The Thriving Creative

Happy first Monday of May! I want to kick off this month talking about happiness. How can we promote our own happiness without necessarily changing our current circumstances?

Happiness is a big concept with lots of different pieces. What I want to offer you is a simple strategy to increase your happiness today. By taking a look at the decisions you make each day, and the number of options for those decisions we can create a strategy to make our brain happier with each new desision we make. Let's dive in!

At one point in my life, I thought that loneliness was only determined by a life circumstance. The older I get, the more I realize that loneliness is really just an emotional state that can strike at any moment. What is loneliness and why does it happen? That's exactly what I'm diving into today. This experience is becoming incredibly pervasive even as we now have more methods to connect more than ever before. If we fail to address this emotion, guilt and shame can easily overwhelm you.

In today's episode, I am going to help you start to recognize loneliness in your own life and equip you with some tools for being able to combat it when it strikes. Being able to navigate these waters requires practicing mindfulness and making a plan. I will share with you some of the things in my life that can easily sabotage me and make me feel less valuable. Maybe these are some of the same things you struggle with. Or perhaps you could add some other things to the list. If you can, come share your input with the rest of us in the On Purpose Life and Biz Facebook group! It's so easy to become overwhelmed by our feelings and choose to shut down. Let's take this chance to call this out in one another and ask someone how they are really doing!

Click here for the Show Notes

Are you suffering from mental exhaustion at the moment? You are absolutely not alone. Our level of overwhelm in trying to navigate this pandemic season is pulling us in a million directions. We're losing huge chunks of time and experiencing the feeling of failure way more than we'd like. I was right there with you and then I implemented a new strategy. It's helping me execute what has to get done and releasing what can wait. Want to learn more? Join me on the podcast for another episode of Mental Health Monday!

Not making enough money in business is one problem. But what if you are making money, the opportunities are flooding in, but you are exhausted and overwhelmed? Today's guest, Amber Fife has been there but she also managed to find a way to come out on the other side. What did it take? A lot of mindset shifts and serious consideration of what she really wanted to be offering. Join us as we discuss how Amber was able to take back her schedule and quit getting caught up in the comparison trap. She also tells the story of how exploring her creativity became the healing agent for her anxiety.

After a decade of being in the photography business and moving across the country, Amber felt something was missing, and she wanted to not feel crippled by anxiety. Her healing began in 2016 as she returned to her artistic roots and made time for creating on a regular basis. Finding so much success in her own life, Amber began Women Create Weekly in 2018, a blog and online membership to help women find themselves again through art. She enjoys running both businesses and finding life balance on a daily basis.

Do you have a song you love so much that you could listen to it on repeat forever? You may know what songs are on your ultimate playlist, but do you know what thoughts you have on repeat? Consider for a moment- do those thoughts actually empower and energize you? Or do they deplete you and make you doubt yourself?

In today's episode, I want to share with you four types of thoughts you can retrain your brain to focus on when you're feeling down or overwhelmed. Your homework is to write one of these down for yourself from each category. After listening, practice becoming aware of where your thoughts are leading. And when your thoughts do leave you feeling disconnected, you will have these tools ready to combat those negative feelings. Friends, it's okay to not be okay, but you are not alone and you don't have to stay stuck!

I think it's safe to say that the emotions associated with the experience of failure are ones we desperately try to avoid. No one enjoys failing. And yet, it's a very necessary part of discovering your creative confidence. Today on the podcast, I am sharing with you exactly how you can go about finding your confidence so you can be sure of what you offer people in your life, be it in business or personally. I think you will look at failure in a brand new way after listening. Your best breakthroughs are around the corner if you are willing to take a risk!

Steps for Discovering Your Creative Confidence:

1. Decide to try which means you are okay with failure.
2. Have a support system in place that is listening and not just talking.
3. Give yourself a break when needed, but commit to trying again
4. Allow yourself to make messy progress.

In this episode of Mental Health Monday, I'm going to give you something super relevant and practical to try out today. Mindfulness is not just a good suggestion anymore-it's a means of survival. If you haven't found a practice that offers you more clarity and peace, one of these activities might just be the tool you need to navigate the uncertainty of this season. You are not alone and I want to empower you to continue showing up in your personal life and your business. If one of these activities resonates with you, come share your experience in the On Purpose Creatives Facebook group!

If you're needing a shot of courage when it comes to pursuing your creative passion, I have it for you today in the form of Gaby Abrams. Gaby is a lawyer turned creative mompreneur. She started her online stationery business, Casa Confetti Design Studio, in 2015 after having her son Levi. What started out as a fun way to pass her maternity leave quickly turned into a thriving 6-figure business. Gaby shares her journey with lots of helpful tips from what to do and plenty of things to avoid too! She lets us in on the mindset challenges she had to work through jumping from a practical to a passionate career in a matter of months.

Gaby and I discuss the magic and frustration of outsourcing work and how she chooses when to do it. Gaby is a big believer that you shouldn't rely on external validation-you gotta rely on that intuition of yours. I couldn't agree more! Perhaps most encouraging is her advice to anyone who is nervous to pursue their passion. She urges us to learn as we go and to always make time to play! Yes please!

If you're suddenly finding yourself trying to figure out how to run a business from home without the typical school or childcare supports, chances are you've had a lot of emotionally intense days. Fulfilling both of these roles at the same time is challenging, but certainly not impossible. Though I am still exploring how to do this well in my own home, I have identified some important tips to keep in mind. These three things help me feel more successful in both roles much more consistently.

• Make sure your daily and weekly expectations are realistic.

• Clearly communicate your expectations to all your family members (especially your kids!)

• Be clear on your priorities.

Did you know that the act of journaling can actually strengthen your immune cells? It's true! Journaling is beneficial for your health in a ton of ways! This practice can also do things like increase your concentration and allow for all kinds of self-discovery! Who could use some more of that right now? Probably all of us!

For those of you who find yourself with more time right now, this is a perfect time to take up this practice. And for those of you who find yourself with less time, I've got an idea to share with you that you might not have considered before. If you have no idea what to write to get started, I am also sharing with you two prompts you can respond to every day to get clarity about your emotions and how to navigate your day with purpose!