Ian Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "creative-goals"
Writing Motivation Mondays: The Tao of Creativity, Part Eight
We’re nearing the end of the Tao of Creativity series, and I’ve enjoyed sharing the insights I found in The Tao of Pooh that relate to being an artist and allowing your creativity to grow and strengthen. I encourage everyone to find a copy of Benjamin Hoff’s book and see what further inspiration you can discover.
Don’t Sell Yourself Short
We have the unfortunate power to be our own worst enemy. We can talk ourselves out of doing things that would benefit us. We can convince ourselves we aren’t good enough, strong enough, or creative enough to accomplish something we want to do. The same brain that can create can just as easily destroy.
It’s time for us to tell that part of the brain to shut up and sit in the corner!
If you want to write, paint, sculpt, dance, or undertake any other creative endeavor, don’t let that pessimistic voice in your head stop you from pursuing your goal. Even when others see our potential, we often refuse to acknowledge the truth that will empower us to express ourselves in artistic ways.
Benjamin Hoff states, “No matter how Useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value” (117). I believe this happens thanks to that irritating negative voice in our heads, but also out of a fear of failure or not immediately being an expert on what we set out to do. We can combat these issues by pushing forward, working on our chosen craft, and learning from those failures and mistakes to improve our creative efforts the next time.
No one you admire in any form of creative art was exceptional the first time. Overnight successes are a myth; they had to work as hard as anyone else to get where they are. Think of someone you admire in the creative field you want to explore, then research their background. I’m sure you’ll find that they didn’t knock it out of the park on the first try. They had to work at it, refine their craft, and find what creative methodology worked best for them.
You can do the same, and it starts with you recognizing your value and pushing through any negativity you may create inside your head to get to your goals.
I’m not saying it will be easy, but you’ll be further along in your progress working toward your goal than being paralyzed by fear and self-doubt and never starting.
Your Happiness Starts with YOU
Whatever creative endeavor you set out on, it’s important that you enjoy what you’re doing from start to finish. This doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges along the way, but you should be able to ride those waves of enjoyment through the process and come out at the end with a project you’re proud of, one that you’re happy with.
“Do you want to be really happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got” (136). What are your strengths as an artist? How can you use those strengths to improve your weaker areas and make you even better as an artist? Too often, we dwell on the negative, which infringes on our ability to be happy in what we’re doing. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge our strengths and abilities and appreciate them.
Happiness can be found through confidence, and confidence can be found in understanding and accepting our talents and skills. It’s not arrogance to be proud of your abilities as a painter or writer. That pride can be used to energize you as you work on your next project. The skills you learned from the last thing you worked on can propel you forward and improve future work.
The more you create, the happier you’ll be because you’re doing what you’re passionate about.
And don’t we all desire to do what we love and enjoy?
Final Thoughts
By recognizing your value as a person and an artist and appreciating your skills and talents, you can silence the inner negativity preventing you from working toward your creative goals.
Happy Creating, and I’ll see you next time!
Don’t Sell Yourself Short
We have the unfortunate power to be our own worst enemy. We can talk ourselves out of doing things that would benefit us. We can convince ourselves we aren’t good enough, strong enough, or creative enough to accomplish something we want to do. The same brain that can create can just as easily destroy.
It’s time for us to tell that part of the brain to shut up and sit in the corner!
If you want to write, paint, sculpt, dance, or undertake any other creative endeavor, don’t let that pessimistic voice in your head stop you from pursuing your goal. Even when others see our potential, we often refuse to acknowledge the truth that will empower us to express ourselves in artistic ways.
Benjamin Hoff states, “No matter how Useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value” (117). I believe this happens thanks to that irritating negative voice in our heads, but also out of a fear of failure or not immediately being an expert on what we set out to do. We can combat these issues by pushing forward, working on our chosen craft, and learning from those failures and mistakes to improve our creative efforts the next time.
No one you admire in any form of creative art was exceptional the first time. Overnight successes are a myth; they had to work as hard as anyone else to get where they are. Think of someone you admire in the creative field you want to explore, then research their background. I’m sure you’ll find that they didn’t knock it out of the park on the first try. They had to work at it, refine their craft, and find what creative methodology worked best for them.
You can do the same, and it starts with you recognizing your value and pushing through any negativity you may create inside your head to get to your goals.
I’m not saying it will be easy, but you’ll be further along in your progress working toward your goal than being paralyzed by fear and self-doubt and never starting.
Your Happiness Starts with YOU
Whatever creative endeavor you set out on, it’s important that you enjoy what you’re doing from start to finish. This doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges along the way, but you should be able to ride those waves of enjoyment through the process and come out at the end with a project you’re proud of, one that you’re happy with.
“Do you want to be really happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got” (136). What are your strengths as an artist? How can you use those strengths to improve your weaker areas and make you even better as an artist? Too often, we dwell on the negative, which infringes on our ability to be happy in what we’re doing. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge our strengths and abilities and appreciate them.
Happiness can be found through confidence, and confidence can be found in understanding and accepting our talents and skills. It’s not arrogance to be proud of your abilities as a painter or writer. That pride can be used to energize you as you work on your next project. The skills you learned from the last thing you worked on can propel you forward and improve future work.
The more you create, the happier you’ll be because you’re doing what you’re passionate about.
And don’t we all desire to do what we love and enjoy?
Final Thoughts
By recognizing your value as a person and an artist and appreciating your skills and talents, you can silence the inner negativity preventing you from working toward your creative goals.
Happy Creating, and I’ll see you next time!
Five Ways to Set Writing Goals for 2025
We’re in the final days of 2024, and if you haven’t thought about your writing or creative goals for 2025, now would be a good time. It’s essential to establish a few goals as we enter the new year so you can plan how to achieve them before the end of the upcoming year.
Let’s talk about it!
#1 - Set Achievable Goals
This seems logical, but it’s easy to get carried away and overreach with your goals at the start of the year. Much like the classic New Year’s Resolution, if you aim too high, you could grow frustrated and stop working toward your chosen goal if it’s too large.
If you’ve never written a novel before and want that to be your primary goal this coming year, that’s great. That’s an achievable goal. Then, once you know the steps and how to achieve writing one novel, you can add more goals the following year. The key is not to overwhelm yourself or self-sabotage before the goal starts.
#2 - What’s Your Schedule?
Along with setting achievable goals, it’s important to look at your schedule to see how much time you have to work toward your writing goals.
Be honest with yourself: How much time do you actually have to get things done?
Assess your schedule and see where you can fit writing time during the week. Plenty of hours are available to all of us, most of which are spent on our phones, binge-watching shows, or wasting time in other ways. Using these wasted hours and turning them into productive time to create can help you move toward your goals.
Can you swap out watching an hour of TV for working on your writing? Yes, you can.
If you have the drive to do it, you’ll find the time to make it happen.
#3 - Break It All Down
Planning out smaller tasks and aspects of the project that add up to a larger goal can help you stay focused and reduce stress. All projects have dozens of components that must be completed before the finished product is achieved.
When you sit down to plan, think about the varied tasks you can work on daily or weekly to help you move forward with the project and complete it by the end of the year. Having a big goal is excellent; smaller goals over time are the best way to reach it.
#4 - Set Milestones
Give yourself deadlines to reach specific project milestones. By breaking the work into manageable chunks, you can see where you’ll be in the project three, six, or nine months in advance.
Could you complete your novel's outline in three months, a first draft by the six-month mark, and a polished draft within nine months? Absolutely. These are achievable goals, but you need to plan out how you will reach these milestones.
It’s also important to reward yourself when each milestone is completed. Even if it’s something small, it’s nice to incentivize yourself to get things done.
#5 - Enjoy the Process
It’s easy to look at all the completed novels and screenplays and get intimidated, but remember that all these writers started where you are right now.
Completing a writing project is a great feeling, but you must train yourself to enjoy the writing and creative process to keep that momentum going to get you to the finished work. This will ensure you are motivated to attack your projects and goals each day and that your milestones and writing objectives are completed.
Happy Goal-setting, and I’ll see you next time!
Let’s talk about it!
#1 - Set Achievable Goals
This seems logical, but it’s easy to get carried away and overreach with your goals at the start of the year. Much like the classic New Year’s Resolution, if you aim too high, you could grow frustrated and stop working toward your chosen goal if it’s too large.
If you’ve never written a novel before and want that to be your primary goal this coming year, that’s great. That’s an achievable goal. Then, once you know the steps and how to achieve writing one novel, you can add more goals the following year. The key is not to overwhelm yourself or self-sabotage before the goal starts.
#2 - What’s Your Schedule?
Along with setting achievable goals, it’s important to look at your schedule to see how much time you have to work toward your writing goals.
Be honest with yourself: How much time do you actually have to get things done?
Assess your schedule and see where you can fit writing time during the week. Plenty of hours are available to all of us, most of which are spent on our phones, binge-watching shows, or wasting time in other ways. Using these wasted hours and turning them into productive time to create can help you move toward your goals.
Can you swap out watching an hour of TV for working on your writing? Yes, you can.
If you have the drive to do it, you’ll find the time to make it happen.
#3 - Break It All Down
Planning out smaller tasks and aspects of the project that add up to a larger goal can help you stay focused and reduce stress. All projects have dozens of components that must be completed before the finished product is achieved.
When you sit down to plan, think about the varied tasks you can work on daily or weekly to help you move forward with the project and complete it by the end of the year. Having a big goal is excellent; smaller goals over time are the best way to reach it.
#4 - Set Milestones
Give yourself deadlines to reach specific project milestones. By breaking the work into manageable chunks, you can see where you’ll be in the project three, six, or nine months in advance.
Could you complete your novel's outline in three months, a first draft by the six-month mark, and a polished draft within nine months? Absolutely. These are achievable goals, but you need to plan out how you will reach these milestones.
It’s also important to reward yourself when each milestone is completed. Even if it’s something small, it’s nice to incentivize yourself to get things done.
#5 - Enjoy the Process
It’s easy to look at all the completed novels and screenplays and get intimidated, but remember that all these writers started where you are right now.
Completing a writing project is a great feeling, but you must train yourself to enjoy the writing and creative process to keep that momentum going to get you to the finished work. This will ensure you are motivated to attack your projects and goals each day and that your milestones and writing objectives are completed.
Happy Goal-setting, and I’ll see you next time!
