Part Two: The Power of your Mind
Megan Rasmussen
Director of Project Operations, Word-Slinger, Avid Taco-Lover
“The Big Four” for Creatives
As much as I love embracing the Power of your “Room”, I really do believe that your mind is the most powerful tool you can give (and take away from) your creativity. Our minds are stretched and transformed every single day- by the words we hear and the people we see, by the things we do and the ways we spend our time. In Part One of this blog, I talked about using your senses to ignite your creativity, but what if managing your thoughts can have the same effect?
Part Two: The Power of your Mind
You know the saying “Think outside the box”? I like to imagine a world without a “box”. It’s pretty hard to do these days, since we have constant connection with social media and the entertainment world showing us the best “box” you could possibly have in life, fully packed with skinny legs, your own personal style team, a #1 NY Times Bestseller you stumbled into writing, and a new invention in your back pocket.
I have a box. I wish I didn’t and I am confident that one day I won’t, but for now, this is what it looks like: it’s shaped like a square, but it isn’t solid- it’s more of an outline of space with lots of sharp edges that don’t have endings. It’s quiet and controlled, and it almost always creeps in when I let myself get distracted by comparison, because it knows that this town is full of great talent for me to worry myself sick with.
The more I think about the box (and say “box” for the 54893053 time), the more I am convinced that it is just a thought I need to learn how to manage. That if I let myself believe in a creativity that exists in its fullest sense, then I don’t even see a box in my picture. How do I make this a reality?
Eliminate comparison.
And of course, celebrate today like there’s no tomorrow (#cheesealert).
You know what the difference between creative celebration and comparison is? Only one fills you up. Celebration automatically evokes the kind of emotions that make you want to create. Comparison almost always evokes the negative. So, without trying to sound like a hypocrite (I know I spend way too much time on the gram), I have without a doubt seen this help my inspiration to be creative: spend a little less time scrolling through social media wishing your life looked like someone else’s. If you want to find more freedom to be creative, you need to fill your mind with the kind of thoughts that will actually allow that to happen. My favorite way to do that is by celebrating. I celebrate almost anything I can justify celebrating. I’ve taken myself out for dinner because I crushed an interview (I didn’t get the job). I’ve splurged on a pair of Madewell jeans because I ate healthy for two weeks (I didn’t lose weight). I’ve spent a lunch break coloring because I knew I would have more visual direction if I practiced like I did when I was child (This is a go-to for me). I’ve gone to Barcelona for happy hour simply because I made it through a Monday (Trying not to let this be a weekly occurrence). And looking back on those decisions, not one of them made me feel bad or hindered my ability to crush it at work the next day. To be honest, more often than not, those celebrations pumped me up to work even harder.
So what does your box look like? And are you ready to let it go?
Speak the truth.
If you’re constantly telling yourself that you aren’t good enough/creative enough/talented enough/unique enough, you are going to start believing it. When we spend all of our free time feeling sorry for ourselves and wishing we were all the things we think we aren’t, we begin to believe the lie that we are incapable. So stop talking crap about yourself! You are as creative as you will let yourself be. You were built to be limitless in the realm of creativity. You can grow, and protect, and honor your creativity- if you let yourself. Believe that truth, let it break apart the limits you have set, and see how it changes your ability to be creative.
Sometimes all it takes is opening your eyes. Noticing a few things around you and bringing your mind back to the present. And guess what? In the present, there is no box. There is only room for the power of your mind and the movement of your creativity to expand.
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Part Three: The Power of your Craft
Our “craft”, our ideas and creations carry weight, not only because it’s our own unique interpretation of it, but because no two people in the world are exactly alike. It’s time to put away the comparison, the perfectionism and self-doubt and feel confident in our craft just because it’s our version of it.
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