Time for introspection and Creative Dreaming
God, how exciting. I LOVE the prospect of a new year! Fresh starts, new goals, rejuvenated ambition & no idea what the future might hold – it doesn’t get any better than that!
Gala Darling [via]
I am thinking about visions, goals, dreams, intentions, projects, daily habits, life designing and such. I have a ritual of ending a year and starting a new one, but I also love checking out others ideas and thoughts on this!
For example Dream It, Do It: How to Develop Effective Creative Goals is a great long article where Ami Mattison, among other things, says:
…it’s well worth articulating our creative dreams. Not only will we learn more about ourselves as artists, but we’ll be able to turn our dreams into more than just fantasies or wishes. And by creating objective goals for our dreams then we’ll be able to stretch and grow in our creativity.
If you’re dreaming of artistic success and you can articulate that dream to yourself, then you’ve already taken the first step in making it happen.
But it also requires diligence, faith, direction, and ultimately action to make your dream a reality.
So what are my creative dreams? About projects I want to do, perhaps. In Get a Grip on Your Projects by January 1 by Alyson Stanfield, who writes about juggling projects and setting up a system for it, says:
To ensure that you don’t miss vital tasks that will make your project a success, take time to gather the details for each project in a single place.
I am working on a personal planner, DIY style, and I will post more about it once I understand what I am doing.
Alyson’s post Dreams to visions to goals gives a clue where to start:
- You might want to look at it in this way:
1st step – Your dream
2nd step – Your vision
3rd step – Your annual goals
4th step – Your monthly goals
5th step – Your weekly and daily actions
So, what is my creative dream? Back to that. In Set your creative intention for the new year, Stacy Kathryn Holst writes:
I started a tradition of writing a letter to the year that was passing, and in it I would write what I had accomplished and what I hoped to accomplish in the coming year. Something in writing to reaffirm my commitment to this creative lifestyle and working towards my dream.
I agree with the writing part. Writing it down is important! Lately I’ve been falling in love with the writing of textile artist Lisa Call who week by week posts her goals on her blog to keep herself accountable! I am impressed by her list of 100 Accomplishments where she celebrates and honors her own actions through the past year (and she did all that while still having another job)! She writes: Most of these are art related but not all of them as life and art are not possible to separate. Now isn’t that true! I want to write similar lists of both accomplishments and goals for 2011! I am having a hard time getting started though. Reading the above blog posts (and more) are procrastination on my part!
Tara Gentile of blog Scoutie girl wrote a post called aim high. act fast. claim your prize where she outlines goal setting. On her list she put a really vulnerable thing that stuck with me as a scary but good goal to have:
I want to understand what holds me back from creating greatness.
I have signed up for Tara’s free class e-mail series. It is called Creating Action:
an 8-part mini e-course on creating action out of inspiration – moving you past procrastination and into accomplishment. It’s meant for creative people of all kinds – it might help you start a business or quit your job or it might help you learn to knit or keep a personal journal. Your goals are yours alone – this course just helps you act on the steps needed to reach them.
Now, back to thinking about my “creative dream”…. But maybe it doesn’t have to be huge and big and bold… I asked a friend about what my “life vision” should be for next year, and he said “What you do right now, just more focused?!” I like the sound of that. Or as Henri Junttila said:
The real secret to finding your passion isn’t about identifying some huge goal or undertaking. It is about following your excitement and doing what makes you happy.
What is your creative dream for this year – and beyond?
Great thought-provoking post, Hanna. I’ve been playing around with ideas for 2011 in my mind and it is time to start writing out my ideas. I’m toying with certain projects – keeping or letting them go in order to take on some others. Happy New Year!!!
Thanks Tammy! I have a tendency to take on too much online, all those challenges all look like fun but how can I jam it all in?! :-) I hope you share your plans, any daily project plans? I’m thinking daily poetry. Happy New Year sweets!
Your enthusiasm makes me happy! Happy New Year to you and best wishes for all your creative goals and projects in this fresh new year!
Say hello to Smilla for me.
xoxo
Hi there. :D I’ve been enjoying your blog for months – maybe a year even. It’s so colorful and inspiring. This post came along at just the right time. I have been giving my creative dreams a lot of thought lately because I feel a bit unfocused. Thanks for the link to the e-course. I am definitely going to sign up.
Happy New Year!
Hi Hanna, it’s been a long time ….
The main point is in actually DOING.
There is a proverb by the classic german writer Goethe, which my mother wrote me into my personal book when I was a child (she already knew me well by then :-)
The translation would somehow be: It’s not only about talking, one has to get into action.
For the last years I was online into goal setting, motivation pages and so on and so on.
It takes so much time, unless one sticks to one system.
All those pages are beautiful, but online pages stuff up one brain.
I did learn a lot, but as often: Enough is enough.
You know enough, my dear. Decide, if you want to play or if you want business. For the latter you need a plan (but not x-online pages).
Keep your hands busy.
xoxo
Tally
Wow, definitely thought provoking post with a lot of things for me to explore…thanks for sharing. I really like that last quote by Henri Junttila… sometimes we try so hard to figure it ALL out…when really we don’t have to know it all. Just do what makes you happy!
I read something on a non-creative web site if there is such a thing :) that only about 2 percent of people actually write out and verbalize their goals and exactly what they want. Just doing that is I think very powerful and puts the energy behind it so it can come true!
If I’m not careful, I’ll choke on the planning of it all. For me, the trouble is just getting started.