The Importance of Being Earnest to Your Creative Self

Sometimes it takes just one moment in your life to have your entire creative future completely destroyed. Like when the art teacher looked at your favourite drawing and said: ’Ok, I’ll give you a passing mark although you will never be able to make a decent drawing.’ Or when your grand dad said: ’What the hell do you need a guitar for? You don’t make big bucks playing the guitar!!!’ There were also times when you were constantly discouraged from developing your creativity due to wrong attitudes of people who should have supported you most, like your friends or members of your family. We have all met people who would tell us that we were not good enough, or creative enough, people who had better ideas for us and our future.

And then you grow up to become what you are right now, and you always feel a bit nostalgic about those days when you had high hopes for you becoming a successful astronaut or artist. You still feel the urge to do something creative in your life but now there are other obstacles in the way: your work, lack of free time or money, your family duties... And even if you do manage to summon enough strength to go forward and do something about it, you are again discouraged by haterz: your spouse, colleagues or friends who may think that your efforts are ridiculous and futile...

DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM!

Follow your creative instincts and be creative in your own way. Find some time just for you, if only 15 minutes a day. Start from small; create something new every day or every week. At first your work may appear naive and clumsy, but keep creating. It is not the result, it is the process that matters.

BECAUSE, WHEN YOU DO CREATIVE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE...

You feel accomplished.
You mange to create something with your two hands using your own ideas. You bring to life something that did not exist before.

You get energy recharge.
You might feel exhausted from your creative work, but on the other hand, this work will fill you with new life energy that you will be able to use to do other nice things in your everyday life.

You become a healthy person.
This new creative energy will soon start to affect your whole body – frustration, tension from everyday life, depression... all that will go away and you will become a positive and relaxed person that spreads good vibes. Many of your health problems will diminish or even totally disappear and you will become more beautiful, both inside and outside.

You regain your self-confidence.
If you are engaged in something that you really love and enjoy you are likely to be successful. Sooner or later people will start to notice what you do and begin to appreciate that. In time, they will consider you an expert on the subject and turn to you for help and advice. Maybe you will even be able to earn money doing what you like most. Isn’t that awesome!

You may become inspiration for others.
Your friends may decide to follow your example and start pursuing their own passions. While being engaged in your creative work you will get in touch with other likeminded people. You will make new friendships, maybe go to new places, you will be inspired and in return, you will inspire.

You will have peace in your heart.
You will wake up excited about new ideas that you are going to create, and go to bed satisfied with what you have accomplished that day. You will find pleasure in work and realize that you can achieve anything you set your mind onto.

If you are having doubts about what I wrote so far, think of the people in your real life. I am sure that there is a neighbour, a relative or a friend who has some passion, some hobby, second or even main profession, something that they like doing very, very much.  You will probably realize that most, if not all of the things that I mentioned easily apply to them.

So start doing it NOW!
Think of some passion that you have always had and write down the pledge that you are going to pursue it no matter what. Start today and dedicate at least 15 minutes a day thinking, reading, informing yourself about it... and take action. Now is the time as good as any. There is no point in postponing it!

HOWEVER...
If you do not know how to start, here is a little exercise that may show you the way towards your new passion. 

Take a pen and a piece of paper. Give yourself exactly 60 seconds (do not cheat!!!) to write down as many things and activities you can think of that you like and enjoy doing.

Now, study the list. Somewhere, on this piece of paper is written your future passion. It may be a single item on the list or a combination of several items that can be transformed into a new activity that you will enjoy.

By taking this test you have already started your journey towards discovering your passions. Do not stop now!  

FOR YOUR INSPIRATION:
In case you decide to follow my advice and really start NOW, here is what you can do: start by discovering your passion. In case you find it difficult, please read this article about How to find your passion and other useful articles onensojourney.com