Intentional Tuesdays

For the past three weeks, we’ve been exploring the concept of Creativity, with the following key premises…

1. Each of us is Creative
2. Creativity is something worth pursuing, regularly
3. We can cultivate creativity

In case you missed the three-part video series, I’ll provide links below.  This week will conclude our creativity series with a written recap.

Are You Creative?

What is the role of creativity in your life right now?  Not sure?  Take 30 seconds to complete this self-assessment and come back here when you’re finished.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to enter your email address or offer up your credit card info.  (Feel free to leave those in the comments 😉) 

How did you do?  

In my experience, most adults struggle a bit when it comes to creativity.  Either they don’t think they are creative, they don’t see the value in creativity, or a combination of the two.  This is really unfortunate, in my opinion and we’ll get into the reasons why later in this article.  

For now, le...

This is final episode of our 3-part series on Creativity.In this episode we dive into the 4 Barriers to Creativity.  These are...

• Beliefs
• Boundaries
• Biases
• Busy-ness

This is also a very special episode because it is the first ever Five Day Deep Dive opportunity!  When you sign up for a deep dive you'll receive one email each day for 5 days.  Each one will include a short lesson as well as a daily engagement challenge.  The goal is to take your learning deeper and to move out of the realm of theory and into practice application.  

Click here for more information about the 5-Day Deep Dive Concept and to sign up for the Creativity Deep Dive.

Additional Reading & Resources:

• Article - Being Busy is Killing Our Ability to Think Creatively - Bigthink
• Article - The Myth of Creative Inspiration - James Clear
• Book - The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron

If you missed the first two parts of the Creativity Series, you can watch them here:

• Are You Creative?
• The Case for Creativity...

This is Part Two of a three-part series on Creativity. 

Last week we focused on defining creativity and making the case that we are all creative.  I proposed the idea that creativity is more about sourcing our ideas from within ourselves.  In other words, from a place of internal perspective rather than overly relying on outside perspectives or the influence of others. 

Creativity is more about the process than the final product.  If you missed that post, you can see it here:  Are You Creative?

This week we make the case for the benefits of bringing creativity into our lives.  The benefits are many and include the full spectrum of human motivations and drives, including:

• Survival
• Success
• Significance
• Spirituality

Next week, we'll explore how we can bring more creativity into our lives.

Interesting Articles

The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature, Heather L. Stuckey, DEd and Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH

Make More Art: The Health Ben...

Are you an artist? What would change about your work if you thought of yourself as one? A few things, I suspect.

For one, that word, “work,” would take on an entirely different meaning. Most of us live with a distinct boundary between work and, well, life. Not so for the artist. There’s nothing to balance. It’s all one harmonious flow. It’s all life. 

Of course, you’ll hear artists talk about their “work,” but they are talking about something different. The artist isn’t talking about some “obligation” they have to fill for 40+ hours a week to put food on the table. To the artist, “work” refers to the moments when the artist is engaged in deeply intentional expression.

Can you feel the difference?

What else would change if you were an artist? The reason for work would be different. Work would still be necessary, but for very different reasons. Most of us have to work because someone has to pay the bills around here. The artist must work because not working would be intolerable. Some...

 What does it take to make a change in your life?  What makes the difference between grand plans real progress?  In one word…Process. 

Significant change, requires more than simple resolve. Resolve is the first step, to be sure.  However, without a process resolve will fizzle out and you’ll be left exactly where you started.    

I recently listened to author Dan Brown’s Masterclass and he had a chapter titled, “Protecting Your Process.”  In this lesson, Dan explains that writing a novel is a long process, not something you can accomplish overnight, no matter how inspired you may be.  Writing a novel requires you to implement and stick to a process of writing, a little bit each day.  The same logic holds true for making changes to our Life Design.  

Most of us intuit this.  If we want to get in shape, one trip to the gym isn’t going to get us there.  If we want to strategically redirect our career, that isn’t going to happen in an instant.  If we want to mend a damaged relationship, ...

Most of us live our entire lives in a state of mild distraction.  I literally can’t complete this sentence without my mind wandering to a dozen unrelated things.  Whew.  That was exhausting.  Why do I do this?  Is there anything I can do about it?  I went to the moon to find out. 

Ok, maybe it wasn’t the moon, but it was what I imagine the moon would be like.  In fact, I was in Joshua Tree National Park.  My plan was to make this a mini vision quest, which includes 3 major elements: nature, fasting, and solitude.  Unlike my previous vision quest, I didn’t have any particular “topic” that I wanted to explore.  But, with my wedding a mere 30 days away, it seemed like a good time to get away and spend some time with the wild horses that roam the vast emptiness between my ears.  

Since my goal was to be alone and spring is a popular time to visit Joshua Tree, I entered the park at one of the less popular trailheads.  After hiking in several miles I found a spot that gave me confidence I ...