Motivation
Friends,
The struggle is real. You know what your passion is, but you find it difficult to keep doing the work.
Why is that?
We all have our reasons to block our passions. Questions like:
Q1. I don't want to look like a fake.
Q2. Is my art worthy?
Q3. I don't know what I'm doing.
Q4. The next step seems impossible.
Q5. I'm afraid of what my family/friends/co-workers, etc. might think of me after seeing my art.
These are just some of our internal blocks.
Let me answer some of them for you:
A1. How can you be a fake when you are creating something original? Creativity is pure authenticity.
A2. Of course it's worthy. How did you feel while creating it? Isn't that worthy enough? If you happen to gain monetarily from your art, that's a bonus. (Don't make that the goal, however... not yet anyway.) It's not your place to say whether or not your art is worthy. The value of your art is to be determined by you, and when others connect with it - that, too, is authentic!
A3. No one "knows" what they're doing. That's why turtle steps are so important. You need to simply take that next step. Then the next, and the next. The process will present itself when it's time.
A4. That next step is only impossible if you are looking at the steps that are too far off in the distance. If you have an idea in your head, and you leave it there rather than actually creating it, you will never be able to hang it in an art gallery or sell it on Etsy or hold your book in your hand. Never. You need to keep teeny-tiny-tortoise-stepping toward your goal.
A5. Our own fears are our largest handicap. Try to ignore them, and simply take the next step toward your goal. Step. Step. Step. Don't focus on the fear - focus on the next step. Period.
Here's the fun part!
***Find something to motivate you toward the step you are struggling with and then give it to yourself when you achieve that goal!***
Do you want that new jacket?
Is there a new movie being released that you really want to see?
Do you need a massage?
REWARD yourself with your promised gift for achieving that goal!
Going into the first Mango Tree book presentation for a 5th-grade class, I was terrified! As I packed my presentation items into my car that morning, I told myself, "When I finish this reading today, I will give myself a manicure/pedicure as a reward." This incentivized me just enough to get giddy for the reading. The reading was a success! After my reading, I was so excited and enthused. I went directly to the salon and rewarded myself for a job well done.
I have a couple of quick stories to show how this works:
My friend and I are working on the National Novel Writing Month together this month (November 2018). In order to inspire each other, I asked him what we will give the other person once we reach the goal. We decided on purchasing the other person a book of their choice as a gift for completing NaNoWriMo this month. The reward has to be something aside from the goal because our fears block us from taking the step toward our goals. We MUST find a reward to get us going. A Motivator.
Another story:
I work in a library, and an elderly patron approached me yesterday. She asked me to help her look up the phone number to a funeral home in New Jersey. She said both of her parents and her husband have been buried there, and she has needed to make her funeral arrangements so her kids won't have to do that once she passes. This is an extremely personal and caring thing to do so that no one will be burdened with this task after she's gone. She told me she's put this task off for six years.
I found the phone number and she took it from me with a deep sigh and a slight eye-roll. I asked her what was the matter? But before she could answer, I got it. These are her funeral arrangements! She's about to arrange for her own death. Woah. That is heavy shit.
I looked her in the eye and asked if she likes chocolate. She got giddy. Literally giddy. She said, "I love chocolate. Especially dark chocolate." I told her, "When you make this phone call, you come and tell me you have everything arranged, and I will give you a chocolate bar."
She actually got excited to make the phone call. I have no doubt she will come to me next week with her task completed. I will let you know when that happens. (I'll even see if she'll let me take a picture of her receiving her chocolate bar and I'll post it here.)
Sometimes all it takes is a reward to get the task done.
My friend, Brenda always tells me to "eat the biggest frog first." Meaning: Tackle the task that gives you the most grief before any other tasks. Then it's off your plate. You only have little frogs left.
Thanks for reading!
Onward, Friends! Onward!
Brooke
The struggle is real. You know what your passion is, but you find it difficult to keep doing the work.
Why is that?
We all have our reasons to block our passions. Questions like:
Q1. I don't want to look like a fake.
Q2. Is my art worthy?
Q3. I don't know what I'm doing.
Q4. The next step seems impossible.
Q5. I'm afraid of what my family/friends/co-workers, etc. might think of me after seeing my art.
These are just some of our internal blocks.
Let me answer some of them for you:
A1. How can you be a fake when you are creating something original? Creativity is pure authenticity.
A2. Of course it's worthy. How did you feel while creating it? Isn't that worthy enough? If you happen to gain monetarily from your art, that's a bonus. (Don't make that the goal, however... not yet anyway.) It's not your place to say whether or not your art is worthy. The value of your art is to be determined by you, and when others connect with it - that, too, is authentic!
A3. No one "knows" what they're doing. That's why turtle steps are so important. You need to simply take that next step. Then the next, and the next. The process will present itself when it's time.
A4. That next step is only impossible if you are looking at the steps that are too far off in the distance. If you have an idea in your head, and you leave it there rather than actually creating it, you will never be able to hang it in an art gallery or sell it on Etsy or hold your book in your hand. Never. You need to keep teeny-tiny-tortoise-stepping toward your goal.
A5. Our own fears are our largest handicap. Try to ignore them, and simply take the next step toward your goal. Step. Step. Step. Don't focus on the fear - focus on the next step. Period.
Here's the fun part!
***Find something to motivate you toward the step you are struggling with and then give it to yourself when you achieve that goal!***
Do you want that new jacket?
Is there a new movie being released that you really want to see?
Do you need a massage?
REWARD yourself with your promised gift for achieving that goal!
Going into the first Mango Tree book presentation for a 5th-grade class, I was terrified! As I packed my presentation items into my car that morning, I told myself, "When I finish this reading today, I will give myself a manicure/pedicure as a reward." This incentivized me just enough to get giddy for the reading. The reading was a success! After my reading, I was so excited and enthused. I went directly to the salon and rewarded myself for a job well done.
I have a couple of quick stories to show how this works:
My friend and I are working on the National Novel Writing Month together this month (November 2018). In order to inspire each other, I asked him what we will give the other person once we reach the goal. We decided on purchasing the other person a book of their choice as a gift for completing NaNoWriMo this month. The reward has to be something aside from the goal because our fears block us from taking the step toward our goals. We MUST find a reward to get us going. A Motivator.
Another story:
I work in a library, and an elderly patron approached me yesterday. She asked me to help her look up the phone number to a funeral home in New Jersey. She said both of her parents and her husband have been buried there, and she has needed to make her funeral arrangements so her kids won't have to do that once she passes. This is an extremely personal and caring thing to do so that no one will be burdened with this task after she's gone. She told me she's put this task off for six years.
I found the phone number and she took it from me with a deep sigh and a slight eye-roll. I asked her what was the matter? But before she could answer, I got it. These are her funeral arrangements! She's about to arrange for her own death. Woah. That is heavy shit.
I looked her in the eye and asked if she likes chocolate. She got giddy. Literally giddy. She said, "I love chocolate. Especially dark chocolate." I told her, "When you make this phone call, you come and tell me you have everything arranged, and I will give you a chocolate bar."
She actually got excited to make the phone call. I have no doubt she will come to me next week with her task completed. I will let you know when that happens. (I'll even see if she'll let me take a picture of her receiving her chocolate bar and I'll post it here.)
Sometimes all it takes is a reward to get the task done.
My friend, Brenda always tells me to "eat the biggest frog first." Meaning: Tackle the task that gives you the most grief before any other tasks. Then it's off your plate. You only have little frogs left.
Thanks for reading!
Onward, Friends! Onward!
Brooke
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