Tag: creativity

It takes only 10 minutes (exercise)

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!

woodyhayes

While you are studying at a Faculty, many of the courses you encounter (obligatory) you don’t like or you don’t recognize at that particular time you do really need certain knowledge and skills they offer. And on the other hand, there are  subjects you simply adore and you are always excited about.

When you are young and full of energy you simply don’t want to waste your time on something you don’t like when there is bunch of other stuff you’d rather do. So I made a little pact with myself that everyday, at least for 10 minutes I will do seminars and projects that I’m excited about. Every day, consistently! Why I did this and how it helped me? It helped me in two ways:

  1. Since I had to devote my time also to courses I didn’t like that much, by doing what I liked for at least 10 minutes a day, I made sure I wasn’t behind with what I really wanted to learn;
  2. By doing what I liked, the good feeling generated made it easier for me to do things I didn’t like that much.

At the end, I managed to graduate a year before anticipated time.

These principles we can also apply to our creative projects and make ourselves more productive and exited about what we are doing.

Now, here is a little exercise I have for you today:

  1. Make an agreement with yourself that you will work on a project you are passionate about, every day for at least 10 minutes. It can be in the morning, your lunch break or evening – it doesn’t matter. The key word here is consistency.
  2. Decide on which project you will work tomorrow. If you are a writer, choose a poem, story or essay you are excited about and that you are eager to finish. Skip those “I must do this one, but I hate it”! That feeling of resistance only leads to more procrastination and that is something we want to avoid. Choose a project that brings smile on your face and that you simply love.
  3. Tomorrow, at your convenient time, set a timer for 10 – 15 minutes and work on your favorite project. Don’t pay attention to the quality of your work. The progress you make each day while working on what you love will generate such good feelings that it will make much easer for you to jump-start the project you were postponing and avoiding.
  4. When the time’s up, stop! Even if you would like to continue working, stop and leave yourself a reminder where to continue tomorrow.
  5. Tomorrow, repeat your newly established routine.
  6. After a couple of days you might consider prolonging your working time intervals and see how it goes. If it doesn’t and it makes you nervous and worried you won’t have time for things “I must do”, then just stick to those 10 minutes. It’s important for us to have fun while we are creating.
  7. If you skip some of the days, it’s Ok. Continue the next day where you previously stopped.

I hope you find this exercise fun and applicable to your creative routine. By being persistent it can eventually help you enjoy more your creativity and writing.

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NaPoWriMo day 8: You are the only

by Maja Todorovic, posted in My personal rhyme - from time to time

I want to tell you a secret

little secret, simple and honest –

You are the only

reason for your existence:

to grow

to glitter

to laugh.

 

You are the only

one who makes this prison

of negative persistence.

 

You are the only

one who can say: “No, I’m not a

quitter!”

 

Open your eyes widely

world that lies beneath you

is your home.

 

Open your heart kindly

let your dreams fly back to you,

wildly.

Maja S. Todorovic

5 ways you can reconnect with your own creativity

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Business in Rhyme, Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!

earl_nightingale

Being creative is not only doing, making stuff or problem solving. Creativity originates from our deepest desires and most sincere aspirations. For me personally, actual act of creating is an act of self-love. It might sound weird to some of you, but if you think more clearly it is true. Any creative expression is an expression of Self in given time and place. The more we show appreciation and kindness towards ourselves, the more creative we become.

Now, I’m not talking about vanity and pretentious, selfish self-love where you neglect and disrespect other people in order to fulfill some personal gains. I’m talking about just being gentle and kind in our thoughts and actions towards ourselves.

When you have problem to connect with your creative side, it’s like pushing away from us the part that needs the most attention; that needs to be understood and nurtured.

Personally when I’m experiencing something like this, usually there is some other underlying cause that distracts me and keeps me from having that intimate encounter with creativity.

There are few things you can do in order to reestablish that connection we all need:

1.Stop criticizing yourself and your work.

As I said, every creative work is a result of our self-expression in given moment and place. Just accept it like that. Once you approve of your own work, your positive changes can start to happen.

2. Stop comparing yourself to others.

You are unique and everything you do is unique. Don’t try to ‘fit in’.You don’t have to belong to any movement, style, group…just be yourself. Work on being better for your own sake, not to be approved by others.

3. Stop sabotaging yourself and start forgiving instead.

You made mistakes in the past. You could’ve done, planned, executed, written, painted, composed, sung, danced, calculated… better, but that’s in the past. You gave your best at the time, considering the understanding, awareness, knowledge that you had and the conditions you were in. Only by letting go we can allow fresh creativity to enter.

4. As you are kind to you mind, be kind to your body.

For long time I didn’t recognize the connection between the foods we eat and how we feel and create. Apparently there is a huge influence of what we are eating on how we are able to perform in any part of our lives. Learn more about your own body, what it needs to feel invigorated, vital and full of energy. Incorporate your favorite movements, walks, dance or exercise.

5. Don’t take everything too seriously.

Now, I’m not saying being reckless or irresponsible. But it’s important to have fun at least in some moments, because by being more joyful we become more open to new ideas, and opportunists.Creativity has that therapeutic quality and once we leave behind all ‘musts and shoulds’, it’s easier to approach our problem differently. And by looking at the world differently,  creativity finds its way towards us – when you least expect it.

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Conquer your next creative adventure in 5 easy steps

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Read, write, lead!, Write, create, innovate!

Erich-Fromm

If you have many diverse interests like me, you know how is sometimes hard to stick just to one thing you are doing and it’s so easy to get distracted when something new or more attractive appears. There are certain practices you can employ in order to stay on track with your project: meaning you will finish your project – not postpone it for “some better days”.

Step 1: Sign a ‘contract’ with yourself

First what you want to do is to make a pact with your self that you will try to follow your creative endeavor till the end. You might not be satisfied with the results, but everything we do has a room for improvement so we want to step back from unreachable perfectionism that doesn’t serve us and give our best to finish the project. Try to think from the end, what is it that you would like to achieve? Think also of your reasons for doing this project – you can even write them down and put them where you will read them often as a reminder. They will give you inspiration to deliver your project on time and fuel your passion along the way.

Step 2: Give your project a place to live and breathe

As you need time, you need space where you can get comfy and cozy while enjoying your creativity. It’s of great importance to stage your environment for creativity and allow it to freely come to you, in undisturbed and relaxed space. By secluding that little corner where you can work, it is going to be much easier for you to continue your work, follow up where you previously stopped if you don’t have to move your books, ketches or tools in order to do  something else. Your project needs place where to live, breathe and be nourished.

Step 3: Define your achievable goals

Here, you want according to your busy life and routine to set some realistic goals, like time frame in which you would like to finish the project; some milestones maybe you would like to achieve. Keep in mind that as you begin to work, like for example on your new novel, you probably won’t be delighted with your first draft – there will be many trials and errors before you tap into  your creative flow and you become satisfied with the end result.

Step 4: Give your project a structure

This is highly linked to a previous step – if your creative adventure is in writing, try to write a synopsis of that initial idea, give it some structure that you can refine along the way and adapt as new ideas and developments come into play. Having that line you want to follow will make sure you don’t drift away from initial idea and get lost in your own creativity.

Step 5: Try to avoid other people mistakes

As you prepare for work, my final advice is to research you creative topic and see what other people have done or are doing. Not because something similar already exists, but we can avoid many pitfalls from gaining wisdom from other people experiences; something may or may not work for us – as long as we are informed and gather information is going to be much easier to make some choices and decisions when it comes to our creative projects.

The last thing I can say is: enjoy creating 🙂

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Let gratitude empower your creativity (exercise)

by Maja Todorovic, posted in Write, create, innovate: exercises

Deepak

In almost any religion and culture we have heard of the importance of being grateful: to search for positive aspects in life instead of dwelling on what is wrong and how world is a bad place to live in. Our modern and fast paced environment has so much to offer: yet we  get trapped in to trivial and petty things instead of concentrating our attention on more important experiences. Those negative feelings that arise can literally block our creative energy, potential for problem solving and seizing the opportunities.

Gratitude can help us combat fear and anxiety. That feeling of appreciation opens the door for receiving even better things to flow into your life – like creativity. Experience of positive emotions and nurturing the state of well-being helps us engage in the  activities that encourage discovery and growth. Your observation improves; your relationship with the environment improves and you tackle problems from different angles.

Every problem comes with some sort of stress and crisis, but instead of wasting your precious energy on what you lack, you can learn from new situation and reinforce your ability to cultivate sense of inspiration.

Of course being content and grateful doesn’t mean neglecting the problem and looking at the world through pink glasses. It’s about finding self-confidence in every situation and feel liberated to explore the world as what it is.

Gratitude, like creativity, can be developed through practice.

Here are some ideas where to start:

  1. Read something inspirational at the start of your day;
  2. Imagine experiencing your good;
  3. Celebrate your small everyday victories;
  4. End your day with thinking of 3 things you are grateful for.

Poetry does have that restorative power and use it into your own advantage: as you might pour out those negative feelings in your poetry, try also to step back and write your poem about all good things in your life, that you love and care about. The more you write, the more things you will find you like about your life.

This beautiful sonnet by Alan Seeger offers a different perspective on our modern lives and stuffed cities, where we can see beauty and light in our ordinary surroundings.

Down the strait vistas where a city street
Fades in pale dust and vaporous distances,
Stained with far fumes the light grows less and less
And the sky reddens round the day’s retreat.
Now out of orient chambers, cool and sweet,
Like Nature’s pure lustration, Dusk comes down.
Now the lamps brighten and the quickening town
Rings with the trample of returning feet.
And Pleasure, risen from her own warm mould
Sunk all the drowsy and unloved daylight
In layers of odorous softness, Paphian girls
Cover with gauze, with satin, and with pearls,
Crown, and about her spangly vestments fold
The ermine of the empire of the Night.

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