We’ve discussed morning pages and movement, so this brings us to the third step in my morning routine, making something. This simple step has allowed me to open my mind to worlds of possibility. When I spend too much time in my head, things get swirly and start circling in on themselves.
I’m not one to catastrophize, but I have seen that with family, friends, and clients. You know when that small concern gets turned over and over in your mind and you start to let it grow from that foothill into a mountain. The circle swirls faster and gets bigger.
Make the Next Step
Like I said, I don’t catastrophize. I just get stuck. My circles get tighter and tighter until I’m bound up like a ball of yarn. My journaling practice and my walking help me clear up these thoughts; something about writing down the concern and walking it off creates some breathing room. But I am convinced the next step is where the real magic happens.
That step is making something. I spend time every day doing something creative, something that allows me to get lost in the process. Even if it is just a 5-minute blind contour drawing, I open a portal in my brain. I can tap into it and allow inspired thoughts to come.
Find What Works for You
It’s not always in the moment of creating my “art”, it may come in the shower or as I turn on my computer or any other moment of the day. But by keeping my mind engaged in creative activities every day, the challenges that I face and document in my journal are more easily resolved as I go about my day.
There is no right answer or prescription for this. I personally love to paint and draw. In the summer, I get into the garden. Sometimes it's cooking a meal where I am experimenting and playing with a new recipe.
The point is to find something you can play in for a few minutes a day and get lost. Once you do this you will be keeping your creativity channels open so you can access them easily when that opportunity or challenge arrives.
Join me today, in creating something, playing at something, and notice how things become possible and a little bit easier. Whatever you may choose to create, I’d love to see it! Send a picture to hello@cyndithomason.com and let me know how it went for you!