Unleash the Artist Inside
“The most visible creators I know of are those artists whose medium is life itself, the ones who express the inexpressible – without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt – their medium is being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don’t have to draw. They are the artists of being alive.” ~J. Stone
What is Art? There are entire books devoted to that question, but for the sake of argument let’s use the Enclyclopedia Britannica.
Wikipedia defines Art as:
the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others. The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically-motivated art; to create a sense of beauty; to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions.The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you are an Artist. There is something you do in your life, maybe more than one thing, that expresses your art to others. Maybe you cook, do woodwork, work with children, build houses, work with numbers, or something else that you love, and love to share.
The discipline of the Artist is to find time every day to work on their Art. Make it a priority in your life, a discipline, to spend some time every day working on your Art.
Finally, a quote from one of my favorite books (I know, another quote):
Daniel Pink, in his book A Whole New Mind (Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future says:”The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of Mind – computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch number. But the key to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”
My 3 Words for 2012
The inspiration for this post came from Chris Brogan. I really like the idea of having a theme, or themes, for the year.
My 3 Words are: Move, Connect and Create.
MOVE - I believe that motivation comes from movement, not the other way around. As a former dancer and choreographer I come from a background of movement. When working with coaching clients, our conversations are about getting moving and keeping moving. Physical, emotional and intellectual movement are keys to a long, healthy life.
CONNECT - Connect the dots. Connect people. Connect ideas. Reach out. Engage. Become a social business.
CREATE - My daily question is, “What can I create today?” Are you spending your time REACTING to circumstances, or CREATING your world? (notice that those two words consist of the same letters)
What is your plan/theme/goal/resolution for 2012?
Motivation Comes From Movement
Not the other way around…
Don’t screw around. Start now. Find an excuse. Any excuse. Do something. Do anything. Get going. Posthaste. ~Tom Peters
Do You Really Want Success?
An outstanding collection of clips from Will Smith on what it really takes to be successful. Give yourself the gift of 9 minutes and watch this.
Are You Handicapping Yourself?
You’ve probably heard the term “fear of failure” – but have you heard of “self-handicapping?”
According to Psychwici.com:
Self-handicapping is described as an action or choice which prevents a person from being responsible for failure (Kolditz & Arkin, 1982). Berglas and Jones (1978) describe this strategy as making choices or acting in ways which make it possible to externalize failure and to internalize success. People want to be able to accept credit for any success, but have an excuse for any failure. From these definitions we can see that the strategy of self-handicapping is used in evaluative setting so that the person has ready excuses for failures. Therefore if a failure occurs it is attributed to the handicap instead of the lack of ability on the part of the individual (Smith, Snyder, & Perkins, 1983). However, if someone does succeed despite the impediment then they can attribute the success to their abilities. As we can see, self-handicapping behaviors are designed so that there are desirable attributions for both success and failure (Hirt, Deppe, & Gordon, 1991).
Hmm…procrastination, lack of preparation, excess partying? Have you come across any of these things in your life? I certainly have in mine.
Something to think about.
The Choreography of Attention
“Art is the choreography of attention.” ~Edward de Bono
Choreography is the structure of movement. Are you structuring the movement of your attention? Are you putting your attention on the things that make your life a work of art (a product of your creativity)?
The discipline of the Artist is to find time every day to work on their Art. Make it a priority in your life, a discipline, to spend some time every day reflecting on where you are putting your attention. Are you working on your Art?
“The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of Mind – computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch number. But the key to the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”
I believe that you have within you a desire to create. You were born an Artist, with the ability to create effortlessly and gracefully in your life. To create something of meaning – either to yourself or to others. This creative urge often gets stifled in the day-to-day crush of life and “earning a living.” That potential for creation, the Artist Inside, is being blocked. Timothy Gallwey says, in his Inner Game books, that Performance equals Potential minus Interference. Search for ways to minimize, or eliminate, the elements in your life or work that are blocking your potential. And make your life a work of art.
“The most visible creators I know of are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible~without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt~their medium is being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don’t have to draw. They are the artists of being alive.” ~ J. Stone
Once a Dancer, Always a Dancer
I spent 15 years of my early life as a professional dancer, and although I can no longer kick over my head, I realize now that the mindset of the dancer will always be with me.
First and foremost the dancer knows you need to be in class every day. Daily learning and practice keeps the muscles and mind in shape and keeps you on top of your game. As a result I am committed to lifelong learning, practice and improvement. Although there are days when I just don’t feel like it, I always feel better after having done the work.
The dancer’s world is built around choreography – the structure of movement. Every movement, every expression, has a reason to be there. If I don’t take time to examine the intent of the activity it can end up as random flailing around.
To dance you have to listen to the music and go with the flow. You need to let the rhythm of the music and the movement carry you. I try to find a rhythm to my day and the activity I am involved in. It all comes a lot easier if you listen to the music of life.
When you are dancing you have to be willing to put yourself out front, to perform to the best of your ability every time you dance – while making it look easy (the result of daily practice). I try to remind myself to take risks, get out in front, stretch myself, and go easy.
If you have been a serious student of any activity, even if you no longer actively practice that discipline, the mindset is still with you. The challenge is to make that mindset a part of who you are and the work you do.
Were you a runner, a swimmer, a musician, a writer, a sculptor? Maybe you still are… Think about it.
Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music. ~William Stafford
Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. ~Ted Shawn
Self Reliance
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. ~Emerson,Ralph Waldo
The Problem With Problems
Sometimes, when you have a problem, it’s important to diagnose and fix it. A car problem, for example, or a medical problem. But problems of other kinds can become a trap. You try to think about the problem, find out why it happened (maybe even blame something or someone), and generally sink deeper and deeper into the muck and mire.
Have you ever had a problem and found that the more you thought about it, the worse it got in your head? Did you find yourself thinking about the problem at the worst possible times, to the detriment of other things in your life? Did you find yourself so caught up in the problem that there just didn’t seem to be a way out? I know I have.
One alternative is to switch from a Problem Focus to a Solution Focus, using what I call the GPS System
Ok, let’s say you have a problem.
Imagine, for a moment, that the problem no longer exists.
- How will things be when you no longer have the problem?
- How will you feel?
- What will you do differently than you are right now?
- What will other people notice about you and your actions?
That is the solution, your preferred future, your Goal (the G of the system).
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the place where everything is as it should be, the Goal state, where are you right now? Pick a number. If you don’t know the answer, guess. This is where you are right now, your Position (yup, that’s the P)
Now, what did it take for you to get to the number/position where you are right now?
- What actions did you take?
- How did you think?
- What skills did you use?
- You have a history of success already by having gotten to where you are.
Next, imagine that you have moved up one number on the scale, one step further on your journey to the preferred solution.
- How will you feel?
- How will you act?
- What would be the first thing that others would notice about you?
What small action could you take, now or in the next day, to move you up the scale? Can you commit to taking that action? Think in small, incremental steps (you guessed it, the S)
You are now focused on the solution, rather than the problem. Focus on moving toward your Goal, in small, easily achievable action steps, and the problem should disappear all by itself.
You’ve Got 15 Minutes
There’s a problem. You’ve got 15 minutes to solve it. What do you do?
Someone hands you a stack of documents, or a book, 15 minutes before an important meeting. What do you do?
You have 15 minutes to pull together a dinner for 4 people. What do you do?
You need to teach someone everything they need to know to take your place at your job. You have 15 minutes. What do you do?
Sometimes we get so caught up in the minutiae of the work we do that we lose track of the big picture, the building blocks, the basics. Could you apply the 15 Minute challenge to everything that you do?
I don’t know. But think about it. I will…
