11 Life Lessons I've Learned Through Creativity

I’ve been spending more time in my studio lately, and it’s got me thinking a lot about how art and life are so parallel. Here are 11 Life Lessons I’ve learned through creativity over the years.

1. Just Begin: It makes me think of the quote by Goethe, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” I’ve learned a lot over the years, taken lots of classes, studied other people’s art, processed lots of concepts, but I learned the most about art by making art. The joy is in the doing.

2. Embrace Being a Beginner: a.k.a. get over yourself. It takes a lot of bravery to do this. Our egos hate being in unfamiliar territory, but if you can’t be a beginner you won’t ever be a master.

3. Happy Accidents Exist: Yep. You really can’t plan everything, and when you try, you’re seriously limiting the wonderful possibilities alongside the ones that make you nervous. Some of the most beautiful and perfect things happen by accident.

4. Freedom and Discipline Go Together: Go figure… it’s true though. If you take the time to focus and be consistent (i.e. have a discipline) your possibilities expand. You can do more, and you can do it more easily. It may start out as work in the beginning but there’s a big payoff from putting in the time.

5. Creating and Releasing Go Hand in Hand: Everything we create has to go through an unformed early stage… and then it evolves. Along the way we have to let things go in order to move forward. There may be one gorgeous part of your painting that simply doesn’t work with the composition, so you have to release it in order to continue on your journey. It’s the same in life, and when we can’t release, we get stuck.

6. Choice is Your Creative Super Power: Everything we do involves making choices. Whether we’re making a piece of art, making a hotel reservation or making a business, choices are being made along the way. When we can’t make choices we also get stuck which leads me to Life Lesson #7

7. It’s Better to Risk Making an Awkward Choice Than to be Stuck: Creative energy likes to move and being indecisive can be uncomfortable because that energy wants to go somewhere. It’s better to take some action than to sit waiting for the “perfect” choice to come along. Sometimes that happy accident is just on the other side of the choice your struggling over. Which leads me to….

8. Embracing Creativity is Brave: In life and in art embracing creativity is a journey into the unknown. As Robert Bresson said, you’re “making visible what without you might perhaps never be seen.” You’re connecting with your soul, and you’re taking steps that can make you feel vulnerable and joyful at the same time. It’s brave to risk making awkward choices, and it’s brave to release things when you’re not sure what might replace them. It’s brave to trust your inner knowing and just do these things anyway… even when it feels scary. Being authentic in whatever capacity is courageous and beautiful.

9. Know Your Inner Critic and Perfectionist (and tell them to be Quiet): Nothing will sap the joy out of an experience faster than negative self-talk, judgment, and perfectionism. I have intention cards I created on the bulletin board in my studio. They say: “No Judgment” and “Fun” among other things. It’s a reminder for everyday whether I’m painting or not. Realizing that these habits were shutting down my creative spirit helped me choose not to listen to them. They’re still there sometimes, but I’ve got the volume turned way down.

10. Creating Opens the Door to Self Love: I believe we’re all creative and that bringing our unique creations into the world IS our purpose. Learning to allow and embrace my ideas and inspirations has brought me much closer to understanding the sacredness of my life. It fills me with gratitude and joy. I’m happiest when I’m creating, and when I’m doing something I love, I find it a lot easier to love myself and feel compassion for those around me.

11. Creativity and Abundance Flow from the Same Cup: If you can embrace your creativity, you’re on the way to allowing more abundance. Money is a creative tool and when we allow more of this into our lives our creative choices expand as well. The opposite is also true. If you can allow more of your creativity to flow, your abundance will expand. The key word here is allow. Like I said before, creative energy likes to move and so does the energy of abundance. You're here to manifest your heart’s desires, and sometimes that means getting out of your own way by embracing lessons 1-10. It’s always a work in progress, and it’s possible for it to be a magical journey. xo