Have you ever had a season where you just felt like you were in a creative rut? Yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had absolutely zero creative ideas to contribute to the projects I was working on. And it seems whenever those spells hit no amount of wishing, hoping and willing yourself to simply be more creative will help! When these pesky droughts roll around I know it’s time to break away from my computer and spend some time recharging my batteries and reconnecting with what inspires me most.
For me, that usually means getting outside, breathing in fresh air and soaking in nature. Unfortunately, it’s about a million degrees in South Carolina so the outdoors has nothing to offer me but heat stroke. Instead I opted to spread out with my watercolors and just paint. One sketchpad and a few hours later, I came up for breath and found myself feeling totally rejuvenated. As someone who works in a field that demands my utmost creativity all day every day, it is so refreshing to immerse myself in another form of art that is just for me, just for fun. For a long time I struggled to justify spending my time on anything that wasn’t directly related to my work, feeding myself the lie that doing anything that wouldn’t somehow come back to turn a profit was a waste of time. Oh please! Whether you’re a designer, florist, photographer or anything that requires an ounce of inspiration and creativity, you must tend to that well inside yourself. If you let it get too low or, even worse, completely dry, you will feel that in your bones. Whatever projects you’re working on won’t receive your full creative potential and you will be able to feel deep down inside of yourself that you are running empty. And that feeling stinks, y’all. As a creative, it’s so important to learn to listen to yourself and keep letting that well of bright ideas, beauty and pure magic grow deeper and deeper!
“But who has time to go outside or paint or read books?” you’re probably asking me. You do! You have to learn to carve out whatever amount of time you can to tend to the need to stay inspired. As your own boss, no one will fight for your free time so you have to fight for that time on your own. It takes a lot of self-discipline but the end result is more than worth it. You deserve to have time to fill your heart with whatever makes you happy and stirs something deep within your soul. Your happiness is worth taking a break from your inbox and doing more of what makes your well of creativity overflow!
And sometimes feeding that well of creativity will look a little silly and kind of ridiculous, like listening to pop music and painting out whatever lyrics catch your ear. And that’s okay! If I’ve learned anything in life it’s that we all need some silliness every now and then to keep us from taking ourselves too seriously. So this week I’ve partnered up (unofficially) with Lil John to provide one slightly silly but totally rad free download! Even if you totally hate this song or not, you can’t deny that it’s quickly turned into one of many anthems of Summer 2014. #turndownforwhat
Happy Friday, friends! Wishing you a weekend filled with moments that make your heart sing!
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