Hello Creative QB’s,

When you focus on what is, rather than what isn’t, what is comes into sharp focus, and what is not becomes what is!

If that sounds like a muddle of hocus pocus or a daze of confusing spells, let me explain what I mean.

3 minute read

In the background of everything I do lately, I’ve had a low-grade level of frustration and irritation. It’s not enough to rock the boat, but it’s always there in the background of my life.

Nothing is working quite how I want it, or how I expect it. I’m doing things I think I should do because other people do. This week I decided to nip-it-in-the-bud before it starts getting unruly, so I started looking around at what is and found what isn’t.

I make a life and a living from creativity. It means casting a brimming brew of creating, making, business, and life into one chock-full pot. It’s a glorious magical brew that mostly bubbles away on its own steam while I stir it every day.

Sometimes, if it goes off the boil, it can take me a while to notice, especially if I am tosing other ingredients into the pot and stirring without giving it a taste test.

These past few weeks I’ve been super focused on the business side of my art and book. I have forgotten to focus on the art, on the making – which is why I’m getting frustrated.

It’s Ok to focus on both, making a living from your creativity means it’s essential to lead ideas to action. But when I am putting too much of one element into the pot it spoils the whole brew and leaves a sour taste of frustration and irritation.

When low-grade dissatisfaction with life is enough to irritate or frustrate you, it may be a sign it’s time to lean into your creativity more. Learning to season the balance of a creative life by leaning into the creative process while letting go of attachment to expectation can help. Leaning back into your creativity can re-establish your purpose and meaning in life. Purpose and meaning are the essences of which to make and create.

I wiz-mix creativity into my everyday life as an artist. If I’m not making and creating, I’m not showing up in the world as my authentic self, and I experience the feeling of being out of alignment with life in general.

To make it right again, I start making again – every day in small ways. I play with ideas, with stuff around the house, or put marks on paper.

That is how you stir creativity back to yourself, with small daily acts of creativity. Focus on what ingredients you have and what wonders you can add to your pot while you stir it every day. It will magically bring the focus of taste and flavour to life and fire-up the boil and bubble of your glorious hocus pocus.

‘Stir up what you got’ greeting card by Amanda O’Bryan

Here are five magical ingredients to stir up your creativity

1. Focus on wellbeing – Creativity is a state of wellbeing. The long-held myth of creative crazy-making is an out-of-date belief. The more you focus on your wellness the more you fill your creative well. The best way to start focusing on your wellbeing is to say no. Say no to things you think you should do, and YES to what you want to do.
2. Focus on living – Be present to the gift of living, rather than worrying about the past or future. You are a living, breathing, creative soul and right now, at this moment, every breath you take has the potential of possibility.
3. Focus on mindfulness – Your mind will always be full, especially with creative ideas. Quieten the chatter and noise of your mind and bring creativity into focus. Meditation and journaling are great ways to clear the chatter and get to the good creative stuff.
4. Focus on creativity time – Take creativity off your to-do-list. It will help re-focus your creativity as endless, limitless, and timeless. You can’t run out of creativity, it’s about connecting to the time in creativity – rather than a time for creativity.
5. Focus on playfulness – Escape into the whimsy of your creativity. Do things just for fun, just because you can, it doesn’t matter what it is, it matters that it will fill your heart, hands, and mind with imagination.

Find these 5 magical ingredients plus over 100 more in my book, ‘Daily Acts Of Creativity’.
Find out more >> HERE

(Mail Blog Image – Unsplash Paige Cody)