Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

Do you ever feel like you are on a roller coaster ride? One minute you feel like you have things figured out and are excited to start. And the next minute you lose focus or momentum and feel frustrated and unsure about what you want.

I notice that with myself, clients, and friends, that you usually do know what would make you happy.

The answers to what would make you happy and why are usually consistent with your values and the things that matter to you, which typically don’t change too much.

Most of the problems and challenges are in the HOW and THE WAY you go about getting what you want.

3 Blocks to Your Creativity, Success, and Happiness

I Don’t Know How, So There.
You may know what you want to accomplish but you don’t know how and it stops you in your tracks. End of story.

Another variation of this is to say, “I can’t because….” without exploring the possibilities.

Everyone has a learning process in figuring out how to do something and there is plenty of help out there.

Here are just a few ideas of where to start:

• Read a How to Book
• Research the Internet
• Take a Class
• Join a Group
• Get a Coach
• Find a Mentor

Find someone who is doing something similar and study what they do.
There is never only one way to do things. You may come up with a creative solution if you give yourself a chance.

All or Nothing Thinking
Do you ever get caught up in feeling like there is only one way to be happy?

For example, some may feel like they will ONLY be happy if they make their living doing what they love.

It usually takes time and patience to make a full time living at what you love so you may want to start on the side until you get things going.

The way achieve your goal doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Do the things that you love in your life in various ways. You might do them for a living full time or part time, you might volunteer your expertise, you might do something just for fun.

Figure out ways to add more of what you love into your every day life.

The Only Thing that Matters is the End
Have you ever worked on something with such tunnel vision that when it was over, you only had a brief moment of happiness that you achieved your goal but realized you put the rest of your life on hold while you did it?

Your quality of life depends on how you spend your moments and days. It is important to have time for play, exploration, and fun. And who says you can’t do that and focus at the same time?

How can you make things easier? How can you make things more fun or enjoyable? Ask these questions over and over.

Take time to enjoy the journey along the way and be open to possibilities.

P.S. If you need help with figuring out a better way or what to do next, email me for an idea session. I’d love to help you!

Alyson Stanfield, author of I’d Rather Be in the Studio, is an art business coach who offers all kinds of great resources for artists. Lucky for me, she also happens to live in beautiful Colorado.

I’ve purchased a variety of audios she has produced and always walk away with some very good information.

So whether you are an artist or secretly dream of being one, check this out.

She is currently having a sale, just until July 16th, on several audios.

Just to list a few:

Get an artist Web site that really sells your art

Sell your expertise in an e-book

So, you’d like to see your art published in magazines?

BOOST Your Productivity

Clear Out Your Inbox Once and For All

5 conversations with 4 successful, full-time artists. Hear how they do it!

I’m currently re-doing my jewelry and art website so I am getting the audio about artist web sites.

So, click here to check out the audios take advantage of her close-out summer sale audios before they are gone for good!

Does this ever happen to you?

You get really excited about an idea and begin to plan it.  Then without realizing it at first, the fear sneaks up and all of the sudden the excitement, the anticipation, the enthusiasm is replaced by doubt.

You question every move.  Suddenly you can’t remember the things that led you to success in the past. You are paralyzed and stopped in your tracks. You’re overwhelmed.

The good news is that, you can begin to recognize that little gremlin at work.  It’s often your inner critic who is paying you a visit.  If you begin to be aware of what is happening, it can just be a temporary glitch rather than keep you from moving forward.

It is just your ego reminding you that it’s fragile and trying to protect you.   It is a misguided attempt to shelter you from harm but instead it’s keeping you from growing and being yourself, who you are really meant to be.

So, the temporary amnesia is just that – TEMPORARY. You can say, Oh Hello! It’s you again. You really threw me into a tail spin. Why don’t you relax? I know what to do now.

Create a Written List of Strategies That Have Worked For You Before

One thing I have found that helps me when I am in that very situation is to create a written list of things that have helped me get past some of those challenges before.  Things like:

• Get support – the kind that will be understanding and help you move away from the panic button. So who can help you?  This is probably THE most helpful thing you can do.
• Instead of fighting your feelings, accept where you are now and take the next small step.
• Do something nice for someone else. Sometimes it helps you to get away from your own problems and challenges and to get out of your own head.
• Inspiring words, a quote, a touchstone

For example, Ease and Delight was supposed to be my theme and touch stone for the year. Oh Yeah! Now I remember.  I’m surprised at how just thinking about those words can make me feel calmer.

A very nice subscriber has a great idea.  She said she started using the Ease and Delight as a touchstone and put it on her calendar every day so she would remember.

What are some other strategies that can help?

• Set limits – for example, what are the top 3 tasks you want to accomplish today?
• Eliminate distractions. What pulls you away from your focus?
• Set a timer to focus for 15-30 minutes at a time
• Ask yourself a question like, “What is the best use of my time right now?”

Where are you getting stuck again?

What has helped before?

I recommend that you start creating a list of things that have helped you before.  Mine is called the What Works For Me list.  Then the next time you are overwhelmed and have temporary amnesia, you can pull out your list and implement one or more strategies.  That is, if you can remember to look at the list!