There’s a self-limiting myth that I used to believe. It’s a myth books, movies, and songs have propagated for the longest time.
The myth: To be your most creative self you must suffer considerably ever day, you must be sad, or, better yet, depressed, and you should never, ever be happy.
If you fell for this myth, as so many before you have, and you’re stuck, wondering why you are not as creative as you know you can be, here’s why:
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Being sad is not the answer to your creativity. (Tweet This)
It is true that many productive creative people have been through bouts of sadness and depression, but most of them became their most creative when they finally discovered that the answer is something else entirely.
Think about the last time you were feeling down and your esteem was suffering considerably. How much did you feel like doing?
The odds are ice cream, movies or your pillow became your best friend. Or maybe you went into a more destructive state (I hope not, but it’s not uncommon – I know).
I am willing to bet you did not feel inspired and motivated to seriously create something that you could put your heart into, and if you did try to start it’s likely you wrote a few sentences, maybe a few pages or painted a few strokes, and stopped with very little desire to continue.
Most of us when we don’t feel well move from project to project never really completing any of them.
And you know why? Because none of them really seem good enough and they certainly don’t feel satisfying, much less special.
The desire just isn’t there and we’d rather do something else that doesn’t require so much agonizing effort.
Don’t fall for the myth, because it’s not true.
Even if you are fortunate enough to create something in such a state of melancholy, it may only serve to help you remember those dark days or reinforce your belief in the myth, and keep you where you don’t really want to be.
I speak from experience.
For years I lived through stress, anxiety and depression from a troubled childhood, but it wasn’t until I discovered how to be happy that things changed and my creativity began to blossom!
Sadness is not the answer. Happiness is.
What does a muse bring to you that drives you to create with boundless enthusiasm and passion?
Happiness.
When you are happy life seems so much more alive and beautiful, you become filled with inspiration and motivation.
That’s when you become your most creative. That’s when you start and complete projects, ones that will fill you with joy.
Think about it – when you see someone frowning, how does that make you feel?
What about when someone you care about gives you a bright, welcoming smile?
You know the joyous feeling you get when something great happens for you and suddenly you’re on top of the world accomplishing things left and right.
Isn’t everything easier when you’re happy?
How you feel has direct influence on you in so many ways, both beneficial and not so beneficial.
If you want to be your most creative self then you must find ways to be happy. I don’t mean silly happy as if there are no cloudy days – I’m talking about real happiness by knowing even if today isn’t your best day, tomorrow will be better.
Although a muse is something, or, someone, you give credit to for inspiring you to become creatively productive, the real source and power of said muse actually comes from within you.
People finally find a muse only when they’ve reached the dawn of their own joyfulness and become open to what has always been there.
The real credit belongs to you, not anything or anyone else.
You have it within you to create your own happiness. (Tweet This)
What if you could find specific, simple, and realistic ways to create happiness for yourself every day?
That, my friends, is what my new book “Happy Every Day – Simple, Effective Ways to Better Days” is about. It’s filled with strategies I have used to find my way, and I still use them every day to maintain my happiness and be the productive, prolific creative person that I am.
When people ask me how I maintain my websites and write every day, rain or shine, I tell them the truth:
I’m happy.
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
~Anaïs Nin (Tweet This Quote)
This doesn’t mean I don’t have down days. I’m still human, but I know what it takes to be happy again because I’ve been on the other side.
Happy people are the most creative people. (Tweet This)
Place this affirmation on your computer screen, nightstand and bathroom mirror:
I deserve to be happy every day. (Tweet This)
Because you do.
If you start small, admitting and affirming this truth every day, then nothing and no one can keep happiness from becoming you.
If you’re happy, truly happy, your creative passion will rise like the fiery phoenix and you will become the productive, brilliantly creative artist you know you are.
Life is meant to be lived happily. Don’t you agree?
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”
~Jim Rohn (Tweet This Quote)
If you’re not at your most creative, if you’re not at your most productive, and if you’re not who you want to be as an artist and as a person, then ask yourself if you are happy.
Are you?
Keep in mind that I am not asking if your circumstances are good, or if bad things have happened to you, or if people treat you well, or if you blame yourself, or if you’re lucky, or if your smarter or dumber than others.
You know why?
Because those are the type of things too many people focus on (but not you), and those things keep them stuck.
The good news is, even if you have focused on those things:
YOU can be happy. You! Yes, YOU, deserve to be happy.
Happiness is a state of a mind, and you alone have the power to decide how happy you can be. You just might not know it yet.
You already have your muse, because it’s within you. (Tweet This)
I wrote “Happy Every Day” so you, too, can learn what I learned, and how it helped me become who I always knew I could be. I am still becoming that person every day.
You can design your own happiness. (Tweet This)
Excerpt from the foreword:
Fortunately, this isn’t a book telling you to try harder. It’s a manual for life, for how to live with more significance and greater satisfaction. And as you step into this journey of purpose and passion, you may just find yourself happier than you’ve ever been. I truly hope so.
~Jeff Goins
Author of: Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into Your Comfortable Life
Have you noticed how you feel when you are at your most creative?
What do you think holds you back from being your most creative?
Tell us in the comments.
