So, I have been going through yet another transformation in my life recently. It has been a time of reflection and self analysis. I have been thinking a lot about how I got to this point in my life and where I want to be moving forward. I suppose this happens for everyone at my age of forty-something, but kidding aside, it takes courage to self- reflect.
We are braver than we think. We are courageous more than we know. We do things everyday that make us award winning heroes that either go unnoticed by others, or more importantly, go unnoticed by ourselves.
We wake up in the morning and make a choice to get out of bed. Sometimes we take that for granted. Not everyone can do that because of physical illness, or exhaustion, or depression, or another reason that just leaves them unmotivated. I have had all of those obstacles to get through in my life. What is seemingly easy and just a natural thing to do can be so difficult for some and a real task to achieve. Something as small as that, but becomes a big problem if not done. I’ve been there. More than once. Sometimes it is still a struggle to get myself moving, but it’s different now. Because of my new mindset I feel a shift. I want to get out of bed. I want to get moving and get things done, but sometimes there is still a barrier in achieving my goals. So, what I’ve learned is that there is always going to be something that can keep us down, but there is always a reason to get up. There is always a chance to start again, even though tomorrow is not promised to us, we can always start from where we are… today. There is always going to be bad news, hard times, difficult relationships, relentless struggles, but they don’t have to be as exhausting to us. We don’t have to make the difficulties we have take our energy.
These obstacles are in our path to allow us to make choices. If we just stand at the fork in the road and don’t go right or left and just complain and worry about the direction, then we will never go anywhere and hurt ourselves in the process. We look at the fork in the road as a barrier, as a difficult decision because of the possible outcomes, and we are not sure which path to take because we can’t see the future to know if it will get us to the destination we want. Read that again, slowly. Let it sink in. This is the struggle; but, it doesn’t have to be. When we finally do make a choice and try a path it is in that moment that we are brave. We go on our way not knowing for sure the outcome but we become confident in ourselves to be ready for whatever we may face ahead. This single act is courageous. This way of thinking is what being creative is all about!
Always remember that you are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, SMARTER than you think, and twice as BEAUTIFUL as you’ve ever imagined.
- Dr. Seuss
Creativity takes courage. It is the one greatest gift we have that not many are actually using and applying in their daily lives. We are our own heroes and are brave enough to get through anything in life. Being creative gives us the tools we need in order to be comfortable being brave and courageous. It is what gives us hope in ourselves to know that we can truly accomplish anything and get through any difficulty that comes our way. When we think creatively we understand we have options. We CAN do it and we WILL do it because our mind can see the WAY to do it. If you talk to a neuroscientist they will tell you about our brains neurologic pathways and how things connect together and spark or they disconnect and reconnect to other pathways. Our brains are constantly connecting the dots so to speak. One idea sparks another and another. This leads to a long line of a thought process. So, when we are creative- we are thinking of more than one possible outcome in our ideas. We are connecting one dot to another dot to another dot and that makes the path flow. That’s the creative juice!!! So, when that gets going and moving along our brains are ignited with a creative fire that makes us move and make things happen. We put that process in motion and that, my friends, is the creative process. Once we know the way, we understand the why, and will do what we think we can do.
You CAN do it! You can be creative. You are capable of being courageous! Just never give up on your dreams and what you wish for. Put yourself there and imagine life as you want it. Only think about the positive outcome and how you can get there. Never give up hope because that’s what ultimately keeps us going. Being creative keeps hope alive. Be creatively courageous and become the hero of your own life!
Purposefully Creative with April 