photo credit: Patrick Hoesly via photopin cc
I don’t know if this happens to you, but I’ve noticed this neat cycle in my life involving creativity. I have even given it a name. I am calling it the Super-Incredible Reinforcing Loop of Creativity and Confidence!
What do you think?
Sometimes I’m a total cornball, but it’s kind of great, right?? Eh???
Okay, in all seriousness, let me explain what I’m talking about. It goes something like this:
I tentatively try something new. This something new is successful on some level (maybe it’s great, but at the bare minimum, I survive it intact). Feelings of wonder, amazement, euphoria, surprise, relief, and etcetera ensue from the successful venture. Emboldened by these feelings, I try something else new, this time maybe a bit less tentatively. And the loop starts again and again and again.
Sure, I’ve tried new things before, but what’s different right now is the way in which my creative mind is responding to it. I’m keenly aware that with each endeavor my confidence builds just a bit more, which in turn, triggers more creative sparkage and subsequently builds even more confidence.
It’s quite the little snowball of activity, I must say.
And, my creative side is showing up in interesting ways. I haven’t blogged about the more obvious manifestations of creative exploits lately (like my knitting) because I haven’t been doing so much of them, if I’m going to be honest. (I miss this activity and will get back to it in time, but for various life-related reasons, I’ve had to take a knitting hiatus.)
But other creative endeavors are flourishing.
There is my cooking mojo, for instance. I’ve been feeling much more inventive in the kitchen lately, heady with bravado, tossing strict recipes to the wayside and operating more organically, spontaneously, and fluidly as a result.
There is also my blogging/writing. Ideas have been popping up in my head left and right. The challenge for me right now is to organize them for filtering and action.
Then there’s my work. Moving into a new job where I’m being given space and encouragement to think, try, and just go out and do has been refreshing and welcomed.
There are other things, too. I’ve started a balcony garden, unleashing my creativity on the tasks of selecting seeds and planters, gathering ideas for growing methods and combinations of herbs and veggies to nurture. I’m thinking about running and workout training methods with a fresh perspective. I’m itching to refresh my wardrobe with some new infusions of color and style and having visions of ways to clean up and brighten up my living space.
It’s strikingly clear to me right now how much just simply surviving something that can be scary or intimidating can build new levels of confidence that filter in to so many parts of my life. I am by no means totally triumphant in all the things I’m attempting, but just getting through them without complete disaster striking is sometimes all I need to spur the next attempt, the next idea, and the next big (to me) thing. It’s one loop I don’t mind being stuck in.
