How you set and work towards creative milestones can be an interesting little window into how you think and treat yourself. It’s also a way to get some insight on the cause of a recurring creative block in your life.
Are you often making big grand plans that feel right, then focus on how fast they are (or aren’t) happening rather than the creative joy you are experiencing or the lessons you are learning? I’ve been there, done that.
Is it hard for you to be patient with the flow of your creative muse or with leaving the fate of your hard work in another’s hands? Yep, have to say this one sounds familiar, too.
Do you finish a goal and immediately start a new one without taking a moment to thank yourself for all your hard work or celebrate with a small personal treat? This was the hardest one for me to unlearn – and I still find myself stuck here once and a while.
These are just a few examples of what we unknowingly do to ourselves when we want to strive towards being better, more accomplished, creative, happy, zen, healthy- you name it.
What’ isn’t as easy to notice is how lopsided our view of what we really need to reach creative milestones becomes over time.
The Truth About Striving
Striving isn’t just about stretching and pushing. There needs to be a counter balance, just like in yoga. One side of the equation is active pushing, the other is patience, forgiveness and joy for what you’ve already accomplished.
When you embrace an active balance of striving, patience and celebration when building towards creative milestones, momentum flows more smoothly because some aspect of your path is always moving.
On days when motivation is challenging and action is low, you can practice patience. For days when everything seems to be happening quickly and you feel a bit of overwhelm or fear, you can shift the pace by focusing on gratitude and joy.
Through the act of being mindful in your approach to reaching a creative milestone, you see all aspects of your path as forward-moving and essential for what you need to learn, experience, grow or let go.
There are countless ways to approach your creative milestones and the approach changes as you add skills and experience to your life. Yet, being aware of the push towards action without patience, or to hide in meditation rather than take a scary step forward are clues that help you see where the greatest work and joy is waiting for you to show up.
What you create and the ways you use it are one step. The true journey is in how you experience and embrace your own levels of self expression, your right to have them, and the essential ways to balance them in the moment.
Open up to seeing things differently when you are striving towards a creative milestone. Listen to and celebrate what you learn. Trust yourself and the creative process.
Are there some simple, fulfilling ways you balance out striving and celebration?
Want a few tips on refreshing your creative goals? Check out my previous blog post on 4 Ways to Re-imagine How you View Creative Milestones. Would you like a little extra insight on what might be causing your creative blocks? Connect with me for a Creativity Coaching session. Want to dive into a little more on mindfulness? Check out my podcast, Flirting with Enlightenment.
Photo credit: Daniel Cely