Let your creativity flow

The truth is, sometimes we know we have creative genius inside of us… we feel it, know it’s there, yet we struggle to let it out.

We tell ourselves we need to wait until we are more prepared.

Until we have more time.
Until everything is in place.

Perhaps we tell ourselves we need more inspiration. More research. More consideration.

Or we need the mood to feel just right.

But, often times, we are just hedging our bets. We are afraid that if we invest fully in a creative endeavor, it will not be worth our time. If we listen to our creative desires, fully, and express them, perhaps it won’t be enough.

Perhaps it will keep us from fulfilling other obligations.
Perhaps it won’t be enough to pay the bills.
We remind ourselves of times in the past we’ve failed.
Or haven’t pushed enough.

But, when you truly, fully, allow your creativity to flow, it is beautiful, in all ways.

The trick is to FULLY accept the creative process.

Good enough, is sometimes not enough.

You have to allow your beautiful creative vision to FULLY take hold.

What do I mean by this?

Your vision may take more time than you’d like
Your vision may take sacrifices in other areas of your life
Your vision may mean that some nights, you stay up late. Or have to get up early.
Your vision may require that you skip a social engagement, or find a way to save extra money.

What’s the danger in just “kinda” implementing your creative vision?

You may see some minor success, but not see the great success you wishes for, and chalk your endeavor up as a failure because it didn’t fulfill all your expectations
You may quit halfway through due to lack of motivation
You may get easily distracted with other things tugging at you
You may question your success, because you didn’t truly feel it was good work (this is me!)
Or even worse, you may be inhibited to share what you’ve done, truly and fully, because you aren’t 100% proud of it (ok this is me, too!)

But your vision – it is true, and pure. And your vision deserves to be let free.

What happens when you give your all to your creative vision?

You believe in what you do so much, you redefine success based on how you feel about your work, not how others do
You are willing to sacrifice greatly to see your creative vision be fulfilled, and it feels great, because you find so much more value and purpose in your vision than in material possessions or other things that were taking up your time
You are focused and excited
You want to share what you have made with the world – shout it out from the top of a cliff – and this only increases the odds that you can continue pursuing your dreams and passions!

Have you ever sensed inside you, that you keep holding back this deeper desire, to do more? It can eat at you, in those quiet moments, as you wonder when you will ever give yourself to this pull, of what you were meant to do.

Give your all to what you were meant to do.

Because when you justify just a small bite off the creative apple (that you do just a “part” of your vision, or you “try it out on the side” without giving it all it needs to flourish), not only do you jeopardize that your vision may not succeed, for lack of commitment, but it also doesn’t motivate you. It doesn’t draw you. It doesn’t allow you to dig deep into that creative flow.

Your creative project must take it’s shape in all it’s fullness, to draw you out. To excite you. And become it’s fully formed genius that is now inside of you.

Let those creative juices flow, fully.

Stay true to the whisper of your heart heard by your soul alone.

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Tips for nurturing your creative best:

Set aside a large chunk of time – enough to feel you are not being rushed
Minimize distractions – if your computer or phone is constantly reminding you of emails or messages you need to respond to, you can’t focus on your creative work.
Choose the right environment. I prefer to use my laptop, and work in an entirely different place – often in my art room or at a coffee shop – so I am feeling more inspired than I do at my normal desk.
Make sure you are working at the time of day you are most inspired – for some that is mornings, and for some that is late at night. When do you feel excited and energized most?
Consider a quick pick me up, such as a jog, yoga, or meditation, prior to getting into your creative work. You may even find a ritual is a good way to start your creative work each time.
If you are feeling blocked, you may have too many worries nagging at you. Take a couple of hours (or whatever is necessary) to take care of, schedule, or close the loop on what’s keeping you from fully focusing on your creative work, then return to your creative work after you’ve closed the loop on what’s concerning you. Sometimes, just putting a space on your calendar to “deal with” what’s on your mind can be enough. We sometimes keep too many tabs in our head in fear we will forget something, and developing a system for making sure we return or set aside proper time for our commitments is essential so that we can fully focus on the present.