Thee Key to a Creative Life: The Next Best Step

Today, let's acknowledge that there is always one next step we can take for our creativity, no matter the circumstances.

FILLING THE FORM

What do I mean by filling the form?

I mean taking the next small step instead of skipping ahead to a large one for which you may not yet be prepared.

Most of the time, the next right thing is something small:

washing out your paintbrushes, stopping by the art-supply store and getting your clay, checking the local paper for a list of acting classes … As a rule of thumb, it is best to just admit that there is always one action you can take for your creativity daily. This daily-action commitment fills the form.

All too often, when people look to having a more creative life, they hold an unspoken and often unacknowledged expectation, or fear, that they will be abandoning life as they know it.

Indulging ourselves in a frantic fantasy of what our life would look like if we were real artists, we fail to see the many small creative changes that we could make at this very moment. This kind of look-at-the-big-picture thinking ignores the fact that a creative life is grounded on many, many small steps and very, very few large leaps.

Rather than take a scary baby step toward our dreams, we rush to the edge of the cliff and then stand there, quaking, saying, “I can’t leap. I can’t. I can’t.…”

No one is asking you to leap. That’s just drama, and, for the purposes of a creative recovery, drama belongs on the page or on the canvas or in the clay or in the acting class or in the act of creativity, however small.

(The Artist's Way, 2016, p. 140-142)

I am committed to small daily actions toward lofty dreams.

I embrace small steps toward my creative goals. I know each step is the foundation of a fulfilling creative life. I let go of the drama and fear of leaping, and instead focus on taking daily action toward my dreams. I am capable and prepared to make meaningful progress through consistent, small efforts.