Ep 05: 5 Ways to Start a Daily Creative Practice
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Perfectionist in Recovery
5 Ways to Start a Daily Creative Practice
Hello and welcome to the perfectionist in recovery podcast! Thank you for listening. My name is Marcy Parks and I am a perfectionist in recovery.
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Now, back to business!
Today I wanted to chat about a daily creative practice and what that might look like and why it is necessary in addressing your perfectionism.
I spoke last week about perfectionism and what it looks like, what my experience is with it, and how it is a way of shielding ourselves - It is a way for us to shield ourselves from the judgements of other people and to shield ourselves from uncomfortable feelings like shame and insecurity. This is why creativity is the antithesis of perfectionism because, and Brene Brown says it beautifully, creativity is powered by vulnerability - This is why perfectionism does not belong in your creative practice. Like I said last week, if we are too scared to try something because we can’t do it perfectly, then we fail to take risks and miss an opportunity for our creativity to be expressed.
I think it is also worth reiterating that perfectionism is often accompanied by relentless self-criticism and can be self-destructive. By developing a creative practice, we are actually developing a self-compassion practice to tame perfectionism. A daily creative practice gives us a safe space to be wholly messy, wild humans - it’s like that moment when you first get home and you take off your bra or you switch from jeans into your comfy pants. Your creative practice is the place where you should be allowed to let everything fall apart (and now more than ever in 2020 we need that space for ourselves).
SO, all that is to say, you need a daily creative practice! And here are 5 ways to get started.
Community: Find friends you trust and can be vulnerable with because, again, vulnerability powers creativity. If we do not feel safe, if our basic needs are not being met, it is really hard to feel free to be creative. Find people that you can count on to support you through your creative practice - people you trust enough to give a little window into your creative practice and what it might look like. You don’t have to share everything that you’re doing with them, but letting them know that you are starting your creative journey and maybe sharing any insights or insecurities you have along the way. Even better if they want to join you in this experience of recovering their creativity as well. Community is essential, not only as a way of holding yourself accountable, but also because you will need their support in the future when you struggle along the way, so be sure to choose your biggest cheerleaders to be part of your creative community.
Journal: If you haven’t started journaling by now, then you need to! I have touted the benefits of journaling in almost every episode of this podcast! It helps to empty our minds, it helps us pay attention to cyclical thoughts, it gives us insight into the things we really care about and value - it is so helpful in navigating the creative path! It can even be a more visual journal with daily drawings and sketches or pages full of color and mess. The point is having a place where you can be MESSY and a journal is a great place to do that.
Go for a walk: I don’t know the science behind it, BUT there are several studies from top universities touting the benefits of walking for creativity. I know personally from my own experience, some of my, in my opinion, greatest ideas, were born in the middle of a run or walk. Now, I do want to acknowledge that I know it is summer time, and if you live in the south like me, this means that high temperatures and humidity can make it uncomfortable to be outside, and with the pandemic raging on, going to a gym to walk on a treadmill is also out of the question, but I would still encourage you to find times and places where you can walk safely and comfortably daily. Maybe that means your walk is later in the evening when the temperature has dropped, or near a large body of water so it is cooler, or maybe it just means cutting your walk a little bit shorter than usual. Whatever it looks like, just get your whole body moving.
Create a Ritual. Rituals are powerful and we aren’t even aware of the role they play in our lives. You may have a ritual already to mark the start of your day like waking up and drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, or taking a cold shower as soon as you wake up. Rituals are a way of training our minds and bodies to begin something, to take action. We know that when a happens, b follows - like Pavlov’s dogs. Create a ritual around your creative practice that helps train yourself to let your guard down and enter that vulnerable state. I have spoken before about Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and she says to begin every day by writing three pages of stream of consciousness. This is a creative ritual. For myself, my ritual before I start painting is to 1. Do the dishes. Doing the dishes helps keep my sanity. If the sink is full of dishes, I get anxiety and plagued with “should’s” - I should be cleaning, I should be doing those dishes - it keeps me from being fully immersed in whatever I am doing. In instances where I am struggling to get started creating, dishes can also be a convenient distraction - “Oh, I really need to paint right now, but look at those dishes! I guess I better go take care of those, then the laundry, then the bedroom, etc. etc. etc. It can quickly and easily spiral into a cleaning spree and the very valid and very necessary creative work does not get done. Going ahead and doing the dishes eliminates the distraction. 2. I eat! I am one of those people that can get so caught up in what I am doing that I completely forget to eat until it is 3:00 PM and I am beyond hangry. Feeding myself means I can work for a longer, more sustained period and it’s also an act of self-compassion! A creative practice is going to look different for everyone, so create a ritual that works for you. If your creative practice is talking a walk first thing in the morning, maybe your ritual begins the night before by setting out all of your gear so you can be ready to go first thing. If your creative practice is journaling, maybe it is the cup of coffee and finding your good pen, or lighting a candle and burning some incense. It can be anything, but make it yours and be consistent. Again, like Pavlov’s dogs, you're training your brain to receive the trigger and immediately enter a more creatively open state of mind.
Support Others: Support others in their creative practice. In the same way that we may seek support from other people, we should seek to support others as well. As I said when talking about community, it is so hard to feel free to be creative when we do not feel safe, we do not feel supported, and when our basic needs are not being met. Being able to put intentional energy into a creative practice is a privilege that many do not have because their basic needs are not being met. Do your research and choose an organization committed to supporting those in your community that most need it and give your time or other resources to them.
Journaling Prompt:
As for a journaling prompt for this week to inspire your writing if you need it - This week, your journaling prompt is to come up with a list of 5 people you can talk to openly about your creative practice and rely on to be your creative support system. Then, come up with another list of 5 ways in which you can support other people in your community either directly or through organizations whose mission you support.
Otherwise, that is all I have for you today!
Thank you again so much for listening. Don’t forget if you are enjoying the podcast to go to apple podcasts to subscribe and leave a review to help support my work. If you haven’t already, check out my website at www.marcyparksart.com to get your Free Self Discovery Journal Guide for a weekend’s worth of guided journaling and creative activities to get inspired and jumpstart your creative practice!
Until Next time friends, be safe and stay well.
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