Welcome to my blog series “From the inbox” where we tackle those mindsets and
issues that hold us back and keep us from living creatively. Enjoy!
“I like your art. I wish I could create something….
but I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”
Happy New Year dear friend,
Wow! Challenge accepted! I know you might not want to believe this about yourself…but by virtue of being a human being, there IS creative energy at flow in EVERY bone in your body!
You just aren’t looking for it – because you’ve convinced yourself it isn’t there.
I’m here to tell you not to worry. I can help you find your creative energy.
Like a car battery, your creativity simply needs a jumpstart.
I’m starting at the beginning – with the basics – with simple ABC’s to jumpstart your creative flow. I hope by the time I’m done, you will accept the weekly challenges (or assignments) that I offer to help you discover your creative energy. Seriously, it’s there! I know it is and if you work with me – in a couple weeks time, I promise you will be overflowing with creativity.
(So much so that we will see your creative endeavors all over social media.)
Where to begin? Oh yes…let’s start with the A’s…
ABANDON the belief that you are not creative.
You know what? It’s not true that you aren’t creative!
How do I know that? Well, I was one of those people. I began doing art in my mid-30’s. I bought a house – had empty walls and no art. The art I liked was really expensive, so I thought maybe I would take a couple art classes to create something to hang on the bare walls.
Signing up for the art classes was the easy part. I began to create art, but I didn’t like it. My first art classes weren’t even fun. My drawing teacher didn’t like me and put me down on occasion. I found watercolors extremely hard to do. I discovered acrylics, but I couldn’t create anything that I really liked. I believed to my core that I wasn’t creative…but…
I simply kept going anyway, If you ask why, I don’t really have an answer. I liked having something to do, even though for years I felt I was wasting my time.
I guess that somewhere in the constant practice and determination as I painted, played and experimented – slowly and gradually a small spark of creativity began to grow. Somewhere along the way, my battery was jumpstarted, and my outlook began to change.
People began like my art. I developed a small fanbase. I sold a few pieces and had an art show.
I can say. therefore, with some authority, if I could jumpstart my creative battery – then so can you.
In that light, I say…
Take BABY STEPS and begin to CARE for your Creative Spirit
Even though I’m only in the B’s and C’s – I’m actually going to focus on the R word – that’s right – “RELATIONSHIP.”
Caring for your creative self is very much like being in a relationship. At the beginning of any relationship, there’s a honeymoon period. You take it slow. You engage in meaningful conversation to get to know the other person and explore experiences together. You take baby steps and learn to care for that person gradually over time.
In jumpstarting your creative life, I think it’s important to think of your creative self as a new relationship. You can slowly go into it – take baby steps into caring for your creative heart. Take time to engage in meaningful, playfully conversation with your creativity. Explore experiences together. Learn to care for yourself and your creativity in a deep way.
Untapping and unlocking your creative energies is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. It can be one of the most important relationships you can have with yourself, because your creative energies flow from a deep well from within. You get to know yourself in a really deep way, and your life flows out of that well.
Create space for your relationship and carve out meaningful time to explore your creative spirit. All of us are going to have different channels to explore this part of ourselves. Maybe it’s reading a new book of poetry? Or listening to music? Or cooking something up in the kitchen?
Where do you find the most joy in being yourself? Make space for those experiences and watch the creativity pour out of you.
I especially like walking along rivers or bodies of water. I love light and how it sparkles on water. I write haikus trying to capture the moment and the spirit I feel in the moment. I’m creating time to nourish with my creative self – so that when I finally sit down with my canvases and paints I can simply be without judgment and flow into the art itself.
there’s a city block where art has been created on the sides of buildings.
DISCOVER what brings you joy and EMBRACE your Creative Leanings
Let loose this week and playfully discover the elements of life that bring you joy. As you move more opening through your life this week, work on consciously letting go of that internal voice that says “You are not creative.”
That inner critic is simply a big jackass and not useful to you at all. It’s taken me YEARS to get that jackass out of my head and he’s never completely gone. But that voice no longer controls my life and creativity. It no longer has any control over me. I’m in constant discovery of what brings me joy, and I shamelessly lean into my creative energies at all times.
When that jackass butts in, I call him a “big fat liar” as I’ve come to see that voice coming at me from years and years of social conditioning I had no control of. You can override that conditioning through constant, conscious care of your creative heart. Simply pay attention to what brings you joy, embrace your creativity and in doing so – you will find your own unique style – your authentic visual or artistic voice.
And this leads to G & F…and “YOUR ASSIGNMENT” for this week….
GATHER together images of arts/crafts/music/writings
that FEED your Creative Self.
(Yes. I switched the F & G around – to play with you…and because…well, I’m being creative…)
By simply being alive, you are surrounded all the time by an outpouring of human ingenuity and creativity. Humans have been creating arts and crafts since the beginning of time. Everywhere you go – everything you see – has been shaped and created by the sheer will of human experience. Everything that shelters us, feeds us, provides for us has come into being through human imagination and creativity. Creativity is a powerful force of nature. It’s in our DNA – it’s foundational to all human experience.
There’s NO way that creativity is NOT running through your bones at this moment. You just have to plug in your jumper cables!
This week, simply pay attention! Pay close attention to the movies/tv you consume, the music you listen to, the books you read, the art you encounter, the food you eat.
Grab a notebook and begin to make a list. What inspiration do you find around you? Write down the song lyrics that grab you. Jot down passages in a book that inspires you. Simply make lists.
Take photos on your phone of art that inspires – or scenes in nature that awe you. Be vigilant as you seek out inspiration. What feeds you soul? What moves you? What inspires you?
By simple gathering together those things that inspire you – you will begin to feed that creative energy flowing within you and and that will be our starting point for our work next week, when we continue on with H-M.
All the best, dear friend. See you next week!
XOXOX
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Share what inspires you this week! Leave a message in the comment section, or on my facebook page, or drop me a line at rinnie@coachingforartisticpassion.com. You can also sign up for a free 30 minute creativity consultation HERE.
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