Creativity is about seeing things differently.
When I'm not getting to my creative pursuit as much as I'd like, I tilt my head ... in other words, I try looking at my approach differently. Then I'm using creativity to be creative and I love creativity so I can't help but get my creative butt in gear. Although redundancy is not uncommon.
Here are five such head tilts:
1. We're fooling fear!
People run up against resistance when starting or returning to a creative pursuit because creativity triggers dastardly demons invented by fear including pressure, perfectionism, and comparison.
When I change my intention to doing something below-par for just five to fifteen minutes, fear is caught off-guard. Before fear catches on, I've created a momentum, engaged in the process for an hour or more, and below-par turns to better than I expected. Pisses fear off. Hahahaha!
2. Be nice to yourself
I FREQUENTLY procrastinate when faced with a block of time that feels like pressure. Five minutes, especially with the addition of “lowered expectations about quality,” is not pressure.
I show-up for low-pressured steps. Showing-up is the only way progress AND eventually, quality can happen.
3. Know how to create a new habit
New habits cannot be established in big chunks of time. To break established habits such as procrastination, tormenting inner-talk, and captivity to social media requires cunning and ease. Intending to work on my project for five minutes is both. Habits make getting things done easier.
4. Kindness and curiosity
Consider changing the wording of your intentions. This is how I word them:
I get to be curious about where this idea is going and practice kindness to myself in the process.
versus
I have to get a lot done and it better be good.
The new approach takes the pressure off and reframes the time as an adventure. Not only THAT but I'm not just working on an idea, I'm working on the qualities of a gentler, more fulfilling life. Contrary to what task-masters say, I end up getting a lot done.
5. Just five minutes creates crucial momentum for continuing
The resistance is broken because a five minute step is small. At that point, people rarely stop. I regularly end up working hours with an initial five minute goal.
Setting a goal for an hour and completing 45 minutes can feel like a failure and it’s less likely I would be motivated to do that again. An intention of five minutes resulting in 45 minutes is a feeling of exhilaration, and generally I seek those out, over and over. I like the creative high.
My latest obsession has been detonated in the development a new program called:
Finding Uber Bliss- A Wildly Creative Journey to the Present Moment ™.
Speaking of New Angles:
The Head Tilt is one of the levels participants traverse on their way to Uber Bliss.
In this level, approaches to writing, art, and smart phone photography are explored from a series of new angles. Most importantly, it gives participants ways to think like an artist of being alive, something new for the mortal who is constantly down on him or herself.
Finding Uber Bliss brings together the most celebrated teachings of spiritual joy with creative expression making both easier. It demonstrates how finding your creative voice is one of the most liberating things you can do in the short time we have on the planet.
I'll be taking people through the journey in Delray Beach, Florida, January 19-22, 2017 (mosquitoes take the winter off). You are invited to either go through it to deepen your own creative-spiritual connection or to learn how to facilitate your own Finding Uber Bliss groups with friends or others for another stream of joy and income. More here.
Comments