Ever Force Yourself to Check Things off Your To-Do List? Here Is How I Create With Intention And Ease Everyday
There is something really joyful about seeing an idea come to life. For me personally, it is a very gratifying experience that is uplifting and nourishes me as a human being.
However, the creation process was not always like that for me.
The Death to Your Creativity
When I first started out creating a business, I had doubts. What will people think? How will they perceive me?
Creating something can feel very personal.
It almost feels like you are revealing yourself more intimately in what you are creating.
Especially if you are creating something that is very close to your heart. Having all those doubts really killed the creative flow. I wasn’t actually present anymore to what I was inspired to create but was busy imagining other people’s reactions.
You could say that my creative energy went into creating little nightmares for me.
Then, there was the fear of failure and how that would be reflected on me. What will people think then? ‘Ah, I knew it wouldn’t work out. He just isn’t cut out to do those kinds of things.’
All of that mental garbage, which consumed me, came up.
The Frustration Cycle
When creation becomes about an end goal or about impressing people, you’ll eventually end up in the frustration cycle. Why? Because your creation is not good enough. You are looking for it to be perfect.
Creation is a messy process!
It will not be perfect. It can’t be perfect because your mind can always raise the bar.
So looking for the end goal and for the approval of others will again drain the joy out of it. It also makes your creation hurried, less fruitful, until you soon abandon it.
How to Bring Out the Joy
Bringing out the joy of creating is actually really simple. I’ve written about the downfalls above because in realizing them, therein also lies the solution.
To bring out the joy in creation you have to let go of the end goal. Forget about it. What do you enjoy about what you are doing? Focus on that. It is as simple as that. Focus on the joy that the processes give you.
If you are only doing it for the end goal and you are forcing yourself through the process, you are doing yourself and your project a big disservice.
When you wake up and you are looking forward to honing your craft more, you are in the right space. It simply becomes creating for creation’s sake at that moment. When you realize that you will bring the best out when you are simply present, it becomes clear that:
- Focusing on others
- Comparing your work to your mental standard
- Doubting yourself and your skill
Are all diverting energy that you could be using to put into what you love.
It’s a Game of Attention
Where your attention goes, energy flows. Where energy flows, things get created. Where is your attention going towards? This is the key question when it comes to creating. The more your attention is absorbed in the creation process the better.
It takes a consistent focus over time that will lead to results. It doesn’t matter if you drop the ball and stop for some time. You simply pick it back up where you left off.
See what you are creating as a gift to yourself. Every day you get to engage with it and see it come to fruition. Sometimes there will be challenges and you won’t know what to do. However, rather than repeating over and over again that you are stuck, ask yourself some questions.
If you apply your mental energy to something, you will find solutions.
It’s again simply a game of attention. Are you focusing on how stuck you are or are you focusing on mobilizing your creative energy to move forward?
I can’t tell you how many mental dysfunctional behaviors I had. I’d put more energy into lamenting and whining rather than just sitting and allowing myself to find solutions.
It really pays off to start to notice where your attention and energy goes.
You Are a Creator
If you believe you are not creative nor a creator, take a look at your life. What you see is what you have created. You have had ideas and you have implemented them. That is creation. From having an idea of what to eat, what vacations to take, to what job you have.
It all followed the same principle: idea and implementation
It is so simple and comes so naturally that most people don’t realize that they have this creative power. The very act of denying your creative power is a demonstration of that very power.
Do you see how you have created an identity of being a creative or not being creative? You may have not been conscious of it until now, but you have literally created an entire identity around who you are, what you like and dislike, and what you can or can’t do.
It’s really amazing when you start seeing how much of a creative force you really are. All it takes to start shifting your life and creating what you want is to start owning that you are a creator and start applying that power.
Now, are you going to find ways to truly enjoy your gift of creation or are you going to keep doing it in a way that makes it hard and frustrating?