CREATIVE INTENTIONS AND THE ART OF FINDING FOCUS

Beth Morrow

Finding Creative Balance

Living a fully realized, creative life requires a special set of skills nurtured over time and with careful introspection. Finding beauty, making meaning, establishing your own unique pattern of interpreting the world is not a simple or instant process. Once the creative mind is unleashed and aware of its potential, however, the constraints of the logical world around us seem to slowly dissolve, replaced by limitless possibilities, intriguing ideas and exciting visions that inject hope and inspiration in our daily lives.

But the very reason the creative mind feels such freedom and potential in the mundane is the very same reason the world can become a prison: lack of balance. Too many ideas and the creative mind feels overwhelmed and scattered; with too few ideas, the lack of meaningful action can cause a meaning-making crisis where futility can grab hold.

Breathing life into your unique brand of creativity is a delicate balancing act between two diametric opposites: dreaming and doing. Spend more time dreaming—of plots, of color swatches, of photographic angles, of future earnings from an adoring public who can’t get enough of your work on their walls or shelves—and too little time actualizing your ideas paralyzes the mind, creating a sense of overwhelm and panic. Excessive dreaming manifests itself into excuses, apathy, inertia and even depression. On the other hand, too much action and not enough meaning behind your work, in the form of artists and authors with too much on their plate and not nearly enough creative time in which to do their ideas justice by fully fleshing out the work’s meaning, is a precursor to burnout and latent negativity toward your craft.

When the joy of creative expression disappears, so too does the impetus to create. The best way to avoid finding yourself at the bottom of the emotionally creative spiral is by creating a process of introspection toward your work. On a regular basis, treat your creative self to a reflective session. Sit quietly, breathe deeply, thinking on the creative endeavors currently in your life and how you are applying yourself to them. Notice how you feel toward all your projects and involvements. Do not be afraid if you realize you want to spend less time on those that drain your energy or leave you listless for others. If a project is your livelihood and you feel uninspired by it, try viewing it from a different approach. Think about the joy with which you began the creative process, then bring it new life by taking action on it where you find the most compelling emotion.

Bringing your craft and vision to life inside your creative heart first and through your actions second will not only provide the balance your creative soul needs, it will reawaken the passion your creative mind craves.

Beth Morrow is an author, teacher and creativity coach from Grove City, Ohio who blogs daily about the challenges and triumphs of the creative life at: www.writer-in-progress.blogspot.com.

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Visit me on the web: www.bethmorrow.com
My (almost) daily blog for writers: www.writer-in-progress.blogspot.com
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