Let’s face it. We live in a BUSY world. Some would proclaim it too busy (and I’m likely to agree). With all this busyness swirling around us, we often find ourselves worn out. Is it possible to continue creating through exhaustion?
It is possible—with discipline and resolve—and, it’s totally worth it!
3 Benefits of Creating Through Exhaustion
1. A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of setting big goals and meeting them by checking off a whole slew of mini-goals on the way to their completion. I like “to do” lists and—even more—love crossing each item off said lists.
So, when life’s responsibilities jam up together on the freeway of life and it’s taking ten times longer to reach each exit (AKA checkmark), allowing yourself time to create—and complete—something brings a much-needed sense of accomplishment to the gloom of traffic.
Though it may seem counter-productive to steal an hour or two from an already tight schedule, taking that time to see a project through from start to finish is totally worth it.
2. A BOOST OF CREATIVE ENERGY
See, what happens when we complete a task is our brains are flooded with a boost of happily dancing creative energy. (I’m sure there are scientific terms to back me up, but I’ll leave those for the science-y folks.)
As a result, we can then turn back to the next task on our daunting list with more energy and complete it more quickly.
Consider it your shot of Creative Coffee!
3. A REMINDER OF THE CORE OF OUR PASSIONS
Anyone who chooses to pursue a creative passion with the goal of making it financially beneficial knows that it is HARD—not impossible, but nowhere close to easy.
So, as we manage all the must-dos surrounding our want-to-dos, it’s easy to lose focus on the passion that launched us out in the first place.
In the pursuit of our goals, we can’t let ourselves lose sight of our purpose.
A Personal Example
Personal anecdotes can easily morph into a downer or soapbox tirade or online pity party; however, we know real life isn’t Pinterest-perfect, happy-happy all the time, right? So, in the interest of being real and reminding you that I don’t have it all together—or even close to together—I’ll keep this brief and rather vague while still being real.
This has been a very challenging summer for me in many ways. I haven’t met some of my goals, and my work hasn’t always been up to my standards or been completed in my desired timeline.
I’ve been overwhelmed, exhausted and depressed more than I’d like to admit.
But … I’ve continued to put one foot in front of the other—even if they’re baby steps when I’d rather take giant ones.
Last week, I pushed myself to create a short story as the starting point of a series. That turned out to be a great decision for all the reasons above … and so many more.
Whatever your creative outlet, I challenge you to create something this week, regardless of what’s going on around you or how exhausted you are.
Did this post encourage you to get creative? If so, tell me all about it! I want to rejoice with you! How do you push or challenge yourself creatively when the “real world” has got you feeling overwhelmed?
