Tag: creative fears

Things that made my year – 2022 edition

On By Alice StrathernIn Miscellany, Personal

We’re getting closer and closer to the end of 2022. Where did the time go? Funny how time flies when you’re having fun.

Here’s a list of things that made my year:

  1. Celebrating my son’s first birthday.
  2. Having my mom around for two months and celebrating my son’s birthday with her.
  3. Publishing my debut novella Kaleidoscope Eyes.
  4. This interview about my novella.
  5. Realizing that, as independent author, learning takes place every day, and it’s scary and fun at the same time.
  6. That it’s important to focus on the step in front of me, not the entire staircase.
  7. Learning about Amazon Ads for authors.
  8. Writing #LetrasDesnudas.
  9. Joining Té de Querer for some great writing workshops and making new friends.
  10. Publishing three articles on Excélsior (Mexican newspaper, all available in Spanish): Carta para la niña que se convertirá en mujer, Promesas de hoy para un mañana seguro, and Urge modelo de salud con perspectiva de género.
  11. Discovering the Curious Fox podcast.
  12. Rediscovering The Chase Jarvis Live Show.
  13. A great podcast in Spanish, Hablemos Escritoras.
  14. Joining Good Reads as an author.
  15. Learning that Depeche Mode is releasing an album next year.
  16. Finding joy in writing my newsletter.
  17. Listening to some great artists: Neo Soul, Toni Braxton, Sade, Tom Jobim, The Human League, Spice Girls, and Alicia Keys.
  18. Castella tarts.
  19. Tuna and salmon poke bowls.
  20. Janet Jackson’s album “Control”.
  21. Learning the meaning of surrender.
  22. Tara Brach’s talks and meditations.
  23. Waiting Game by Junior Boys.
  24. Toda Tercafeira by Soul Quality Quartet.
  25. Deciding that my new NFL team is the Seattle Seahawks.

 

Grateful for all the lessons learned. Grateful for the wonderful people who walked with me every step of the way. Grateful for all discoveries. Looking forward to 2023!

Imperfect creativity: good is enough

On By Alice StrathernIn Inspiration, Mindset

Imperfect creativity is natural and good enough.

Anything that requires creativity has a human touch and humans are imperfect. This idea is still hard to assimilate. At some point in our lives, we’re taught to avoid mistakes and get flawless results.

Recently, I thought about my literature teacher in high school. Our discussions in class tended to lead to all kinds of random topics. One day, he expressed his frustration at some students that were obsessed with getting perfect marks. His words were unforgettable:

“In this life, you have to deal with the fact that you’re not perfect.”

He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. Maybe that statement sounded too harsh at the time, but the wisdom is there. If you think about it, life itself is imperfect.

So why is it worth hanging onto perfection?

Perfectionism is connected to your self-worth and is something you probably have to keep working on to overcome.

Creatives Doing Business

That’s another hard pill to swallow. In the Western culture, this is a constant struggle. Aim to be perfect or go home. On the other hand, in other cultures of the world, embracing imperfection is normal.

For example, there’s the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi. Leonard Koren, author of Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, defines it as “the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”

I love the idea of finding beauty in the imperfect. There’s value in creating, doing your best to give it form, and releasing it to the world and let it be in its full glory with glitches included.

Creations are never complete. There’s always an improvement to make or a new version to start from scratch. After all, wabi-sabi is based on the cycles of nature, which are constantly changing. No creation ever stays the same.

With this concept in mind, how can you embrace imperfect creativity in your daily life?

 

Creativity and inhibitions: a deadly combination

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset

When thinking about creativity and inhibitions, a couple of questions come to mind:

What blocks creativity? Why is it that, at times, we feel that we can’t use our full creative potential?

We are going through some difficult times in all aspects of our lives. Creativity is one key factor that can help us figure out our next steps in what we’re trying to solve. However, if we’re mentally blocked, it’s going to be challenging to move forward.

I recently came across an article on the top 10 common factors that inhibit creativity. This is an eye-opening read, and it caused such impact on me that I decided to expand on three of them:

  • Laziness
  • Fear of failure
  • Keeping your work to yourself

Continue reading “Creativity and inhibitions: a deadly combination” →

Being yourself means taking risks

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset

One of the biggest risks in this life is being yourself.

Think about it: being open about sexual orientation is a risk. Speaking your mind at a meeting is a risk. Disagreeing with someone you love is a risk. Talking to your partner about complicated feelings is a risk.

Being yourself takes courage. The more you embrace your true self, the more you realize you’ll face difficulties of any kind. However, it’s worth trying.

Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost you’re not here as human being only. You’re a spiritual being having a human experience.

wayne dyer

Continue reading “Being yourself means taking risks” →

Why being yourself is the best thing you can do

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset, Thoughts

Being yourself is the best thing you can do for the world. Seriously.

We live in challenging times to make radical decisions. It feels like it’s difficult realizing our visions when noticing the current state of the planet. On top of that, we tend to worry about what others would think of us if we were to turn our lives around.

The antidote to that, in my opinion, is in one of the most beautiful videos I’ve come across on YouTube. It contains wisdom from Marcus Aurelius applied to any personal or professional situation.

Here’s why being yourself is always a great idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVKaK5Xt6TI

True usefulness comes from being what you are. Think about a tree: its fruits and oxygen are a byproduct of it being itself. The same holds true for us. We do useful things by being ourselves.

Continue reading “Why being yourself is the best thing you can do” →

Personal fears: An exercise for self-reflection

On By Alice StrathernIn Miscellany, Personal, Thoughts

I want to write openly about my personal fears. Since fear can be used as a GPS, I think it’d be a good exercise to see where it’s leading me. On the other hand, it’s difficult to be vulnerable in public. It’s a common belief that the more you hide your flaws, the stronger you will look.

It’s time to get rid of that belief and let my authentic self show. I’ll start by naming three of my greatest fears while elaborating a bit on them. I’ll mention where they come from and how I can overcome them.

Let’s see how this goes.

Continue reading “Personal fears: An exercise for self-reflection” →

Fear as a GPS: Where is it leading you?

On By Alice StrathernIn Inspiration, Mindset, Thoughts

It had not occurred to me to think of fear as a GPS.

It’s actually a refreshing approach when facing your greatest challenges as a creative. The first time that I came across this idea was on Twitter through Marie Forleo, entrepreneur and philanthropist:

https://twitter.com/marieforleo/status/888514454727602176

Whoa.

When it comes to fear, it’s easy to enter a cycle of thoughts that will prevent us from taking action. Endless “what ifs” flood our minds and great opportunities fade away.

A life filled with fear is not life.

Continue reading “Fear as a GPS: Where is it leading you?” →

What’s confidence? What isn’t?

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset

Here’s a couple of questions to ask yourself when you have a minute: What’s confidence? What isn’t?

Confidence is in your gut feeling.
In uncertainty.
In the things you are afraid of.
In the events yet to experience.

Confidence is not flawless. It’s in the trial and error, not in the perfect conditions. There are no conditions that are perfect. There will never be. It all begins with the unknown; with the uncomfortable.

It isn’t the absolute absence of fear. It’s moving forward while still afraid. It’s trusting process and the progress that comes along.

At the same time, welcoming the creative challenges you have at hand contributes to developing confidence. It’s all about “developing a taste for having problems,” as Oliver Burkeman proposes in his principles of patience. From this idea, it’s safe to come to the following conclusion:

The sooner you welcome uncertainty and not-knowing as normal ways of being, the better off you’ll be.

Austin Kleon

Embracing the unknown is the key phrase here. After all, no sailor learned anything in calm seas.

What does confidence look like to you?

Developing confidence is an ongoing process

On By Alice StrathernIn Mindset

Developing confidence is a journey that goes one step at a time.

Trust process. These words have become more and more common to find in areas related to business, art, and self-development to name a few.

I recently came across this other approach: Think process, not product. Austin Kleon always has precise advice.

Process, inevitably, allows confidence to develop. Even when you’re not sure what you’re doing, you are constantly getting clues that lead to further steps. That’s why it’s a good idea to pay attention to what you’re paying attention to.

Continue reading “Developing confidence is an ongoing process” →

On beginnings: why you need to get started now

On By Alice StrathernIn Beginnings, Thoughts

I want to share a few thoughts on beginnings:

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.

alan cohen

Reading that quote reminds me of different conversations I’ve had with friends or colleagues. When talking about big life projects, I would often hear: “I need to get really good at ‘x’ thing to then start my own business.” “I need a few more years of experience.” “I’m waiting for the perfect moment.” “When I become an expert, I’ll get started.”

I can relate to all those thoughts. In the past, I used similar phrases, too. It’s scary to begin something when you feel you’re not good enough or when circumstances make it seem almost impossible.

Continue reading “On beginnings: why you need to get started now” →