You finally started pursuing your passions. You took the first steps and have plunged into the depths of what is unknown. Now you are free to explore the things you have been only dreaming about up until now.
What really sparks an interest in you is the idea of taking your chosen mediums, and experimenting to find new ways of doing things.
Here are my…
3 Benefits to Experimenting with Your Artistic Practice
You discover things you never connected in your mind before.
Have you ever wondered what happens when you add more water to “this”, or take a piece of sand paper to “that”? Your discovery could open your mind to new possibilities. The same tools that are available to you can have new uses (for new techniques). The tools have not changed. You have.
You exercise the part of the brain that allows you to visualize new things.
A person can train their mind to see solutions to problems by changing their mindset to a positive one. When you focus on positivity, you are telling your mind to pay close attention to methods of improvement. This principle can be extended to teaching your mind when experimenting in your artistic practice.
Visualization is a skill that can be acquired from thinking of ways to innovate and make life better for yourself. By experimenting with new mediums and with technology, you will be able to visualize the preferred reality to problems that currently exist.
You may gain new attention, followers, and new fans of your experimented work.
People who are familiar with your work will be impressed by your courage to try something new. People who are not familiar with your work may really like your new style, and gain an interest in your work because of it. At the end of the day, your ability to take risks (albeit calculated risks) as an artist will pay off in some way.
Life is an experience that is made up of smaller momentary experiences. Trying new things and challenging yourself to be better than the person you were yesterday is the goal. Pursuing the things that you are passionate about is the best way to accomplish excelling beyond your past self.
Do you agree with my list? Please leave comments in the section below and as always, thanks for stopping by!
We all have people in our lives that propel our mindset to positive heights.
Sometimes it is the offering of helpful advice, a pat on the back for an accomplishment, or even a simple smile with a “thumbs up” to encourage you to keep going. I have people like this in my life, and as a result I always try to be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud. I consider myself to be a cheerleader in the non-traditional sense. I may not have the outfit and pom-poms, but my spirit is one who sees immense value in those around me, and I thrive when I can help bring out the potential in others.
Are you having difficulty figuring out who the cheerleaders are in your life? Take a look at my list to help you understand the difference between the cheerleaders, and the cheerloafters in your life…
Cheerleaders will…
Ask you questions about your passion projects. They ask because they want to stay up to date on your work; and they will ask without YOU having to bring up the topic.
Will offer to buy or to display your projects. They help you promote your passions to the world without asking for anything in return.
Will tell others about your accomplishments. Cheerleaders always have your name on their lips because they enjoy telling their friends about how great you are. These people always recommend you as well.
Will offer you advice, or materials for your upcoming work. Cheerleaders are often thinking about how to help you try new things and deepen your exploration of the pursuit of your passions.
Will attend your shows or exhibitions. Cheerleaders always show up in person. They recognize the importance of being present at your achievements.
Will say positive things to encourage you. Cheerleaders believe in you, so their words will reflect the same.
Cheerloafters will do the opposite of everything listed above and…
Will never ask about your passion projects, unless you bring up the topic.
Will make jokes about the people who like your work, or about your projects. They will accomplish this by comparing your passion to things and people that have little value to them.
Will call you stupid or generally imply that you are foolish for pursuing your passion. This can happen covertly, or in a blunt manner. It will usually occur when many people are around so that they can say it was just “a joke”.
Will ask you to betray trade secrets or guarded techniques in a clandestine way. They will accomplish this by asking you how you did something in a passive way, as if they don’t care. Meanwhile, they will take the information you provided to make their own version, or simply tell others as if it was their own idea.
Will ask you this dreaded question: “How much money do you expect to make by doing this?” This question is usually unfair for two reasons:
The people who ask this question are rarely responsible for your finances or your survival. It makes no difference to them how much money your passion will make.
Placing a financial value on something you have only just begun to explore will weigh heavily on you. It may even make you feel guilty and want to stop pursuing your passion because you begin to call into question the validity of doing something you love that has an unqualified financial validity.
Do you know anyone in your life that falls into the category of a cheerleader or a cheerloafter? What are your examples of people who have helped you find success in your pursuit of you passions? Leave comments below, and thanks for stopping by.Stephanie
If you are like me, the fun of summer weather can be a distraction from wanting to work towards your goals. Finding your motivation is nearly impossible when sobering up after a long weekend of fun in the sun.
Those long weeks of working on your passion projects must not go to waste! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and the light occurs when you finish your project!
Here are my…
4 Quick Tips to Motivate You to Stay Focused and Reach Your Goals
Remove acquaintances who don’t build you up or add to you life. This includes takers, users, and enemies disguised as friends.
Learn how to recognize good ideas from bad ones and save your time.
Plan rewards for yourself to motivate your actions.
Tell loved ones about important milestones reached- make sure the people you share with are cheerleaders, and not just lumps of coal.
What are ways that you stay motivated to reach your goals? Leave comments below and thanks for stopping by.
Taking the first step to living the life that you want, and pursuing your passions is monumental. The decision is one that asks of you: “Can you sustain these changes? Will you give up and go back to your old way of living?”
These are questions that can keep you awake at night. For me, the best way to get past those moments is to focus on day-to-day tasks. Focusing on keeping the creative juices flowing is what shifts my focus to things that are within my locus of control.
Here are my ideas for how to keep your fresh ideas flowing, so that you can further the continuation of your passion projects:
8 Ways to Keep Ideas Fresh and to Keep Creating
Reproduce an old project in a “look how far I’ve come” retrospective work. As an artist you can showcase how well you have improved in your artwork with an update of something completed earlier on in your career. By incorporating your new techniques, you will surprise yourself.
Re-post new angles of existing work. The fresh idea is in the perspective provided by taking new photos. Utilizing new media and technology can also help to refresh existing work.
Try a new setting for characters in your writing, painting, or illustration. Circumstance change when settings change.
Listen to inspirational speakers on Youtube. My recommendations for speakers to watch video of would be: Maya Angelou, or Simon Sinek. Your mind starts collecting new ideas and mixing it with your existing thoughts immediately. Your creativity gets boosted when you expose your mind to new concepts.
Read something!
Watch a documentary.
Follow a person on social media who has views that are the opposite of your own. Read a few posts. If you feel annoyed or angry, then concentrate (with that fire burning) and get those fresh ideas written down!
Go outside and rest your mind by trying a new activity. A new flavor of ice cream is my suggestion!
What are ways that you keep ideas fresh when you feel overwhelmed? Leave you comments below, and thank you for stopping by.
The creative process is one that can be piloted with ease by some, but prove to elude others. There are times when the end of a project cannot come fast enough, and the creative process drags on and on.
Here are four observations about the creative process that will allow you to see things in a different light, and hopefully to improve in the way that you start and finish your passion projects.
5 Observations of the Creative Process
When you watch something that makes you cry, use it!
Don’t push the things that elicit strong emotions out of your mind. When confronted with stimuli that causes you to feel a strong emotion, harness that feeling to dive deeper into what is making you react that way. Delving to the core may be the inspiration you have been waiting for to create new work that is unlike anything you have ever done. The raw emotion exists for a reason, and by dealing with it, you may discover unimaginable benefits in your pursuit of your passions.
When you are confused about something, find out more.
Use that spark of curiosity to find out more information on a subject. You are curious about it for a reason, so why not give your mind the information that it craves? Once you have taken a few moments to gain a more fulsome understanding of a topic, you will be able to incorporate what you learned into having a positive impact on your work.
Sometimes new ideas can emerge when you look at old work. You might have a hidden idea somewhere in the fabric of an old project that opens an undiscovered realm of possibilities to you.
Creativity almost never happens in a vacuum.
Make a positive move by trying new things. New experiences give birth to creativity and new work. Expose your brain to new concepts daily to avoid the dreaded “shrinking of ideas” that can occur around the age of 30. Try something new, and you will have more to share with the world.
If you would like to find more inspiration for your passion projects, browse my earlier posts, and don’t forget to subscribe! Thanks for stopping by.
Much like creativity, productivity can be an elusive force that many creative people struggle with. Unlike creativity, however, you can improve your productivity though routine and other academic approaches.
Here are
5 Ways to Improve Productivity in your Artistic Practice
Plan
Start your projects early by preparing your workspace and materials in advance. When you have a clean area that is ready to go, you will spend less time procrastinating the beginning or continuation of your work. Planning your work can include: cutting and measuring materials to have “en place” when your project starts; cleaning all surfaces and in your workshop or removing sawdust; buying everything you need at the hardware store in advance to avoid stopping your project to make a “quick run to the store”. We all know that these “quick runs” are never actually quick because the time it takes your brain to get caught up after interrupting your task for a supply run can kill your motivation and ruin your productive streak.
Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com
Organize
Organize your project into steps. If you are sewing a garment for instance, you should really organize the process into steps because there will be certain parts of your production that must wait until other areas are finished. You may find yourself needing to undo what you have already completed because you failed to organize the work process properly. Organizing can save you an immense amount of time in the long run, and it will also keep your productivity levels high because you can advance through the process with more ease.
Sketch
One of the tips I learned from experience when completing projects is to use visual diagrams in the form of sketches. Certain projects are spatially complex, and require measurements or logistical calculations. The best method I have found to dealing with these complexities is to draw a basic sketch that helps my brain to better communicate my idea to myself.
It seems simple, but there are many times where I have been caught by a lack of planning or sketching and end up struggling to place a large object that will not bend, into the back of my car that ONLY accommodates things that will bend. This also works when doing things like redecorating or staging a home. Make a sketch of what are trying to accomplish, and reality will show you whether it is possible or not. You will be more productive with your time if you do not waste it trying to make square objects fit into circular holes.
Ask for help
When you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. If it is a matter of delegating certain tasks to lighten your own load, then relinquish your control and give those tasks away. You don’t have to be intricately involved in every aspect of a project to consider it your own. Your productivity will suffer if you micromanage in areas that someone else can easily help you with. It is a much better strategy to focus your talents on areas where you excel, and to outsource the areas where you don’t.
Take photos
My mind often goes to the now ancient online saying: “Post pics or it didn’t happen”. Many people will take copious photos of meaningless moments of their lives to post online; however, those same people often shy away from sharing photos of passion projects that they have been working hard on for months. Why? It is likely because the passion project they refuse to share with the world is very dear to them, and they are suffering from some level of insecurity about it.
Here is the thing: if you don’t post the photos of the progress of your passion project, then how will you know it is happening? Progress photos show a story from inception to completion. By showing your process you are proving to yourself and to others that this is something that is meaningful to you as a person who has made the decision to pursue their dreams. In turn, this will help to motivate you to push further toward completion, therefore driving your productivity to new heights.
Photos of your progress also help to improve your productivity because you are able to see areas where you would do things differently the next time. When that next occasion comes, you can zone in on it like a laser and crush it before moving on to your next passion project.
I think that there are many ways to improve your productivity, so this is a topic I would like to revisit again soon. Are there any strategies that you think belong on this list? Leave your answer in the comments below, and thank you for stopping by.
We have all been in a similar situation: having a summer job that you hated, but was necessary to keep your parents happy. While we are young, these jobs are about doing as little as possible until the end of the day. The way we got through it all was the knowledge that the job would end once school returned in September.
As an adult, there are a lot of similarities between your attitude to that past summer job, and the one you have now. You hate your work environment, do as little as possible, and at the end of the day, you can’t get out of the building fast enough. Unfortunately the main difference is that there is no longer the definite end date that you can count-down to, because you don’t know how to get out of the wrong job or industry that you are trapped in.
5 Signs that You Are Working in the Wrong Industry
You hate Monday mornings almost as much as Sunday night.
As the weekend approaches, Friday is your best friend. You love the end of the week with an intense passion because it means that you will not need to go back to work for 48 hours! What a way to live your life on the installment plan! As a result, by Sunday night you are depressed: only to become full-on catatonic by Monday morning on your way back to work.
You fantasize about your boss being fired or discovered to be a monster.
Sometimes we imagine the worst about other people because we are so deeply unhappy with the circumstances that brought us to that person. Do you hate your boss? Would you feel the same way if you met them in a different set of circumstances? Probably not, because you are trapped in a job/ industry that you are not right for. This is likely a friction that can be solved by making a plan to pursue your passions. Focus your energy on something else!
You fantasize about revenge on people who have wronged you.
Holding on to anger and resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Let go of the things that are keeping you in the past. If you must leave your job/industry to properly pursue your passion in order to fix your life, you have to take positive action to make it happen or else you will be adding names to your list of enemies for a long time to come.
You spend your free time doing hobbies that have no link to you job/industry
When we align ourselves with our purpose, we tend to do things for work that are related to things that we are passionate about. If you work in a law firm pushing paper around Monday to Friday, but give guided walking tours of the city’s food district on the weekends, then I would suggest that you are working in the wrong job/industry because these two areas have very little in common. My guess is that your work in a law firm is simply for a paycheck, and not because it feeds your soul.
Your ideas are not valued in your job/industry
Do you often feel like your ideas are dismissed by others in your workplace, yet outside of work people usually respond positively and with intrigue? This is a phenomenon that I have identified as being part of a bigger problem; say it with me: You are working in the wrong job/ industry!
I have had personal experiences where my ideas were dismissed and trivialized by the people I worked with, especially when it came to things related to technology (because why would I know how to connect an Ethernet cable, right?) I realized that the reason why my ideas were dismissed was not because they were bad ideas, but because the people I worked with did not have a high opinion of the person who the ideas were coming from. Basically, they didn’t see me as a person who they believed would know the right answer. I was working in a job/industry where people like me were rarely in positions of power or seen to hold value, and so, my ideas were judged as the same.
If you discover that you are working in the wrong job/industry, do not wait too long before you make the changes necessary to start living the life you want. Time is our most valuable resource, yet so many of us fritter it away while waiting for an opportunity to come to us. Don’t wait too long to pursue your passion and make a fresh start.
Making the decision to pursue your passions is not an easy one. Many people go back and forth for years, or even decades before nailing down the elusive “Start Date” for their dreams to begin. Some people never take the jump, and continue on with the monotony of life until it is too late.
When you make the big decision, it will seem overwhelming at first. You may feel consumed by the desire to “do everything at once”. You may even enter a manic state just trying to organize your thoughts. Until you are properly prepared, you will have to balance your priorities with family life, and your boring day job (until you can escape it!)
5 Ways to Balance Your New Life
Photo by Jermaine Ulinwa on Pexels.com
Exercise regularly
Exercising regularly allows your brain and body to work at high efficiency. Physical exercise increases your ability to remember things, and plan upcoming events with your family. Regular exercise will also add stamina so that your mind can be stronger for longer.
Eat Properly
Eating healthy and nutrient-rich food will allow your brain to stay in top condition. Trying new healthy foods will also expose your brain to new flavors and textures that will encourage balance in your body. Avoid feeling sluggish by drinking Kombucha to to boost your gut health.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
Wake up earlier
Wake up 1-2 hours early to have solitary time to work on your passion projects. If your project cannot be accommodated by waking up earlier, then you can try to reconfigure your schedule to allow 1 or 2 hours during the mid day or on weekends. One hour devoted to your passion each day adds up to over 30 hours per month. That is time that can be spent unproductively if you allow it. Consistency is key, so carve out the time required to develop yourself, and you will see improvements quickly.
Keep visual tabs on your ongoing projects
Allow your progress on projects to stare you in the face. Take photos and share them with friends and family. Allow the visual representation of your ongoing project to inspire you to keep going! Look at it every day. Use the time spent looking at it to explore ways you can improve.
Involve your family
The best way to balance your new passion pursuit with your family life is by incorporating the two together. Ask you daughter or son to watch you as you set up stages of your project Take your spouse with you to learn things about your passion. The important thing is the time spent together with loved ones. Show them how much you care by involving them in your life as it evolves.
The transition into a life where you pursue your passions can be difficult. These 5 ways to balance your family life will assist you in overcoming the growing pains with these changes.
For the most part, we are living in an age of wonder. Technology has allowed us to have access to information that can improve our lives, and we know more about our world than ever before.Some of us have been able to harness these advantages to reach our potential and live the life that we choose- instead of a life prescribed by others. You want to achieve this too, but something is holding you back.
Ten Things That Are Holding You Back From the Life You Want
An unfulfilling job or a poor work environment
Nothing is more draining to your soul than selling your time to a miserable job. Get your act together and figure out a plan to leave a bad work environment as soon as possible!
Watching too much television
Sure, binge watching shows is fun, and it allows you to stay current with what everyone else is doing. But why are you so interested in doing what everyone else is? Aren’t you searching to pursue your passion because you want to be more like yourself? Take a second look at your priorities.Photo by Susanne Jutzeler on Pexels.com
Worrying or thinking too much about what your neighbors think
Chances are that they aren’t thinking about you. If you hardly know your neighbors, this fear is likely to be all in your head.
A commute to work that is more than 20-25 minutes
Remember that whatever length of time it takes you to get to work each morning will be at least one and a half times longer after work. Many employers stagger their start times, so morning commutes can be deceptively shorter than the time it takes to get home. Your 45 minute commute to work in the morning is stealing up to 2.5 hours per day from your life.
Eating poorly
If you put low grade fuel into your body, you are more likely to get poor performance out of it. Skip the chips and eat a carrot!
Spending too much time on social media
Getting caught in the never ending “scroll” is how these companies keep you addicted to their products, and keep you stuck in a loop. Set limits for your use of social media unless you are using it to run a business.
Not reading enough.
Your mind expands when it is exposed to new concepts. Set your internet browser to deliver you content from news journals like The New York Times, NPR.com, or TheConversation.com – Firefox has great plugins for this.
Getting too hung up on the details, or looking too broadly at the big picture-
These actions can derail your main intent and overwhelm you.
Not meeting enough new people each week/ regularly
Part of personal growth involves stepping outside of yourself and expanding your experiences. Without meeting new people, you will find it difficult to widen your world view.Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com
Not getting enough exercise
Now stop reading and go outside for a walk!
Do you have any more examples of things that are holding you back from living the life you want? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!Stephanie
One of the ways I like to stay organized in life and professionally is by writing down everything that I need to remember. My to do lists are no exception. I love to do lists because of the endorphins I get from crossing the completed item off of my list. I also save my to-do lists once I have completed them, and here are five reasons why…
I am able to track what I have completed- the completed list contains an itemized description of what I have accomplished during the time period.
I can follow up on anything I was unsuccessful with or unsatisfied with- What you failed on, you will prevail on! Keep going.
Have you tried this? What are your thoughts? Thanks for reading, and please subscribe for more!
Lillybochic 