Slowing Down to Increase Your Creativity

What do you want to do? If you have a long list of things, well, you’re in good company with most people. Whether you want to travel, make art, accomplish a work project or start a beneficial practice, you need to consider how this will come into your life.

So often we get inspired by the person on social media who seems to be crushing it. Then we scroll to the next person who is also accomplishing whatever they set out to do. It can be inspiring as long as you don’t continue to scroll through a bunch of people’s content about how great it’s all working out. You’re hooked but, you’re not taking any actions that will help you get what you want.

Here’s some ideas about how you can change that feeling of “I wish I was doing that”, to “hey, I’m doing some really cool stuff.”

First, think slowly. We’ve been programmed by the speed of everything around us that quicker is better. Stop. Think long and deep about what you want. We rarely do this.

Here are some examples.

If you want to travel, why do you want to travel? Experience cultures? Hike landscapes? Find a new place to live? Have new experiences? There are as many reasons to travel as there are places to travel to. Let’s say it’s to experience new cultures. What have you already experienced? What are you curious about? What logistics are you willing to endure? This can change the initial thought from I want to go everywhere, to I want to experience tribal Africa or walk the Camino de Santiago. Vastly different. Think slowly. Without the influence of influencers. Go deep into your heart and listen to your own desires. Most of the travel you initially think you want might just fall away, leaving you with the simplicity of only a few choices. Trust that those choices are the ones that will bring you the most satisfaction.

When starting a project in my studio, I have a tendency to start slowly. Do I think this will be a series? Do I want to use textiles, paper or paint? Do I want to work with one particular color palette or one particular theme? I’ve done both. Sometimes starting out to make a series only turns out to be one piece because it wasn’t satisfying enough to keep my going. Sometimes a series of a few pieces turns into 2+ years of a theme that I explored, my Sentinels. The point here is not to imagine you can do everything. The point is that you narrow down the million options into one thing. Have you ever heard someone say, I have a million things to do today? They seem sort of frantic. If I went into my studio and said I am going to do so many things today, I would accomplish very little. When I go in there and say I have 30 minutes and I am going to focus on one project, I usually get more done than I anticipated. Why? Because focusing all your energy into one thing creates traction. Putting your energy in many directions creates distraction.

Here’s a daily thing we can get overwhelmed about. The dreaded question “What’s for dinner?” Instead of reaching for the quick, (and often less satisfying), answer, stop and think slowly. It’s cold out. I want warm food. What ingredients do I have that would make a warming, nourishing and satisfying meal. How do I make it interesting and inviting? What takes longest to prepare? Start that process. What comes next as far as time commitment? Get that going. Finally, what’s the simple extras that will make this meal feel complete. This can turn out to be everything from soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and a side of popcorn to a shepherd’s pie with crusty bread and crisp green side salads. It boils down to looking at what ingredients, time and appetite you have. Sure, you could scramble some eggs and eat them while you scroll social media. Then you’ll be hungry for two things - flavor and meaning. Yikes.

What else can you think slowly about? Want to start a new habit? Why? How? With whom? When? What will you need? What do you already have? How can you start using only what you already have? How could you make this easy? How can you make this sustainable? Will you track it or not? What does success look like?

Obviously you can try to follow what someone else is doing. I hope you first consider what about them doing it inspired you to start. Without the meaning behind your actions, I caution you that the new equipment, art supplies or pantry ingredients will soon be abandoned or expired. In their place will be the frustration that you didn’t do what you hoped and you wasted money on something you didn’t thoughtfully consider first.

They say life’s a journey. Ugh - I have come to really dislike this saying. But, for purposes of this post, let’s say life is, in fact, a journey. Where are you going? If you haven’t thought about it, you could end up anywhere. The final destination for all of us is the eternal dirt nap. You can get there as quickly as possible (I hope you don’t choose this option) or you can stop and think about what you want to do with the time, money, opportunities and circumstances you have. When you pause to consider all of those limitations you actual free yourself up to proceed in the most satisfying options. Contentment is closer than you think. In fact, it is inside of you. Do not follow what others want you to like. Deeply and slowly consider what you like. It has meaning for you that you don’t need to justify or explain. It has the power to add meaning to your days. Who doesn’t want that?

Next time you are trying to decide something, rather than choosing the first available option, I hope you will slow down and consider what you want, need or what would best serve the situation. The more often you do this, the easier it becomes. The easier it becomes the faster you start experiencing satisfaction with your decisions.