“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”
– Jalaluddin Rumi
Last month, I woke up in Waco, TX. I was at a business retreat with nine other female business owners, who like me, just needed a little rejuvenation before a crazy wedding season. As I sat on the porch of our Airbnb house watching the sun come up with my cup of coffee in hand, I asked myself a scary question:
What if I lost it all?
What if I didn’t have my business? I didn’t like the question, but I thought about it. What if it was all gone tomorrow? Would I still be talented? Would I still be creative? Would I still be me?
I find a lot of my worth in my work. When I do a good job, I feel like I am worthy of praise (or likes and comments if I’m being real). Sometimes, I find myself creating things simply to “keep up” with everybody else. I turn my business into the gold star on the top of my paper (so to speak) that says I am successful.
We wrap a lot of our identity in what we do. Our work holds a lot of weight, and so we put everything we have into our work. But I want to challenge you to ask yourself a hard question this month:
Am I creating from a place of truth?
Are you creating work because you are inspired, or because you want to show up your competition? Are you creating something because you love it, or because you need to fill that gap in your calendar to feel like you’re doing “enough?” Are you creating from a place of passion and truth, or a place of fear and mindless hustle?
Finding your place of truth grounds you. It allows you to be you, and to let that be enough.
Big takeaway here: I want you to challenge yourself to do something creative just for YOU this month.
In doing this, we get to know ourselves again. We remember why we pursue being a creative. It gives us space to make mistakes, try something new, and find a deeper sense of self-awareness. And in that, we find our truth: a place within us that is unmarred by comparison or fear, driven by passion and heart-led dreams. It doesn’t have to do with your business, you don’t have to be good at it, you don’t even have to show it to people or post it on social media. Let yourself be free and wild like a little kid again and explore who you are (because honestly, sometimes we forget). And after you’ve allowed yourself that creative space, just sit in it for a while and enjoy it. Notice the person you become when you’re totally uninhibited by the industry, your competition, and comparison.
And I bet you’ll find that this creative person you become is your favorite version of yourself.
Even creatives need a creative outlet.
Make space this month for a wild, judgement-free, something-you’ve-been-dying to do creative thing that’s just for YOU and see where it takes you. Ask yourself how it makes you feel and why it makes you feel that way. And then, I dare you to ask yourself the question: Am I creating my work from a place of truth like this all the time?
I hope it transforms things for you like it has for me.
