Creativity and the Everyday

6/23/2016 1 Comment

Creativity and the Everyday

366 Days of Creativity Week 25 in Review: June 17th - June 23rd

I was reminded today about Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic (see my LEGO® creation thoughts on instagram for how). Her book is actually one of the reasons I started this 366 project. She talks about ideas leaving you if you don't commit to them. I have ideas for building with bricks helping people. I also wasn't ready to jump into full action on those ideas this year. But I didn't want the ideas to leave me, so this 366 project came to me and I say yes. Because it keeps me in the LEGO® zone and shows I am committed. And it's taking me to places I never expected to be - hello BrickFest and soon to be BrickFiesta. And I can't wait to really let my ideas come to fruition, hopefully next year, and be surprised where they take me then.

So I think creativity takes the everyday. I knew that I could do this LEGO project because I have previously committed to two 100-day Gongs. It is a discipline practice and the length of time can vary but when I did it, I committed to if I missed a day, I had to start over. That was some good motivation.

The first time I picked daily gratitude journaling and yoga. For the yoga I didn't define an amount of time I had to practice. I figured even if all I did was the corpse pose, which was true for at least a couple of days, it would work. And it did.

The second gong I did was a little more ambitious. I had continued daily yoga even during the in-between time so I decided to do it again, along with at least 5 minutes of meditation, and something green every day (juice, smoothie, or salad). The green component was probably the hardest as really had to plan for that. But I did it.

So that's why when the idea of building LEGO creations every day for a year came to me I knew I could do it. I think I've joked before about kind of wishing I had only done it for 100 days, but it really has been beneficial to do more. I learned in my previous Gongs to do it early in the day and I have a reminder on my phone I have to check off just in case. And yes, I'm still doing yoga too - almost 2 years now of a daily practice.

But the point is to do something. There have been some days with my LEGO creations I literally did the bare minimum. Day 19, I literally closed my eyes and selected the blocks and placed them. And I only picked 19. Day 111? I scattered all the white bricks around. But then of course somedays I spent way more time - see the mini-project that happened days 58-61.

Again, do something. Don't stop and let huge chunks of time go by. I've heard it said never let it get to zero, or go for B+ instead of perfect A or failing. Just keep with it. Whatever it is you want to do or cultivate, make it a daily habit.

Set your self up for success by preparing for it and doing it early if you can. Set a reminder you have to check off each day. Remember it's a process and what matters is that you do it. Some days will be stellar, some you will doubt or even curse doing it. But keep going. There is magic in there.

I can't wait to see what develops, but for now I keep going. Doing something everyday. Some days loving the process, some days loathing it, some days loving my creations, other days not, but I do it. Accountability helps too. With the Gongs I was a part of a group, and with the LEGO® creations I am posting on instagram. You can do it. Just keep building.

What would you do for a Gong? I'd love to know.

Days 169-175

Day 169
"Show up and participate in what life has in front of you, in what God is doing in your life. Continue to lean in. Continue to open your eyes. Continue to scout the beauty. Continue to create. Continue to love. Continue to get well. Continue to breath."
-Leeana Tankersley

Day 170
"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it."
- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Day 171
"Which reminds me of another tip: never leave your work 100% completed at the end of the day. Park on the top of the hill, leaving half a sentence or a partially drawn face, so the You of Tomorrow can pick up the work in progress rather Jan wrestling with a cold start."
-Danny Gregory