Creating with intention
Oprah asks her guests this question on her Super Soul podcasts. A thoughtful pause follows, and the answer is often a mix of wistfulness, courage, sometimes even regret.
How would you answer the same question?
What lesson has taken you the longest to learn?
What would you do if there were no obstacles?
If money and time were not considerations?
If you knew you would not fail?
Your playing small serves no one.
We often consider how far we have to left to go.
Three more days until holiday.
$10,000 to hit our fundraiser.
Two terms left in the fiscal year.
Four more miles in this run.
Six credits to meet requirements.
Yet how often do we measure and appreciate the distance we’ve traveled?
Let the ground you’ve already covered fuel you.
Your project will fail. Your spouse will file for divorce. You’ll be looked over for the promotion. You’ll lose money on your startup. Your child will get arrested. People will talk badly about you. It will start raining as soon as you leave the office.
All of these things can happen.
Are you prepared?
Life can be hard. It can feel like a momentous effort to get out of bed. Yet these are the days that matter. These days show you who you really are, what kind of stuff you’re made of, who you call in your dark hours. You can’t change what is happening around you, but you can choose how you’ll respond.
Do you have a game plan for life’s lows?
Write a go-to list that provides extra healing and care for days you’re feeling less than prime. Watch a movie, meditate, write, take a yoga class, go for a long walk, listen to great music, eat delicious food. Even small actions can help reset your energy and redirect your focus.
And if you can’t snap out of your funk, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Reach out. Even your closest, cheeriest friends’ worlds have turned black at some point in time. You are not alone and never will be. The sun will return.
The internet has made it easy to sit back and watch and endlessly consume other people’s opinions, actions, projects, and work. It is now so easy to be a passive observer, to be someone who sits on the sidelines while others play in the game.
It is difficult to create. It takes time and dedication and focus. It takes courage to put something out in the world, something that might be discarded or mocked or rejected or possibly even ignored. But your livelihood requires this of you. Your happiness and passion are fueled by creativity. Building, writing, drawing, pasting, singing, connecting — these actions will inspire you.
Read good writing. Look at art. Find pictures and places that inspire you. But don’t count on others to do all of the work. Set a goal, make a few mistakes, and love the process. Your heart needs this.
A missed promotion. A late project. An injury. A disagreement with a loved one. A failed deal. A lost partnership. An audition with no call back.
When you hit a speed bump or obstacle, how do you deal? Do you focus on what cannot be and concentrate on what is out of your control? Or do you place emphasis on your response?
Obstacles test your mentality: is your mindset fixed or flexible? How long will you remain disappointed? Instead of dwelling on the outcome that might not be, what can you change? How can you grow?
Setbacks are opportunities to double-down on your goals.
Reflect and shift gears. Re-channel your energy. Stay your course.