The Odds
And Ends Blog
College student, CPhT, NaNoWriMo writer, bookworm, gamer, crafter, Lurker of the Interwebs, and nerd of all trades.
5 Ways to be a Happier Creative
We all know the tortured artist schtick. To be honest, I can be a downer sometimes myself, but I think it would be terrible for us to all perpetuate the idea that being creative and miserable are mutually exclusive.
So here’s to being creative and actually enjoying it:
1. Refuse to See Your Entire Life Either as a Success or a Failure
The idea here is to never buy into the lie that your life is either successful or failing in terms of your creative output. Think of the most successful creative person you can, if you look closely you can see a series of successes and failures.
The best way for me to look at the creative life is as a series of projects which can be successful in some ways and fail in other ways. For instance, some projects are really successful in the development of your skill but not financially advantageous.
Also, don’t believe that there is some level of success where you have now “arrived” or attained a level of success which can never been denied to you, like being hailed a “creative genius” with endless financial gain, forever. I could tell you many examples of artists and musicians who seem like they have “arrived” with one project and then completely fail the next.
2. Make Something Everyday
Will Bryant says something like, “I make stuff because if I don’t I get sad”. A silly and profound statement. Last year I did a daily drawing project where I created a new character every weekday. I found this statement to ring very true.
This practice gave me a sense of creative productivity every single day, which is a serious morale booster. Even if you don’t show anyone, it can help you feel prolific and unlimited in your creative abilities, which in turn increases your confidence.
3. Be Authentic
This is huge. Many people have done amazing things in creativity and have received many rewards, successes and prizes for them. So there is a lot of incentive for YOU to be THEM. But the trick is knowing the truth: you CAN’T be them. Trying to be something you are not will make you feel like an old sock. You already know this, but I thought I’d remind you.
4. Know Your Purpose
Shooting aimlessly into the dark can feel like…shooting aimlessly into the dark. Your purpose doesn’t have to be mind meltingly important. I like the humble yet ambitious purpose the great Debbie Millman has taken upon herself to “try to make the supermarket more beautiful”.
Try to clarify what you want to achieve overall so that everything you do has a sense of purpose. Purpose equals meaning, and to most creatives I know, a sense of meaning is why they want to make art and why they DO NOT want to work in a factory.
5. Address and Defeat Your Fears
That dreadful fear is a bully that is killing your soul and it should be stood up to. Listen to it, don’t ignore it. Hear what it’s actually saying and then dismantle it. Talk to someone about it openly, if the fear is tied to reality, then face it and take it down with integrity. If it’s all lies, all smoke and mirrors then let it disappear in the cloud of smoke that it is. If you are doing super boring unadventurous work, you won’t have any fears at all…but who wants to do that?
Hope this makes you a bit happier today.
- Andy J. Miller
P.S. To tackle the piling up questions here on this tumblr I have started taking on 1 hour video creative coaching, for more info click here.
Benozzo Gozzoli (Italian, 1420-1497), Procession of the Middle King (detail), 1459-60, Fresco, Chapel, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence.
John Singer Sargent, A Siesta (detail), 1907
Alix of Hesse prepares for her first ball in 1889. Arranging her hair is her English nurse, Mrs. Orchard, while her sister Yelizaveta Feodorovna (“Ella”) supervises.
Palestinian refugees in Egypt // May 17, 2013
As Palestinians around the world recently marked the 65th anniversary of their mass displacement during the war over Israel’s 1948 creation, the refugees in Gezirat al-Fadel say they have it worse than others who fled to Jordan, Syria or Lebanon. Unlike the millions who live in refugee camps in those countries, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) does not have offices in Egypt and so does not offer Palestinian refugees in Egypt assistance.
[Credit : Khalil Hamra/AP]
5 Wikipedia Entries for When You’re Feeling Possibly Receptive to the Idea That Ghosts Might Exist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belchen_Tunnel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moberly-Jourdain_incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenheim_Poltergeist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor’s_Grove_Cemetery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Morgan5 Wikipedia Articles for When You Want to Take Your “Walking Dead” Costume to The Next Level
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorruptibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_burial
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Felix-Mentor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Brown_Vampire_Incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necromancy5 Wikipedia Articles for When You Find Yourself Wondering About the Historical Accuracy of ‘Hocus Pocus’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moll_Dyer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Sherwood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Talbye_Trial5 Wikipedia Entries for When You Start to Wonder if Your Pet Knows Something You Don’t
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham_Wood_Mystery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtoun_Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_dog_(ghost)5 Wikipedia Entries for When You’re a Complete Anglophile, Even on Halloween
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borley_Rectory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_of_Glamis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_in_the_Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper5 Wikipedia Articles for When You Decide Your Little Cousin/Nephew/Sister Isn’t Appropriately Scared of Monsters, and You Need to Remedy That ASAP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Lick_Monster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melonheads
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster5 Wikipedia Entries for When You Want Something Mystifying to Discuss on GChat All Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bloop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_pass_accident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Dahlia5 Wikipedia Articles for When You Feel The Need to Brush Up on All Things “The Devil,” (As One Does From Time to Time)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil’s_Footprints
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Thunderstorm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Devil
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil’s_Tramping_Ground5 Wikipedia Entries For When You Feel The Need to Prove That Women Can Be Heartless Murderers, Too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Báthory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Dyer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Gunness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_bell5 Wikipedia Articles For When You Find Yourself Scoffing at This List Because You’re Still Not Sufficiently Creeped Out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_Michel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faces_of_belmez
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysisSooo reading these tonight. And I felt rather proud that I knew quite a few of these already. Like Voynich. Every linguist’s wet dream.
