Good morning. Today's episode explores how to protect your creative energy. I think this is something that is really important for people if you're trying to live a creative life because you have so many things that come into your life that really can take away from your creative energy. It can be people, the environments that you're working in, the networks that you're surrounding yourself with, or just even your daily habits and routines. It is something that's very precious and important for you to consider in your pursuit to becoming creative entrepreneur or creative person.
I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the things that I do as a working artist and designer. I am constantly faced with the challenge of protecting my creative energy. I have throughout the entire process of my career. When you're first starting out on an endeavor like this, you are probably at the biggest risk. People around you might say things like, "That's cool that you're interested in doing that, but it's not really practical."
Most artists I know deal with of have dealt with the pressures to explain, define, or defend what they do, to people who can't fathom the arts as a viable career path or endeavor. Not to mention their own self doubt. You might follow an artist on Instagram or on YouTube, or just know an artist, maybe you've taken a class with them or a creative entrepreneur and they look like wildly successful. I bet you most of them have dealt with the sense of, "Am I good enough, or"Am I gonna continue being good enough?"
It's like you're constantly dealing with this inner voice, this inner battle. So don't think that people who you thought have made it to, "the light at the end of the tunnel," aren't going through the same thing. The biggest thing that you really have to focus on is the voice that's in your own head. I deal with this voice all the time and I have to tell it to be quiet. It's a voice that asks you, "Are you sure you should be doing this," or maybe "you're not good enough," or it's just constantly asking you questions that take you more to a negative place. It's very easy to listen to your inner voice, the part of yourself that isn't so sure of how successful you might be at something.
What I do is I will listen for a brief moment and then I'll say, "Okay it's time for you to be quiet," and I will just ignore it. I'm very stubborn in that way, One of the best qualities that comes from my stubbornness is that when people or my voice says that I can't do something then I usually charge forward and I go do it. Just prove that I can do it.
The first thing that you have to do is you have to find a way to conquer that voice inside of your head, because if you are passionate about something and you wanna do something. Then the only thing that keeps you from getting there are the actions you take to get there. To overcome the things around you that might be getting in your way, you have to find, You. You have to navigate around those obstacles. It doesn't mean they will move out of your way. In life, most of those road blocks stay there with flashing signs and say "You can't get past me." You have to be smarter than the signs. You have to go around them.
The second thing is surrounding yourself with people who are either following their vision, following their dreams, or are attempting to do things that are out of their comfort zones. They themselves are going through the same thing. If you can relate to those people, you see that they are also trying. You may witness their successes and failures, which can be helpful to you. Surrounding yourself with entrepreneurs is invaluable, because you see what they are up against, the risks they take, and you see them trying to do things that most people are afraid to do.
If you can surround yourself with people like that, it can really help you when you get into those spots where your creative energy is at risk of being damaged or negatively effected.
The third thing is to get any kind of negative people out of your space as much as possible. There are going be naysayers in your life. I have had a ton of naysayers in my life. I've had all kinds of people in my life that didn't really necessarily support what I was doing and thought that I was wasting my time or trying to make a career out of something that should have just been a hobby.
To me, it's a way of life. To not live that way, is an injustice to myself. When you're doing what you are supposed to be doing and you keep pushing forward with it, all of those negative voices become background noise. I truly feel that this is the path that I'm supposed to be on, even if sometimes it totally sucks. You may feel the same. Get those negative people out of your life and stand up to them. You can say, "It may not be for you, but this is something that I'm very passionate about and this is what I wanna do."
When you're trying to pursue a creative life, in most cases, you can't just blindly jump, and let go. Those things that weigh you down, can be tools in your toolbox, you take along with you and use to your advantage.
For example, when I first started out I worked in the medical field. I knew that I had to have a base that provided me the security, in order to pursue the things that I wanted to do. Then slowly I began to transfer most of my energy over into my creative pursuits. I still to this day I teach a medical class at a college in North Carolina. I maintained a safety net, because let's face it, when you're in a creative career sometimes it is awesome and you think... "I can't believe I'm getting all this work." Then other times, you might say, "Oh my gosh, am I ever gonna get another project in my life?"
Therefore, it is good to have a little security in place. Thus, the third way that you can protect your creative energy is to make sure that you have things put in place so that you're able to invest time into the things that you wanna do without putting yourself at too much risk in the beginning. There will be times where you have to just jump into risk and you have to work as hard as you can and hope it's gonna work out for you.
Moments like those can be scary times. But if you have a network of people around you, and you make that voice in your head just go away yet acknowledge it, you can keep pushing forward. Eventually you will be able to move into this realm of living the creative life.
While you are on this path keep those past connections. Interestingly enough, some of the past connections I made and maintained, some not even tied to the field that I am in have, led to things that created opportunities and projects for me. Projects I may not have gotten if I wasn't still connected to those things, groups, or people.
This morning or throughout the week, I want you to think about, How can you protect the creative energy in your life. Whether you're a creative entrepreneur, or not. Do an inventory; what are the things that get in the way of you reaching your fullest potential, how can you navigate around them? Again, you may not be able to get rid of those obstacles completely. I hope this will inspire you and hopefully it will help you push forward. Look for those really positive things in your life that can make you live your fullest potential. Protect that creative energy that is so precious and meaningful. Wishing you a great day.
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Ellie McIntoshEllie McIntosh, grew up as a creative thinker. Inspired by her father, a furniture designer an inventor and musician, she took the path to creativity. Her artistic journey has taken her as far as France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Spain, Germany, Morocco, and many places throughout the United States and Mexico, where she utilized various Archives
February 2021
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