Why It Is Okay to Go Through Creative Phases
Lately I find that my level of creativity with regards to work, and the related marketing/management of it, goes ‘round in circles—phases if you will—and I’ve decided that it’s going to have to be okay. There are moments when I am super active, and mighty witty I might add, on the Twitter but then there are those where I hardly Tweet at all; then there are moments where I am inspired to post everything on Instagram (like right now, so you should totally follow me ‘cuz I’m a posting maniac)—sometimes multiple times in a day and then others where I may not post at all for several days; and so on and so forth with the Facebook and the Pinterest and down to this lovely lovely adorable blog. Sometimes I feel like a blogger, but sometimes I just feel like a writer—you know? I don’t want to curate content--I want to write my fingers off. I was all set to share a visual piece with you about the spring trend of graphic black and white prints—I wanted to so badly—it’s on my editorial calendar and I love to plan for what I’ll share with you, but I just can’t get into it right this second. I’m focused on something else, my new gig, and I’m like, all fired up so I have to use that fire while it’s hot.
What’s my point? I have one—though you probably weren’t sure where I was going with that. I have a few actually, all broken out into neat little bullet points. I think you can relate to this conundrum—feeling like you’re slacking at one thing because you’re focused on another. And maybe you are, a little bit—but it’s okay, because:
We are not machines.
We are human and with this life in this body comes ebb and flow, high and low, seasons and phases. We can’t do it all at once, so we have to prioritize the things that make us happy and cause us to feel alive in the moment (or sometimes the things that get us paid--let's be real).
Passion trumps trash.
Don’t beat yourself up because you didn’t get to halfheartedly cross off all 100 things on your list; praise yourself because you crossed off that one thing with an impressive amount of passion and vigor. You’ll do your best work when you’re inspired and other people will feel that energy and vibe off it and give you great feedback because you did that thing so very very well. And that’s how you’ll get to do more of the things on which you’ve done so well.
Embrace your creativity as it comes.
Rest assured: you will get back around to every single one of the things you love at some point—and the things you don’t love will move off your plate and make room for something even better.
Timing is absolutely everything.
Your stuff has to be great, but it also has to reach the right people at the right moment. And that is all the more reason to strike while your creative iron is hot. Our lives, and our successes, are ultimately made up of a series of moments, I think—both powerful ones and those that seem insignificant at the time but still have a hand in shaping the outcome of our goals. So don’t get so caught up in the “when” of it all, just keep plugging away and “it” will all happen when it is supposed to.
It is okay that you go through creative phases with your job or your business or whatever it is that you work on all day every day—because that’s just how life works. Relax and roll with it. I plan to.
*photo {source}