So, it should be no secret at this point that I think creative women are SO, SO important. Not only is everyone important, just because they're a person on this planet, but creative women have the potential to inspire & enrich the lives of people around them like no other. It's not just through their creative work, but through modelling the resilience of creative, independent women.
The thing is, though, this resilience isn't easy to tap in to. Living a creative life requires choosing it over and over, and sometimes it involves blazing a trail for yourself. It's not easy, but it's definitely a doable, effervescent, and effective way to live.
The thing is, there's a lot of misinformation running around about what exactly creative life looks like, and it's not doing you any favours. These myths make it way harder for creatives to focus on what's important, get shit done & avoid overwhelm. Yeah. Those are all already difficult things to manage as a creative, so here I am to debunk these myths to make things a little easier on ya.
The first myth: putting yourself first makes you a bad wife/mother.
- Can we just, as a whole, not?
- Putting yourself first DOES NOT EQUAL being selfish
- Putting yourself first means taking care of yourself, following your passion and letting your intuition guide you toward your best life. It means not working till your burnt out, setting & respecting boundaries and ultimately not letting yourself be a doormat.
- In no way does putting yourself first mean ignoring your crying baby, cheating on your husband, abandoning your loved ones or being a lone, weird artist in the woods
- This is about serving & protecting your own energy levels so you can show up for the things that matter to you
- I'm not here to burn down your life
- Your intuition knows what's best for you and will maintain the priorities you're meant to have. It'll call on your discipline when you need it, it'll maintain your responsibilities, but putting yourself first & tuning into your intuition is an excellent way to curate your commitments.
- Putting yourself first doesn't mean abandoning discipline & ignoring the needs of others - It just means that you're careful to keep your own cup full when you pour into others.
- Creating is just another form of serving others, so when you pour yourself into a creative project, your cup has to be full or you'll have nothing left.
- Making sure your own cup is full is a great way to more consistently show up professionally, creatively & personally - it just requires putting yourself first.
So there we have it. This weird ass myth that people keep insisting is true, as though creative women just want to watch the world burn so we must quiet our passions for the good of the race.
MYTH 2: IF I'M NOT A FULL-TIME ARTIST, I'M NOT A REAL CREATIVE
- It's easy to devalue your creativity if it isn't bringing in income
- You should measure it's value based on other metrics, like how it relaxes you, what your pieces add to the lives of the people you share it with, etc
- EVERYONE is creative about SOMETHING
- You could be really good at spreadsheets, patterns, chemistry, all sorts of non-traditional things!
- Everyone is REAL, everyone is CREATIVE, so, therefore, you're a REAL CREATIVE
- Your creativity is a beautiful thing to carry with you in your pocket to take out when you need it, not a badge to flash in someone's face
- It's not a thing you have to earn, it's a thing you ARE.
MYTH 3: A CREATIVE LIFE IS A LONELY LIFE
- For some people, they do really create better on their own, but many don't
- Many people thrive in group work settings & work best when they can bounce ideas off of each other
- Creativity is about transforming the world we're living in and creating something new from the pieces
- Connecting with other people is great creative fodder & adds wisdom to your work
- A creative community is great to call on when you're having trouble moving forward with a project or finding inspiration
- Humans are pack animals, so having access to a creative community (even if you're not super active within it) can offer reassurance that you're not in it alone
- There are a lot of hard parts to being a creative (or , if you're like me, a sensitive creative) so calling on people who "get it" has been super energizing for me
- It doesn't have to be hard to find a creative community. I suggest checking out the places in your town where creatives gather & trying to immerse yourself in the community around you.
- If this is intimidating, you can turn to social media to help you find your tribe and foster great connections. Do your best to participate however you can.
- It doesn't have to be scary: If you're nervous about jumping in and meeting a bunch of new people, but you're ready to level up and live your best life, then check out my new private FB group
- When I realized how crucial my creativity was in figuring out how to live my best life, I started a private FB group to help me find my tribe
- Now, my newsfeed isn't just alarming headlines - seeing group posts created for & by creative women honestly transforms my day
- North Collaborative is a free, shared space for sensitive creatives (like moi) to give + receive support & good vibes
- You can sign up right here!
- Creativity is definitely something you CAN do alone, but when you share it with others, your actions lead the way for them to follow their own bliss + live their best life.
So, here are some of the myths we've been dealing with lately. If you've heard of any other problematic myths about female creative life, feel free to post them in the comments! I dove as deep as i could on this post, though, and if you're craving even more info, you can always check out the podcast episode I did on this topic that goes perfectly with this post. You can check it out on the players I've attached, or catch up on all the episodes of the Bloom Where You're Planted Podcast here. Check it out, subscribe, & tell me what you think!
PS: Don't forget to sign up for my free FB group for sensitive creatives! I'm really excited to be able to deliver something as important as community to my people.
As always, lots of love!
I'll see you soon,
Andrea
