4 Ways to Kill Your Creativity

1. Compare yourself to others. Nothing saps my creativity faster than comparing myself to other people. There will always be people who do it better than me, are funnier than me and get more likes. I can be overflowing with creativity and then - BAM - I start comparing myself to other people and it dries up instantly. Don't use your measuring stick to compare yourself to others. You do you.

2. Be a perfectionist. Sometimes you just have to let it free flow. Whether it be writing or drawing or cooking - aim more for creation and less for perfection.

3. Ignore self-care. When I take time to sleep, exercise, eat well and create white space, I find that my creativity overflows. But when I'm exhausted and stressed? I might as well not even try. My output is stifled. I'm best creatively when I take time to process, reflect and make room to learn along the way.

4. Consume junk. The old adage is true; we are what we eat. What we listen to, watch, read and who we spend our time with is what we become. If I start a book that is really poorly written, I don't let myself finish it. And I try to spend more time listening to podcasts than watching mindless TV. I find that, unfortunately, my output is really influenced my input, so I try to be aware of it.

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My greatest struggle among this list is easily the comparison trap. There are so many amazing people out there with blogs and websites and services that are far ahead of me. I find myself looking at their sites and thinking, I can never do this. And then I remember: I'm not supposed to do this. I am supposed to do it my own way.

I once heard a sermon that said: find your purpose and live it. We are all one body and we have a purpose to serve to the body. You'd never ask a leg to be lips, would you? I think of this whenever I find myself wanting to compete with someone else - someone I'm not. I always think: I would not run on my lips or eat with my legs.

I believe humans are at their best when they're creating. Whether it be through fine arts or gardening or any of the hundreds of ways to create in between, we were made by a Creator and are fulfilled by creating things.

Whenever someone tells me they aren't creative, I think they generally mean they aren't clever or artistic. Everyone is creative in some capacity. My brother-in-law is an engineer through and through, and a lot of stereotypes would say engineers aren't really creative types. But he builds rockets for a living - he creates rockets. Do you know the kind of mental capacity and creativity that takes? I wouldn't ask him to write my blog and he sure as heck wouldn't ask me to build a rocket. But he is creative in his own right. And I think it's important to find our creative voice and capacity as we grow into whole, full people.

What's killing your creativity today? 

Tips for Surviving Winter

I told you last week that our weather has been crazy in Georgia and this weekend has been no different. It was warmer than it has been, but drizzly and the grey skies felt oppressive - making me claustrophobic.

I thought I'd share a few of the things that make winter feel a little less wintery for me. Because, my philosophy on life certainly stands true when it comes to winter survival: we're all in it together. Why not trade tips?

A few, but not all, of these are referral links. These links give me just a tiny bit of commission,which helps keep the lights on here. Thanks for clicking :) 

1. Batty's Bath products. I discovered these last fall and have become ob.ses.sed. Her products are so moisturizing and make it so my skin doesn't feel like the Sahara. All fall, people kept asking my why my skin was glowing. It was Batty! If you sign up for her email, you get a free shipping code and this week she will send a free gift with purchase if you spend $35. Also, if you want to use this link you can get 15% off. I am ordering the shampoo this week and can't wait to see what it does for my hair.

2. Grocery delivery. For a while I felt embarrassed that I am a single person without child and I have my groceries delivered. But now? There's no shame in my game. I cannot tell you the beauty of having either Instacart or Fresh Harvest delivered. It allows me to meal plan better, because I do it while at my computer. Also, it helps me save money because I don't throw random things into my cart. All business! The sheer beauty of not having to go out into the cold - or weeknight traffic - is just the best. Now, if only I could find a way to not have stop for gas.

{lunch bowl made with fresh food delivered straight to my house! Kale, sweet potato, green peppers and parmesan avocado turkey burger. Topped with a spicy tahini & olive oil dressing. I mean: does that even look like winter to you? Me neither!}

3. Lavender oil. I put it in everything: my mascara, my laundry detergent, my diffuser. It smells like summer to me and reminds me that winter won't last forever! I prefer doTerra's brand to any others - it smells more pure to me than the other kinds I've smelled.

4.Planning a vacation. OK, OK. I know this a little trickier than purchasing lavender oil. But the beauty of knowing that I'm only six weeks away from a beach vacation with my family is giving me a whole lot of happiness.

5. Good books and podcasts. Because, sometimes, in February, you just have to stay inside. Grateful for reads&listens that allow me not to feel trapped. Next on my list to read is Essentialism. Everyone is raving about it. I'll be sure to report back.

What helps you survive winter? Give me your tips - we're a team, you know! 

What February Has Taught Me

This month has been a dichotomy for me in every way. It was 70 degrees a few weeks ago - unseasonably warm. And this week? We're experiencing nearly record-breaking cold, shocking us and reminding me that, as much as I think I do, I don't control anything at all.

The month also started with a lot of creative frustration for me. I felt like I had all of these ideas piling up, like water getting stuck in a dam, but I couldn't get anything out. I would start to write, but I couldn't finish posts. My journal entries were bland. I felt creatively stifled, as if I was going to explode if I didn't get something out soon. I even signed up for a pottery class in Decatur next week, in an effort to self soothe and draw out something, anything.

And then? Just like the weather changed overnight; my dam broke. Suddenly my mind is racing with things I want to share. I can't get anything down fast enough. My inbox is piled high with ideas coming to me - write about this and try that and connect with so and so on that. I can't keep up with the way my creative juices are flowing.

So how did it happen?

I'd like to say that dam just broke, unable to hold it back anymore. But I'd be downplaying it. This is much bigger than a little writer's block and, instead, me finally taking the steps I want to take creatively and emotionally to move forward on a few big bucket life items.

The breakthrough was a combination of love and support for people around me, my quiet times and a lot of big realizations. Here's what this month taught me as I tried to uncap my creativity:

1. That letting people into your life is scary, but beautiful. It allows them to support you and catch you when you fall. It allows them to help you when your dam is jammed - to unstick it, move you in the right direction and help you grow.

2. That when we do things halfway, we get half of the return. I was operating with one foot in, one foot out on a few decisions. You have to commit or you start to miss out.

3. That investing our energy into many things means the output is divided into many parts. When we invest our energy into one thing, it has more power to go further.

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4. That slowing down isn't weak. In fact, it makes you stronger and more fit for battle.

5. That community fills us up and we are not, not, not meant to live in silos.

Stay tuned for updates on my next creative endeavor soon! Thank you for your continued support as a reader community. For building me up, helping me navigate things and for taking time to read my creative output.

Cheers to February!

What Is Taking Up the White Space in Your Life?

Last year, I took an InDesign certification course at Emory, which sent me in to an insatiable tizzy of wanting to design things. I took my first project to a friend who is a designer and asked her what she thought. One of the positive things she told me was that I had a good understanding of the importance of white space.

For a long time, white space was thought of as wasted space in design. But today, it's considered to be essential - it makes things easier to read, less overwhelming and creates balance.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the white space in life. It seems many of us consider it to be wasted time; we have to fill up every inch of our lives so we feel like we are performing to the best of our abilities. But, as I've slowed down in 2015, I've noticed that having more white space in my life has made me more effective.

I feel less overwhelmed and more balanced. And, in turn, I've had time to do things more effectively - from work to time with friends to cooking and all sorts of things in between - I'm not just pounding the pavement to get by.

In certain seasons of life, I've found myself swirling, as if I was on a Merry Go Round and I was trying to reach out to grab a hand or a tree or anything nearby to slow it down a little bit. During one of those seasons, I wrote myself an email with notes I took from a sermon on rest:

I don’t want to swirl with the environment around me – I want to learn to find rest and calm on my own. I cannot wait for my environment to calm, when, in fact, rest has nothing to do with the environment around me, but instead is is contingent upon the Lord within me. In the quiet, I will find wholeness, even when I feel broken by the pace. 

Finding rest, peace and clarity comes when we stop swirling and create white space.

What is taking up the white space in your life? I go through phases where I can't even figure out what is sapping my time, but I finish every day feeling like there wasn't enough of it. In those times, I have to audit myself: Did I waste time online? Did I make unnecessary to do lists with tasks that didn't really have to get done today? Did I do things that give me a false sense of worth or earning, simply to feel the high of it? Am I working too much? Do I need to reevaluate my commute, my exercise habits? Did I take on too many volunteer projects, or offer to help too many people with tasks?

What nonessentials have I put into my white space? There will inevitably be seasons of chaos in life. Sometimes, we have to run hard and fast. But, if we're constantly  living that way, it's too much. Life isn't meant to be a total grind. It's meant to be lived in community, pouring into ourselves and the people we love, pursuing our purpose and passion. It's meant to have white space, so we have room to doodle and play. It's meant to be enjoyed and lived well.

Living with white space this winter has taught me I'm at my best when I have it. And now? I'm protecting it fiercely and evaluating everything I'm putting into the margins.

What's taking up your white space today? What can you erase to give yourself a little more wiggle room?