Any artist, creative, or entrepreneur knows gut feelings are one way you connect to the heart of inspiration, yet there’s an equally invaluable piece that can get overlooked in the initial inspirational glow – practical creative strategies.
The rush of excitement that comes from an idea that pops into the mind out of nowhere but FEELS SO RIGHT is unlike anything else in the world. It’s serves as clear inner confirmation that you are a talented, creative, powerful creative being.
Then, life happens. You get busy with distractions and stuck in the grind. There’s the dentist, a broken down car and kids to manage. A great inspiration suddenly turns into one more thing you don’t have time to create, and now feels like something that silently mocks you as “not good enough.”
We all feel like this from time to time. What you may not have a handle on is how to own it and find new creative strategies to stay in the creative flow.
Sometimes the idea is just a starter idea that helps the heart open to other fun, more refined ideas. Other times all the things you “know” get in the way or are overshadowed by what you “don’t know”, making creative inspiration seem hard to make into a reality. Most often, these experiences bring up fears around change – changing your mindset, habits, and daily life patterns.
Fear Stands in the Way of Seeing the Practical Side of Creating
Moving beyond lifetime fears takes one very important first step – to feel through them. Fears need to be acknowledged and recognized before they can be dissolved. It may not happen as quickly as you like, but taking time to see, understand, and own what scares you is a HUGE step in the process of creating.
When you are able to see how fear blocks the way you see, own, and share your creative voice, how to step into change also becomes much clearer. Where before you didn’t have time, you clear our plate to make time. The avoidant behaviors you practiced on a daily basis become less comfortable, or desirable. Letting the mind run wild with all of the reasons something will crash and burn right out of the gate is seen as meaningless chatter with no real weight behind it.
This builds free space to reconnect with your original gut feeling and desire, and actually play with it. No need to force expectations or goals to make it meaningful or worth it, but simply play and stay open to what comes next.
From this perspective you are able to see in a bigger way. You notice what is possible as an idea, what you can do, and where you may need help to make it a reality. Anxiety to try and figure it all out in the mind is replaced by patience and trust you will know when to act, and how to step forward to make something real.
And trust takes creativity to a whole new level within ourselves and the bigger world.
How To Blend Being, Feeling and Doing into Positive Creative Flow
Now, it’s easy for me to say just go with the flow and ride the feelings of creative inspiration. Sure – that’s one part of the process.
However, what may of us often overlook is finding a way to blend what we know with how we feel, and create a plan to make it happen with practical creative strategies. If you know yourself and how you work, you are more than half way to creating a unique plan to help yourself, and build dreams in a constructive way that’s sustainable.
For example, if you know you hate blogging, why are you doing it? What other creative ways you can get the word out about your passion or project, like a podcast, video or networking? If you know you aren’t a morning person, then why get up early just to write “morning pages”?
The simplest way to create more often and complete key tasks is to be honest about what you WANT to do, can DO or LEARN. Then, fit those tasks into peak times when you are most likely to finish them. I, for one, don’t really write in the mornings. I CAN, I just have a hard time getting going and it all ends up feeling forced.
It also helps to build a daily schedule for certain tasks, or to create a paced day-focused schedule to match core creative needs. I save Mondays for meetings and working on personal business tasks, and write materials for Creative Katrina in the afternoons when things flow more easily.
Remember, there IS magic in execution as part of creating. It’s just that one gets all of the glory and the other feels like “work”. The invitation this month is to create each day in a way that offers opportunities to work as the best version of yourself. Take the time to really understand, and honor, the most effective ways to stay emotionally connected to yourself and what you need on a practical level, and let these combined forces shape your creative expression.
Then, make a dream schedule based around strengths, find help for tasks you can’t, or don’t want to do, and be honest. This new year is an opportunity to be radically honest with yourself and what you need, so the creative voice inside can shine like never before – and feel supported in practical ways by mind and heart.
Interested in more posts like this to build some new practical creative strategies? Check out Balancing Tension Between Productivity and Creative Flow and Creativity Kick-Start: 5 Ways to Be In the Flow During Creative Transition Want to join me and other creative entrepreneurs to find clarity, connection, and confidence? Sign up for my January Creative Mastermind Online. Like podcasts? Check out mine – it’s called Flirting With Enlightenment – where I share simple, practical ways to explore creativity and mindfulness.