Three Ways to find Joy in the Creative Journey

I grew up in a household where everything was a party.  No, not THAT kind of party. We had tooth brushing parties, bedtime parties, getting dressed parties, and reading parties.  We found joy in each step because thanks to my mom’s tutelage, we knew each step merited a party.  Thanks, Mom!  Growing up with so many parties could have been exhausting, but instead it taught me how to find joy in the journey.  Here are three ways I infuse joy into my creative life.

1.Celebrate the Small Successes 

Every step in the creative journey is worth celebrating!  Did you spend time thinking about your manuscript?  Yipppeee!

Did you write for 10 minutes?  Even better!

Did you muster up the courage to submit your story and press send?  Hip Hip Hooray!

Did you read mentor texts that helped you better understand how you want to revise your story?  Incredible!  Superb!  Exceptional! 

You get the idea. 

2.Make it fun.

Do you ever find yourself dreading the next revision? Or the next writing session?  Do you hope your children will interrupt you, so you won’t have to tackle your art? Ask yourself how you can make the work more fun.  Do you need to set a timer?  How about a game?  Or a competition? Can you challenge yourself to write something short and snappy? Or something longer and more lyrical? Perhaps you can make the process more fun by joining a community like 12×12 (where so many of us challenge ourselves to write a picture book a month). When we know we need to do something anyway, we might as well make it as fun as possible!

3.Give yourself permission to create B- work.

Have you ever heard of B- work? Brooke Castillo teaches that B- work is the only way to truly excel. We need to let go of our perfectionism, and allow ourselves to create disorganized drafts,   crappy art, and nonsensical stories.  As we truly let go, and create in the moment, joy finds us.  And after you’ve created something beautifully messy, remember to celebrate!  You created something!  And it’s all yours.  

Now I’m off to celebrate the fact that I finished this post.  Gotta call my mom.  She deserves a party!

*How do you infuse joy into YOUR creative journey?

For more on this topic, see my post for 12×12, THREE WAYS TO GET UNSTUCK.