Increase Creativity A-Z - J Is For Joy - How To Put The Joy Back In Your Creative Life Today

So often we realise all too late that the creative ventures we set off on with such excitement, energy and high hopes, have become painful struggles, as we wrestle with all kinds of barriers to our creativity.

At some point, our creative life – and the creative projects we used to take such pleasure and joy from – seems to have deteriorated dramatically.

Where we once heard bouncing playful melodies and luscious full harmonies, there's now just a flat monotone drone.

Before there was a riot of every hue and colour, now there's just various shades of mid-grey.

So what happens? Where does the all the joy go?

And more importantly, how can you start to put the joy back in YOUR creative life?

The most common reasons we start to lose enjoyment and interest in our creative work and projects is because we lose sight of why we began. Or we began for the wrong reasons in the first place.

Every creative project doesn't need to be planned out in every last detail. That doesn't allow for spontaneity and exploration.

But you need to have some idea of WHY you're creating what you're creating.

This may sometimes be specific aims, but can also be just for the fun of it. In fact, this is one of the main problems.

We often have a preconception that any creative work we do, and the creative energy we expend, MUST produce some glorious tangible end product.

We need some visible proof and justification that the time we've spent has been worthwhile.

But not every creative act has such obvious immediate results. Added to this, we're living, evolving human beings. We're not cold predictable machines, where if you put in one plus one you get two.

We're unpredictable, creative, experimental adventurers on voyages of new discovery!

Sometimes the most valuable learning experiences in our creating are when things DON'T produce the expect result. When mistakes are made, it allows the possibility of something other than predictable, safe perfection. It allows for YOUR unique expression of human creativity with all its glorious quirks, bumps and flaws!

Start reclaiming the joy in your creativity today.

Create what you YEARN to create. Create what you were born to create, not what you think you SHOULD be creating, or what other says you should be creating.

Only you know what that is, and only you can take the decision right now to start to reclaim the joy in your creative life.

Creativity Killers - How A Clown In Your Kitchen Kills Your Creativity

Imagine you had a clown in your kitchen.

Bright red nose, painted face, huge floppy shoes, baggy trousers, the full outfit. Just sitting there right on your worktop in between your kettle and your toaster.

The first time you saw him, no doubt you'd get quite a shock.

What's this clown doing in my kitchen??! Unless you live next door to a circus, it's unlikely you've had a clown in your kitchen all that often before...

The next time you go in your kitchen, he's still there. You still jump a little, but it's not as big a shock as the first time.

A few weeks pass and by this time, you're getting used to Bobo being there.

Sometimes you even make him a cup of tea and engage him in polite conversation. "LOVE those shoes. Do they come in any sizes smaller than a 30 Extra Extra Wide?"

Months down the line though, you don't even notice him anymore.

He's blended into the background, become part of what you expect to see in your kitchen when you make your breakfast every morning.

Friends come round for dinner. Friends you don't see very often.

"Hey there's a clown in your kitchen!" they shout in surprise.

"Oh yeh," you reply. "We don't really notice him anymore, he's part of the furniture".

So how does having a clown in your kitchen drain your creativity?

Remember when the clown first appeared? What a shock it was? Then how over time, the impact of him being in your kitchen got less and less until months later you barely noticed him.

It's the same with the kind of negative, destructive thinking that slowly kills your creativity, often without you even realising.

The thoughts start off kind of obvious.

Just as you settle down to begin a new project, they appear in your mind:

"Why are you even bothering to start? You know this'll end in failure, you'll mess it up just like you do all the other projects. Stop kidding yourself, you haven't got any creative talents anyway."

If you were with a friend who was just starting a new creative project and they this said this out loud, how would you react?

It's unlikely you'd let it pass without comment, and without reassuring them that they have LOADS of creative talents and they DON'T mess up everything they start, and then produce the evidence to prove it.

Why is it ok to turn a deaf ear when you say the same to yourself?

Because they're just clowns in your kitchen.

They've been around so long, and been heard so many times, that you don't notice them anymore.

But this is the precise reason WHY they're so dangerous.

Although it SEEMS you don't notice them on the surface, deeper in your subconscious you're absorbing every negative comment, every disparaging word.

And this adds negative pressure and makes it more and more difficult for you to create.

So what's the solution? How DO you get the clown out of your kitchen?

Step one, you have to recognise the negative thoughts as they appear.

Step two is turning them around, replacing them with something more positive.

Here's an example:

Negative thought: Why are you even bothering to start this project? You know it'll end in failure.

Positive Turnaround: The only way to truly fail is not to begin in the first place. Each time I get a result I don't expect, I can learn from it. Then I'm in a better, more informed position to take the next step.

This won't be easy at first, it takes patience and practice.

Make the commitment to start right now. Each time you have a negative, critical thought, stop it, write it down, and turn it around into one more positive. The more you do it the easier it'll become.

Stick with it and the positive rewards for your creativity in all aspects can be quite profound, and more dramatic than you could have imagined.