Frequently I have clients who can’t decide on an idea/project/step .

“There’s so many!”

 

This is often the illusion of thinking there’s a “right” one to start with. Or a right way to start. That's stressful. 

 

High pressured expectations are up there in the top five reasons we procrastinate, are overwhelmed, and get paralyzed ...  then feel stuck and may I add, cranky?  

 

Lowering expectations is paradoxical brilliance because it’s one of the only ways to  produce work we end up loving. The process is relaxing so genius is more willing to have tea with us. Everyone’s got genius, just sometimes it’s hanging out at the bar down the street because there’s too much pressure at home.

 

 What I sometimes say is,  "Just decide on anything, particularly if it's in the direction of a little zing of curiosity laced juju, an inebriation with incoming possibility, and an invitation  to that altered state of consciousness we love so much, .... creativity. Pick the project that makes your childlike spirit exclaim,

“THAT ONE and also maybe THAT OTHER ONE too.” (Two or three projects is a good number for many, some prefer one.)

 

 

 Once in the process, , your decisions can become instinctual, at least for a little bit, but you have to suspend the need to do it perfectly because that’s like having a boss breathe down your neck and intuition gets steamed up when that happens and steamed up intuition is hard to grasp.

 

Staying with it, we get information we couldn’t possibly get anywhere but IN the process. Deliberation can be debilitating, ready-fire-aim!.

 

 

 

Smart questions:

How can I make this fun?

How can I simplify this?

How can I lower the pressure?

 

Just asking these questions make the process more enjoyable, which will beget perseverance, which brings confidence ,which is a conduit for intuition, which makes for easier decision-making… I’d show you a flow-chart but my juju is pointing me toward painting.

. I can hear my watercolors calling, red is the loudest, obviously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my Wild Abandon workshops at Omega and in Italy, the first thing we do is address intimidation, comparison, and high pressure expectations by giving permission to be human. Once out of the way, we are free to be kids, proclaimed artists, writers, and photographers - letting loose so fast (and recklessly, often blind) our work is filled with energy, mystery, and instinctive genius, not to mention playful madness, but I did anyway.

 

Join me:

October 1-6, 2023. A week of immersing ourselves in Wild Abandon writing, art, photography, and good times in a forest in the Hudson Valley.   Register here

 

October 14-20, 2024 Plenty of time to save up for gelato! 
I'll be providing the creative part of a tour to the Italian Riviera. Here's the link to sign-up      For all levels from beginners to travel-hungry pros.