a creative life: 3 hacks

I am a firm believer we are born creators, capable of casting magic or creating suffering within the circumstances of our lives without even knowing it. Something that should be so natural - in which ever different way each of us feels most at home in the expression of our creativity - seems to have been suppressed within us all in one way or another.

I like to see & approach creativity like a child approaches each new moment, open to discovering something new about themselves & their world. Eyes wide open, palms stretched to the sky, learning to notice inspiration in everyone & everything.

Art isn’t in the eye of the beholder, but within the soul of the one creating it. Living a more creative life starts with letting go of outcomes & simply showing up each day to a simple creative practice. When it comes to anything creative, anything that requires expression in one way or another, we can often work ourselves up about it needing to be this “big" thing. We can start to weave magic into our lives when we simply start showing up to work on our craft in small increments each day. Easier said than done, right? Let me help you.

3 QUALITIES TO NURTURE TO BRING CREATIVITY BACK INTO YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE.

SPONTENAEITY

I am a huge believer in having structure & rhythm in my day to day work life so that I am able to move the needle in my business & in my creations. When I really come to think of it, I am kinda blown away by just how much change I have seen in myself these last 6 months. Since moving to a smaller place, something deep inside me took the reins & I knew I had to work on this one thing that has always been a challenge: more structure.

However as important as structure & discipline can be in creating the life of our dreams, don’t get caught in the same trap as I have over & over again where I have surrendered over the joy of this moment in ‘sticking with the plan.’

Always be open!!!! Practices such as meditation & yoga keep my heart open to surprise, even when I am spending most of my days hustling away at a ridiculous pace because I am so darn passionate about what I want to create! No matter what, the most important thing on this planet is that we nurture that inner spark inside of us, that we tend to our most important feelings & relationships. Why keep doing things the same old way, if we have learnt something new?

There is this illusion of urgency that can come with most things now. But what is IMPORTANT in this moment over anything else?

Nurture that inner child, form a deep relationship with your inner muse. When your heart is calling you for a break from working so hard, take it. Take intuitive walks & see where you end up. Listen to what you are really yearning for always, & let structure be a spring board for magic instead of an end in itself.

CONSISTENCY

The initial excitement a creative project or idea can initially give us can be the most incredible feeling in the world. From my experience of creating big projects from start to finish, this is how the process felt in a timeline:

Start: feelings of excitement that I had really decided on seeing this project through

Middle: coming face to face with all my deepest fears, worries, limitations, everything I did / do not yet know how to do, a heck of a lot of showing up when I didn’t feel like it, late nights, a lot of caffeine, heart-wrenching vulnerability, learning, failing, learning a new / different way. Scratching the whole thing, starting again with this new knowledge. Reaching new levels of creativity. Crashing.

End: feelings of accomplishment, nerves, excitement that i simply did it. I kept my promise to myself.

Living a creative life is so incredibly rewarding, but it is so incredibly hard to show up when there are so many possible distractions / reasons why you shouldn’t do it.

When I went through the process of self publishing my book, I experienced ups & downs & the craziest mind chatter I had ever experienced at that point.

Looking at consistency on a smaller scale now, we will see the benefits of a daily creative practice overtime. When we experience art & creations that move us to the core, we often have this desired expectation or outcome for what we want our work to be. Hard work beats talent any day.

OPEN MIND & HEART = GROWTH

Everyday, do the things that light you up to the core & let these things become non-negotiable. In the simple practice of showing up to what sets your soul on fire, you are building trust & faith in yourself which is the most important relationship to nurture.

Knowing you can count on yourself & hold your own word is a million times more valuable than counting on anyone outside of you.

But through it all (here’s our old friend spontaneity coming for a play) don’t get too rigid in your ideas of what makes you feel good. Know you are forever growing & changing. I know for myself, when there’s self-imposed pressure for my self-care or creativity to look a certain way, I get bogged down. I always try to truly check in with myself, to see what would feel the best that day whilst keeping that base rhythm & structure.

Showing up for a creative practice now is so ingrained in me, that I fully trust that I will show up each day no matter what in big or small ways. There’s no doubt in my mind & it truly is the best feeling in the world to get to this point.