The little things in life has another lesson to teach us. Paying attention and enjoying the ride was the first lesson. The second lesson is appreciating little accomplishments.
The little things out there are not the only thing we miss. Another thing we tend to neglect is paying attention to our own accomplishments, especially the small, day-to-day, ones. Unless we have completed a huge project, we don’t feel content with ourselves.
Ignoring the small steps we have taken in a big project is a good way to get ourselves blocked. Feeling behind all the time generates stress and kills creativity. When you are stressed it’s harder to get fresh and innovative ideas.
Downplaying your achievements makes you feel like you haven’t done anything – whether it is true or not – which usually makes you live up to your own prophecy and really do nothing.
Ignoring our small achievements is also a trigger for the good old “all-or-nothing†self destroying mechanism. We tell ourselves: “If I haven’t done … (Fill in the blank) … already, I might as well forget about it altogether†or “I will never get to itâ€. And we never do …
The best service you can give yourself is to note your day-to-day accomplishments by preparing a ‘done’ list, in which you write down everything you do. Preparing dinner and doing the laundry counts. Everything counts. This list can help on days you feel like an underachiever and reassure you by showing how much you have actually accomplished.
The second thing you can do is to make something small. Forget about the big masterpiece that you are planning to paint. Forget about the 1000 photos which are waiting impatiently to get out of the computer and into fabulous layouts. Instead, make something small.
Prepare an handmade card. Finish one layout. Write an entry in your journal. Whatever you do – do it small. It won’t take you long but you are still going to feel that sense of accomplishment and you also keep the creative juices flowing.
If you are feeling blocked, this one card or one layout can motivate you and spark your creativity, so in no time you will get back on the road and keep up with the ‘big’ projects.
Tags: creativity prompt
