We know when we are in the zone and we know when we are out of the zone.
What we are not often sure of is where the zone actually is.
So I have set out on a bit of a mission this year and that’s to explore The Zone, to find out where it is and to draw up a map for others to follow and explore themselves.
… and when you are done, make that list and start Bending Time – it comes with a full 30 day refund guarantee so you have nothing to lose but spending a little time to create loads more!!
This is probably the trickiest of all the blocks in this this series so far that stop people being creative as it’s the most subjective.
For example, one person might love your writing, music or art and another may loathe it. The former will appreciate your talent and the the latter think you don’t possess an ounce of it.
So one simple way to boost your perception of your talent is just to find the people who like your stuff. When you do find them, watch out for sycophants and the perils of an ego that comes from having a fan base – remember it might be temporary.
When you get reviews, remember to thank people for them.
From an objective perspective, there’s a bunch of really practical things you can do to improve and hone your talent.
The first three might not normally be associated with the arts but they are as follows:
to get regular exercise
to eat the right things
to breathe using your diaphragm
Each of these increases the nutrients reaching your brain which in turn facilitates increased interactivity between your neurons. By the way, the exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous, a brisk walk with diaphragmatic breathing is enough – this is why I recommend writers should be dog owners. And when you walk, if you can, look up not down – it makes a huge difference.
Now onto honing your talents themselves … here’s my top seven tips
have an Artist’s Date per week – see Julia Cameron’s Artist’s Way site
when you read, see or hear something you like, spend a little thinking about what you like about it
then plagarise, copy and emulate a style you like … making your own fusion along the way
don’t hide your reviews away, pin them on your wall, post them on your web site, Tweet them
Finally remember the best way to hide your talent is not to create anything at all … and that your talent is a gift and natural endowment, not to be hidden under a bushel or suppressed by any of the fears in this series.
In any case, it should be remembered that these fears are only there to give us the indication that there’s something we need to tackle and embrace.
The second major block to our creativity is the avoidance of failure. If you don’t actually do anything then you can’t possibly fail.
Job done!
Somewhat ironically, we can be really creative on how we go about this. As for the other types of fears, in nearly all cases, other behaviour masks what is actually occurring.
Typical signs that this fear is in operation include being a ’busy fool’ and finding you are always serving other first before generating our own output.
Low self-esteem and pessimistic tendencies can also come to play. You may also find you give up at the first hurdle and any sign of adversity. You become an expert at creative procrastination.
These are all the tell-tale signs you are avoiding failure.
The route out of this downwards spiral is one of the most satisfying things we can do – we must learn to enjoy being self-indulgent and to put ourselves first. When you do this, you will both earn the respect of the people who you have been serving and show them ways they can do this for themselves whilst also reducing their reliance on you.
These are seven steps to take:
1. Diarise appointments with your Creative Self for your projects
2. Guard them with a passion
3. Share these dates with those that might thwart you by crossing your boundaries
4. Before each Creative session, go for a walk or meditate
5. During the session, switch off all distractions – phones, social media …
6. When you finish each session give yourself a treat and pat on the back … I have a digestive biscuit and cup of tea and sometimes I tweet to the world to declare another milestone has been reached
7. Then, and only then, get back to working with and helping others … you will find they haven’t been waiting for you and were getting on with other ‘stuff’
When you are successful in this practice, you realise that the real failure was not to even try in the first place.
You are now ready to take on the next fear, that of the Fear of the Unknown …
August has been quite a month for the Moments of Light Radio show on The Barefoot Broadcast.
You can’t plan this sort of thing, it just happened but my three guests are all wonderful artists with three different takes on art and spirituality that touches the soul at a fundamental level.
In case you missed them, you can listen to the shows again here … your comments, thoughts and social media shares much appreciated.
Note that the show will be off air now until the end of September as I have a much needed break and it will be returning in a new guise when I’m back … more on that soon. In the meantime, enjoy.
They need no introduction as the recordings speak for themselves 😉
I’ve just been honoured by becoming a series author on this marvelous site The Creativity Portal
I came across it a few months ago and added it to my wish list of places I’d like to be able to post. Imagine my surprise when Creative Director, Chris Dunmire, replied to my email saying she’d love to have me on board.
The site is full of the most amazing free advice on all aspects of creativity – from tips on relatively conventional themes of writing, music and art through to the more eclectic disciplines of origami, mandela making, macrame knotting and even exploring Bonsai & Suiseki trees.
I am doubly honoured to be writing on the same portal as luminaries I’ve admired from for many years like Eric Maisel, Tony Buzan, Edward Glassman and SARK – check out the list of all the authors here …
I’ll be writing a series of articles on what stops, encourages and generates light bulb moments on demand.
We know when we are in the zone and we know when we are out of the zone.
Latest Zone News
This is probably the trickiest of all the blocks in this this series so far that stop people being creative as it’s the most subjective.
August has been quite a month for the Moments of Light Radio show on The Barefoot Broadcast.
And you can read the first one here …