Wow! 1st day of the 1st month of a new year. I don’t know how you guys feel about it (you can tell me in a comment :)), but for me, it is every year the strange same feeling of a certain excitement.
There is that old year we all left behind – with its great and special moments, but also dramatic or painful ones. And then, there is this new year in front of us – full of new adventures and challenges – some of them continuous, some of them unique. As a child, I thought every new year is a new chance to start again from the beginning. Now, with some decades of experience collected :), I’m still a fan of new chances, BUT I learned that staying realistic is a good thing, not a bad one!
Everyone should consider his/her circumstances and reflect his/her goals from a balanced point of view: WHAT DO I WANT? IS IT A LONG-TERM OR SHORT-TERM GOAL? WHAT AM I WILLING AND ABLE TO RISK TO REACH IT? The answers may be complex, richly layered like the frozen bubbles in the ice I caught in the photo above two weeks ago.
In my first post of 2023, I want to share with you what helps me best when I feel a bit trapped between non avertable liabilities and high demands on myself:
- First Things First: Sometimes, you’d like to start a project, BUT a friend or family member needs your help, or your boss calls and asks you to work overtime to finish an important job. Those situations require a lot of ability to discriminate – there might be occasions which never come back again, if I miss the right moment to act. BUT remember: there is an appointed time for everything ;)!
- Self-Reflection: Why do I feel confused/anxious/blocked? Can/do I have to change the situation now, today or tomorrow, or is it something that includes others and their decisions as well, and therefore needs time? Most time we block ourselves easily because we think we have to fix everything right now in the moment.
- Keep It Simple – Ideas on the Fly: Do you know those moments sitting in a bus or train, even at work, and there it comes up to your mind: a great topic, motive, or theme to write/paint/sing/dance (…) about!! See Point 5 – there was the muse! If you have no time to realize it immediately, keep it simple, AND write/sketch it down! The best ideas come on the fly. I love to use the notes app on my phone to collect ideas. It really makes me happy to look at them from time to time and to memorize the works created on the base of them :).
- The Step-By-Step Hack: Do you only see the big ominous mountain of to-dos in front of you?? You have time to start with it, but you don’t know at which point, YES, you’re right – this is the worst! Only way to break down the mountain is to destroy it step by step. When I have a deadline to meet, I try to focus on the basics. I have only one hour time per day to invest – OK then, I should use that hour in the best possible way! For my art projects, I often use my evening hours left after work – step by step, layer by layer, hour by hour: use your individual time, split it if necessary, BUT get started! A famous Japanese saw says: Better to do one single pushup every day than doing none – in one year, you could have done at least 365 pushups! Isn’t that encouraging? So, let’s take our steps guys!!!
- Use the Muse: See Point 3! To finish with the best, this is the moment – you feel it, you imagine it, you have time to react to it: the spirit of the muse! This is the ultimate momentum every artist is waiting for: the right time, the right place, and everything is prepared ❤ USE IT! Nothing should keep you back now – best things happen when they are supposed to happen – so, let it happen!
If you have some other tips and tricks which help(ed) you to resolve creative blockades, please share with me, I would be glad to hear from your experience :)!
Wishing you a big bunch of energy and creativity for 2023!
magdalenaarte
magdalenaarte.com 