Creativity Week's Fearless Kick Off!!

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CREATIVITY - The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.

From Creative Catalyst Sessions with Violette

Happy Monday Everyone!

Creativity week is upon us and am I excited! I have gone off road and actually prepared a bit for the week! I've noticed that the past few Monday's my kick off posts have felt a little rote. You know going through the motions... I've popped some of the EXACT SAME Bliss Initiatives up, not that some of them aren't worth a revisit, but I haven't been giving my kick offs the attention that could make the difference. I think this is the reason why 90% of the time I feel like I'm just getting started when the week is over.

One of the creative approaches I took is reaching outside of my usual circle for some creative inspiration. I did this by hopping on Twitter. I searched on #Creativity just to see what/who was talking about creativity and when I saw a few tweets that caught my attention I said hello and asked if the tweeter might be interested in participating in Creativity week over here. What a response!! My request netted an enthusiastic YES! and I was lucky enough to meet Elizabeth of Things Bright. I invited Elizabeth to write a creativity guest post (which you will get later in the week!) but I also invited her to shake up my Creativity Initiatives for the week and she enthusiastically responded and offers our first two initiatives for the week!

This week's "Bliss Initiatives" are color coded in purple for quick identification. They are specific things that you too can try, if you want to play along with me. However, because as Earl Nightingale says, "you become what you think about," even if you only follow along, and never take on any of the bliss initiatives, I expect some positive results. We will be exploring and encouraging CREATIVITY this way:

• Do Something You Are Afraid Of - Fear is a main inhibitor of Creativity. This leads to procrastination. It's why your new stuff isn't listed on Etsy yet. Or why you haven't tried a new style of painting. It's why you still haven't learned to sew. Or fill-in-the-blank with your untried creative venture. Start doing what you are afraid of. You will be proud of your efforts. And the mental space fear occupies will be open to new joys instead. This leads to new creativity. 

• Do Something You Are Afraid Of - "Wait, what? You just said that." I know. Some of you were thinking you'd gloss over number one and try number two instead. The thing is, continuing to live in your fear will continue to stifle your creative journey. How much better would you feel if you just tried your new idea instead of continuing to sit on it? How much better would you feel if you finally tried to learn that one technique you still need to master? How much better would you feel if you took the time to figure out that one tech issue on your website that you don't understand? Or were just brave enough to talk to someone else about your fears? Or the ideas you are super excited about? At the very least you will feel better for beginning to conquer a fear. And at the very best? Who knows what amazing doors your creative fearlessness will open? 

P.S. Even if the thing you really fear has nothing to do with your creative life, beginning to conquer it will spur your creativity anyway. ~ Elizabeth

I am also adding two more:

• Read Journal Bliss - Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric by Violette. My dear friend Jaye reviewed this over on her blog this week and I was inspired to pick up a copy. Jaye's recommendation was compelling enough and then I visited Violette's web page and I knew I wanted to find out more. Another contributing factor here is that Jaye declared this a "quick read" and that is about all I have time for this week! 

• Creative Prompt - Consider boosting your creativity with Jaye's creative prompt game. I will post a new prompt later this week but if you are eager to try something now check out the creative prompt list for 2010. If it furthers your creative goals consider trying out several or all of them!

This is from her Inspiration Page where she explains the idea of a Creative Prompt. 

Each week we commit to be creative.A creative prompt is given and we interpret that into a drawing, a doodle, a collage, a photo…any kind of creative work that suits you. We can design a quilt, make a sculpture from marble or Sculpey, mold something with clay, paint, or write anything we want in response to the prompt. There are no rules on medium or method. The idea is to develop a regular art practice.      

You will notice that I have not included any work from "The Creativity Book: A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance" by Eric Maisel which I started my first creativity week. I love this book but it is time to admit my plan to do everything in this book this year just isn't happening! With my Everyday  Bliss project and now my new Everyday Mommy blog I just do not have the band width! Perhaps I'll try again next year... if so I'll let you all know!


OK this should be enough to get you started! Try one or all of these initiatives to get your creative juices flowing. 


Will you be getting Creative with me this week?


Next Post: Creativity unleashed

My 13 bliss virtues are 

joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, 

romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, and surprise.



This week we are exploring  Creativity. 

Next week is all about Passion.