How often have you sacrificed rest, play, and relationships to get ahead in your creative endeavor? For me , the answer is a lot.
My first year in business, I hustled - hard. In some regards I enjoyed working four jobs, pulling 80 hour weeks, and living on pure adrenaline and caffeine. I prided myself in saying no to friend hangouts and girls nights, passing up weekend trips to see my family, and not having time for play. My business was growing, my head was down, my hands were working, my life was crammed to the max. But my heart longed for more.
At The Yellow Conference last August I realized how much I had put my relationships on autopilot, and how little time I’d given to simply enjoying life. Finally, I had space to play. An excuse to let go. My team and I explored Los Angeles, met inspiring women, and soaked up every ounce of wisdom and wonder from the speakers. I came home full of vibrancy and thought, “This is what it means to feel alive. More of this, please.”
Since August, I have made a point to cut out the excess in my life. To live on a little less, making room in my life for play and exploration. I have invested myself into my closest friendships, and opened myself up to exploring what sets my soul on fire. And in doing so, I realized something pretty huge.
Creativity flourishes from living fully alive, openly expressed, and allowing your soul to play.
In making space for my creativity to expand, my work has become inspired. The words I write flow with passion, and the clients I serve get a light-hearted, life-filled coach! If you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or like your life has become a hamster wheel of work-eat-sleep-work, then I urge you to live more alive. I mean, it is the whole point.
Discover your essentials.
Get clear on what matters most! What do you need to fill your inspiration cup? Do you need adequate time outside? Maybe what fuels you is a weekly girls night, a daily workout, or a quarterly weekend trip to refresh. Find your essentials and put pen to paper. Make them happen. When you know what gives you energy and feels like play, you have a tangible, go-to solution when you feel creatively empty.
Remove what drains you.
If all the projects you have committed to leave you stressed and burnt out, this could be a signal to let some things go. When the idea of a task brings you more joy than actually doing it, when you leave a meeting in a bad mood, or if you feel depleted at the end of your work week, girl, honor your energy and give yourself a break. You can’t create space to play without cutting something out first. But once you do, joy will find you.
Commit to living fully expressed.
Are there hidden parts of yourself begging to be expressed? Creativity waiting to be unleashed? Ideas that want to come to life? Relationships wanting to be fully known and loved? Commit to them. Give less of yourself to what takes life from you, and more of yourself to what is life-giving. Think spaciousness. Room to expand, enjoy, and explore.
It can certainly be scary to cut back. We are so accustomed to thinking that more is more. But I promise allowing room in your life for play will let your creativity flourish. It is the only way to fully bloom into the heights you were made for.
Photos by: Eun Creative
