. This satisfaction ripples out into all areas of their life like a radiating sun. When we’re happy creators, everything is better.
Here’s a note from Tina Bettison, a client who knew she needed her creativity back:
“When I think back to how I felt a year ago – lost, depressed, grieving, unsure of who I was and the point of my existence – and how I feel now, I’m soooo different. Soooo alive. Coaching with you has literally turned my life around and given me back myself.”
Creativity is not optional. Our original impulse must be heeded. I believe that we derive our vitality from our creativity. When we are making things or writing, we feel alive. We feel a sense of purpose. Getting lost in our creative work is its own escape.
You feel most alive and happy when you’re creating. It’s your birthright and it’s who you are. To not create means unhappiness, and dissatisfaction and detracts from the overall quality of life. I believe creating must go on the list of other essentials like food, shelter, love, money.
One more reason why you must create
When I wrote my ebook, Cross the Finish Line, I realized something profound.
It’s okay to dabble, explore, and have a lot of creative interests. And when we finish a meaningful project, we glean the deep gifts of that work. Finishing and publishing my novel revealed to me that I am a tenacious person whose commitment goes beyond the many challenges that arose during the thirteen years it took to write.
Imagine the enormous confidence that I gained from recognizing myself as a persistent person. With that confidence, I crafted a new vision of myself. I used that new self-perception to step up to more creative projects.
I want everyone to be creatively fulfilled – on their own terms. Knowing what works for us is key to making things that make us whole. This belief is at the core of what I am making for you. I hope/plan/intend to launch it sometime next month!
In the meantime, I’d love to hear about the challenges that stand in the way of you fulfilling your creative destiny. Feel free to share your inner and outer obstacles here.
I think so much comes down to my self-perception – every step of the way there’s been some limiting idea of what I’m not and the minute it gets reframed then obstacles seem to melt away.
There is no question I’m happier when I’m free enough to create anything. You’ve taught me a lot about this.
Sam,
I get this completely! I felt this when I undertook a financial empowerment path a few decades ago. Each step was accompanied by some emotional hurdle I had to overcome. It takes inner work along with action to be a fulfilled creative.
And you’ve done that work! You are thriving with all your projects. I love that you know that you are happier when you are creating. I think that’s true for all of us.
Keep creating and keep your joy lit!
I’d have to say that my biggest obstacles are TIME, money, and maybe time management. You know how creative I am Cynthia, so that is never a problem, but having time to do the things I want to do, and sometimes having the money to take more workshops to build my book art skills are obstacles in my creative path. I’ve been learning that its ok to NOT finish every project I begin, which I used to struggle with, and I’m starting to see that I may not have enough time to begin projects I’ve collected supplies for, projects that are more ‘aspirational’ than intentional. Now I’m trying to be more discerning about buying supplies for projects I might not get around to so I can keep the overflow to a minimum in my studio space!
Monica,
I love that you have come to understand that not finishing everything is okay. What a relief!
I’m going to push back on your perceived limitations, if I may. I hold a belief that time is our best fake excuse. It’s easy to believe we can blame time and money – they do pose real limits.
But I think the clue to greater satisfaction for you lies in a phrase you used – being more discerning. I think we are alike in that we have more ideas and passions than we have time for. Often we mistakenly think we can do it all. Because our minds are limitless, we can take on too many things, believe we can do it all, and while this briefly feels good and powerful, when we go to execute on our ideas, we bump up against time and money. I think this can be seen in our supply closet – we have so many tools for all the projects we want to do.
But if we learned to limit ourselves ( I can feel the cringe just typing that!) before we commit and take the leap, to sober up about what we truly want to dedicate ourselves to, we might find that we can make the time and don’t need as much money or classes as we thought.
I know that being discerning about how much we can take on and what we commit to is really, really challenging. I am in the middle of that right now with a new project. Before I committed to it, I asked how I was going to fit it in. When was I going to work on it. What would I let go in order to make this happen. I think we really hate to limit ourselves like this, but when we do, we find that we do have time and assets to focus on what we truly love.
Play with your supply overflow as a visible and tangible metaphor for your abundance of ideas. See if that helps you be more discerning and feel more of a fit for your ideas and your ability to make time for them.
Please respond with your thoughts on this as I would love to know if anything resonated with you. I believe in you, your creativity, and your ability to joyfully do the things you want – just not all at once.