In a world where decisiveness and clarity is highly valued, admitting you are a vulnerable, creative work in progress isn’t always encouraged or respected.
Yet, every single one of us is a creative work in progress, no matter how “together” and polished the exterior finish.
Toss in the added pressure of a self-imposed timeline, list of “shoulds” and perceived competition, the creative muse can seem like it has a specific maturity date, rather than serving as an open-ended invitation to dig deeper into your true self at every stage of life.
This misunderstanding can hold you hostage and keep you from seeing the beauty in everything you create along the way.
There is No Timeline, Only Acceptance of your Creative Self in the Now
Science has a clear outline for mental and physical maturity based on age. The pace and depth of creative potential is often measured against these same milestones – even though they are only a small contributing factor in creative capability.
This perspective can make people feel like there’s a specific way to do life, a special path or timeline to follow that can pop you out of “work mode” and into “done” mode, never to experience confusion again. However, where there’s chaos, there’s growth and progress.
The One Skill to Rule Them All
Being creative is often described as tapping into “child-like” energy because at that point in development you can do, say and create what you want and still be accepted without judgment by everyone, including yourself. You can’t stop yourself from growing up, or knowing what you know now, which means you need to find a way to find a way to be at peace with your own creative work in progress status.
One of the most undervalued personal skills is the ability to see and love yourself as a whole and complete creative being in the moment, while helping the ego embrace the idea of being a perpetual student.
There will always be a new dimension of your creative self that’s yearning to be revealed, seen and accepted. You will always have a choice to honor a new desire or interest, or heal an old wound that’s kept you from sharing your full self in the world.
Even when you think you are shedding older versions of your creative self, what you are really doing is integrating – pulling together all aspects of yourself. Loving them. Finding a place for them to be embraced and become part of the creative work in progress that’s your path to personal development and evolution.
Take what you see as flaws and find a way to love them. They are your greatest areas of truth and windows to the self-love you need to fuel your creative spirit forward.
The mind can always find a way to tell you that there’s somewhere to get to in order to feel like you’ve made it. A specific measurement that fulfills something within you, allowing you to finally be at peace with yourself and creative expression by hitting an arbitrary milestone.
Why not turn this quest for progress around and ask yourself:
What creative desire wants to express itself, just for the sake of it? What can I make, share, create for another, build, innovate so that I’m fanning a spark in others as well as myself, so I may support them in continuing their journey in embracing that they, too, are a beautiful creative work in progress with so much yet to reveal?
Now, in this moment, is the time to love yourself as the creative “work in progress” you hopefully continue to be.
For additional posts on a similar topic, check out Creative Barriers and Self-Perception or Build a Creative Inspiration List and Share It. Want to connect with me for an intuitive reading or creative coaching? Visit my services page or schedule time with me at the blue tab below. Want more tips on how to tune into you inner guidance? Listen to my podcast Flirting With Enlightenment.
Photo credit: Jan – Heart stefanos papchristou – clock