Secret #3: Following Your Fascinations

(A post for The Next Chapter’s current book blogging of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin)

This chapter had spots that really resonated with me (unlike the last chapter). First off, on the very first page, the word TRUST jumped out at me, followed closely by DESPITE OBSTACLES. I’m working through learning to trust myself more, to trust my knowings and questions. There are things I want to do…but there are obstacles in the way, not insurmountable, but they are there, and they seem to be in league with my FEARS (a word used right away on the next page). My fears dance all over the obstacles, like the obstacles are little mini stages created just for fears, allowing them to mock me and laugh at me.

Right away this chapter says, “It’s one thing to have an idea, but it’s quite another to trust your idea and follow where it leads.” Don’t I know it; I’m full of ideas, they often fly out of my head…but I am damn terrified to follow 99% of them. One of my goals for this year is to do just that…to follow all the creative/art ideas that come to me, no matter what. Which leads to another statement that resonated: “To  be truly creative, you must be willing to try and fail, and then get over it” (emphasis mine). I need to find peace with the idea that it’s ok to try stuff and fail at it. I can get over it and just try something else again. I will fail at some things, but I will also succeed at others. It’s not that big a deal…it can all be fun…I want to be able to find the joy and laugh at the entire process, even if something fails spectacularly. Because I feel that if I can do that, I end up succeeding anyway. And when something succeeds, I’ll laugh at that too and revel in the joy. So looked at this way, it’s a win-win scenario…now to convince my inner critic of this…

I’m going to make something today with the words TRUST and DESPITE and LEAP and GET OVER IT and LAUGH in it.