I know that if you’re reading this blog post, there is something inside of you you are aching to express, aching to get out of you, aching to admit to the world. You have something deep within that comes out sometimes, if not on a frequent basis, and sometimes comes out in spurts, like a hose with a kink in it where the water only escapes through the acquired break in the plastic piping.
You are a singer. You are an artist. You are a musician. You are a brilliant, creative, expressive human being who is never going to be satisfied living in someone else’s box. You are an apt student and willing to put yourself at the foot of others, but often to the detriment of your own brilliance. You. You need to shine. You are a star.
The funny thing is, though, that sometimes, if we’re really far gone on this process of stuffing our brilliance and musical genius into the human guise we call “us,” when given the chance to step up and express it, all of a sudden we’re confused. In the vacancy of mundane “schtuff” breeds a hollow ground, ripe for fostering the spread of…doubt. Confusion. Fear. Self-limiting beliefs. Hollow self-expression. Adrenaline-pushed forced creativity.
That gentle, supple flow of pure, lush, creative genius that aches to flow evenly and steadily through you – that flow that demands to shape your every interaction with this human and non-human universe – is absent. Or, at least, it can be. It can be restored, and it can flow again. Oh, it will flow again. Your life depends on it. And I’m not kidding. I mean your physical wellbeing your mental wellbeing, your life depends on the healthy, steady, nurtured flow of this yummy goodness oozing through and out of you and into the ether and every corner of the earth.
Restoring this healthy flow, and even daring to consider letting it rule your life starts with admitting your true love. And it’s a process of practicing courage and being open to going for one scary ride – or at least, it’s scary at first as those powerful, backed up creative water flows erupt from you unevenly.
Here’s a step-by-step starter kit on restoring your creative genius to the center of your life so that all things amazing can flow from it:
1. Admit your true love. That’s right. Just start by admitting it. It might come sobbing through tears, be a persistent, hovering “knowing” in yoga class, or maybe it’s something you’ve never really lost sight of in the past. Start by admitting, if even in the quiet of your own mind.
2. Practice admitting your true love in circles of increasing size. Practicing saying it out loud. Share it with a coach, confidant, or friend. Practice saying it on Facebook (ooh, scary!). Have a cathartic confessional at a coaches conference and say it into a microphone, while being recorded, while practically crying and sitting in the spotlight. (yep, done that!) The more you simply commit to practicing saying it, the more you get used to the feel of your true love taking space within the cavity of your own body. It’s a feeling. No need to commit to anything yet, just commit to voicing it, bit by bit, more and more.
3. Geek out over numbers. If you are determined to look for evidence on the strength of your own creative power, post some YouTube clips of you doing your thang. See which ones get the most hits. Don’t try too hard or make it hard on yourself with editing and making super-sexy clips – just catch yourself doing what you do – whether it’s speaking words of wisdom, painting, or singing. The numbers might surprise you.
4. Be willing to consider that life isn’t over yet. I know, they taught you that if you hadn’t created a profitable or promising career by the time you were 24 that it would be all over. All over. That you would be irrelevant. So why even try. Yeah. Life can be scary. Especially when we absorb way too much of the fears of our elders, who lived in a time not like this time, who were limited by beliefs by which we are not limited by virtue of the fact that we’re their children and of a new generation. You know what? You’ve got time. You’ve got time to make your life into exactly what you always dreamed it would be. Those naysayers from your past would most likely hunger for your example so that they, too, could embrace the lives they’ve always dreamed of as well.
5. Don’t seek the advice of everyone and anyone. Musicians think differently than non-musicians. Fearful people think differently than brave people. Entrepreneurs think differently than worker-bees. Men often think differently than women. Older people think differently than younger people. Stop giving away your power and brilliance to people who will never understand you anyway. Don’t discuss your deepest dreams with them, and don’t be disappointed when they sincerely cannot say something supportive of you. They may never be able to support you or understand you, and you run the risk of letting fear or ill-placed advice steer you off your divinely laid (by you) course.
6. Know that you are a treasure. You are truly a treasure. You truly are. Even if you are one of a gazillion journalists, you are one of a kind. Only you have the voice you have. Only you paint hands just so. Only you blend your art with your personability with your theater with your business ideas the way You do. You really have to curl up in the fetal position for a few months and take this in…you are amazing. You are a treasure. If your parents didn’t tell you enough, or even if they did, take a minute and soak it in again.
7. There will be people who live simply because you fulfilled your purpose. Ok, so I’m not saying you just have one purpose. But I do believe that when you step into that self-realization you are going to find so much more of life accessible to you – solutions, partnerships, experiences, creation. And because you choose to do this with yourself, for yourself, there will be countless others who live on this planet because you simply stepped into your fulfillment.
8. Stop worrying about doing it perfectly, and just give it a go. So as you buck up, dig deep and find the courage to admit, make space for and embrace your own brilliance, trust that it’s perfect just as you’re doing it. You don’t need to be Renee Fleming to have a fulfilled life or to have an impact or to satisfy all your dreams. All of us creative, committed folk can see room for improvement…always…so give yourself a break and let yourself enjoy yourself.
It’s scary, it’s raw, it’s vulnerable. It takes courage. But, it’s so rewarding. Nobody, when they warn you out of fear for your wellbeing, ever tells you how you will feel that you’re dying a little bit on the inside every day when you don’t do these things. You do die a little bit on the inside every day that you deny your own life force to flow through you. You do die a little bit every day when you deny the possibility that your way may indeed be the very best way to do something.
Who says you can’t?
You can.
And, feel free to post what your love is here in the comments. Get those juices flowing tonight!
This is a fantastic post, Heather. We all become prisoners of the glass ceilings we create for ourselves. Richard Bach said, “Fight for your limitations and sure enough they will be yours.” And it’s a trap to fall into the routine of living every day without really establishing, as you put it, your “true love”… that passion is where the courage and the honesty are. Definitely an inspiring piece with much to think on. Thanks for sharing
Joanna, I love Richard Bach! I particularly like “Illusions: Tales of a Reluctant Messiah.” I used the term “true love” but it could be a bit pedantic. I think often we have something that bubbles up more often, stronger, and a little bit more relentlessly than other inspirations, and that’s what I used the phrase “true love” to point towards. Toward?
But, I kind of think that even for the “leading” inspirations – the ones that spur us on to buy a plane ticket, quit a job, kiss someone – whatever – can also benefit from this little process of opening up and making space for these trailblazing inspirations. And then I think that the more you do that, the easier it becomes to unearth or make space in your life for the bigger “loves.” And, end scene.