Creative Living Beyond Fear

I have never thought of myself as a creative person. I would actually deny any creative ability that might exist within me. I viewed creativity as a natural talent with the "eye" to design, paint, craft, draw, and be excellent at DIY projects (if you know my aunt Holly- Haji- she is the definition of this creative talent). However, over the past few months, the words create and creative, especially in the form of writing, starting to show up in my life. So naturally, after a few instances, I decided to track these experiences in my journal. Oddly enough, these moments started to happen, or I was more aware of noticing them, two days after publishing my first blog post.

This summer while I was reading You Are A Bad Ass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero, and I had a spark of creative inspiration. Jen's writing is real, humorous, and bold; she hones in on living an authentic, awesome life. In the section "Take the First Right Step" she says "get out of your head and take action; keep following the right-feeling things and see where they lead. Pay attention to opportunities that suddenly present themselves. What have you been saying forever that you'd love to do? Take the first step in the direction toward something that feels right and see where it leads you. And do it NOW. Once you take the first step, you might land on a stepping stone.. no matter where your first step lands you, if you keep moving forward appreciate wherever you're at..."After I read that last sentence, I wrote in my journal that I would start my blog, something I had been thinking about for a while now. Two months later, I officially published my website and first blog post; the moment felt right.

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Here is an inside look at my creative tracking list:

1. You Are A Bad Ass by Jen Sincero (June)

2. Published first blog post (7.28)

3. My zodiac birth chart reading: moon in Aquarius, III House (house of communication)- emotionally creative, emotional and passionate communicator, "likely have a particular talent for writing"; Mercury, V House (house of creativity)- "probably gifted in writing"; Uranus in Capricorn- "strikingly talented in writing, a voice uniquely your own, creative"; North Node in Capricorn, III House- "have an extraordinary talent for writing and communicating", "what will bring you self-transcendence and revelation is the success of a writing and/or communicative career, achieving your career aspirations and writing aspirations are both gifts which are meant to lead you to your truest self." (7.30)

4. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (August)

5. Zebra animal spirit card: creative, visionary (7.23, 8.4, 9.4, & 9.28)

6. Firefly animal spirit card: to bring into balance- write, create (7.30 & 8.10)

7. A family friend shared that one of her goals this year is to create (8.9)

8. Aquarius full moon: "How can I harness my creative talents?" (8.15)

9. Humming bird animal spirit card: creativity; source of rejuvenation and energy (8.27)

10. Lizard animal spirit card: creative project (9.6)

11. Nightingale animal spirit card: write (9.7)

12. Full moon in Pisces: "keep flexible inner boundaries and you can make the best of this creative boost" (9.13/9.14)

13. Swan animal spirit card: effortless creativity; writing (9.17)

14. The Pattern app: "the ideal career for you allows you to be a leader, creator, and visionary; this will allow you to thrive" (9.18)

15. WYLD Leadership creative resources blog post: "Gallup has found that creativity is a business asset; only 29% of workers strongly agree that they're expected to be creative or think of new ways to do things at work, having the space and freedom to be creative and take risks leads to innovative ideas." (9.18)

16. Boodbop women’s empowerment retreat: "We are all creative" (9.22)

17. The Four Agreements: Words can inspire or harm (September)

18. Anglers Arrien, Cornerstones of Wisdom Ted Talk: “All humans are here to create” (10.5)

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After the first few "creative" sightings, I started to tap into the idea more and began to read Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. After reading her book, I now have a different perspective of what it means to be creative and understand that we all can live creatively, it just looks different for every person:

• Creativity is a wild and unexpected bonus from the Universe.

• Let inspiration lead you wherever it wants. For most of history people just made things and they didn't make such a freaking deal out of it; inspiration hits us when we least expect it and we have to grab hold of it before it's gone.

• Big Magic: the dive relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration.

• We never need someone's permission to make creative work.

• If you really want to have creativity in your life, you will find a way to make it happen.

• Ingredients for creativity: courage, enchantment, permission (self), persistence, trust and FORGET about perfect. Perfectionism=Fear.

• Creativity feeds the soul.

• Say YES to curiosity.

• Creating healthy boundaries so you can live your best, authentic life allows you to feel more positive and whole; when we say no to something that does not fulfill us, we are saying yes to something that does, something that gives us purpose or energy.

• Do not let fear, worry, or negative self-talk, "I am not good enough" hold you back.

• When you create something that takes you out of yourself, it is transformative and you encounter inspiration.

• Allow curiosity to carry you through the hard and uncomfortable.

• To live creatively, you must carve out space and time; this is not only physical space, but also, mental and emotional space. To feed our curious, creative soul, we have to be mindful and intentional.

• If your work is authentic... it will feel original.

"Creative living? Any life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear; a creative life is an amplified life; a happier life; an expanded life; bringing forth the jewels within you."

While I have always enjoyed writing in the form of hand written birthday cards, Instagram posts, speeches, journaling or poems, I never thought of that passion as creative. As I revealed in my first blog post, starting a blog has been on my heart and mind for a while, but fear and self-limiting beliefs (I can't, I'm not good enough, would people read it? what would people think?; a lot of people have blogs, what will make mine different?) held me back. I don't believe that any of the above experiences were coincidences; they were all moments of inspiration knocking, waiting for me to listen and to finally say YES and claim my creative spirit.

F.E.A.R: False evidence appearing real

Blogging has brought me so much joy, more than I had expected; I am energized and excited to write almost every day. Having the opportunity to capture and put into words powerful, inspirational stories, experiences, and moments and share them with others is incredibly fulfilling. However, I think the most beautiful gift I have received through this creative project is the incredible support from my family and friends as they share that my stories are providing them with inspiration and hope; it's building connection and I love that for everyone who finds their way here. Right now blogging is a fun hobby, but I am excited to see how it evolves. Creativity does not only contribute to our overall happiness, it also has health benefits, improving mental and physical well-being. So that's awesome!

Saying yes a little at a time and witnessing the positive outcomes has increased my confidence to continue to trust my intuition and say yes to opportunities that align with who I am and provide me with an outlet to continue to live the life I desire; saying yes has taught me the power of being brave.

"Be brave, without bravery you will never know the world as richly as it longs to be known. Without bravery, your life will remain small- far smaller than you probably wanted your life to be."-Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

What have you been saying forever that you'd love to do? Take the first step in the direction toward something that feels right and see where it leads you. Don’t allow fear to hold you back, rather, allow it to energize and motivate you to say “Yes” to something that seems scary or even impossible. Embrace the possibility of failing, knowing that it can lead to growth and a fuller you. Start NOW; say yes to living your full, creative life!

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"Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say YES."- Elizbabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

What does creativity mean to you? How do you live creatively?

What do you want to say YES to right now?