(Need context for this post? Check out the introductory post for this series.)
If you’re armpit-deep in the holiday show/market season right now, it may feel like there is precious little relief for you until January 2nd. But all is not lost. Keep reading. Read more
(Need context for this post? Check out the introductory post for this series.)
Making things with your hands brings you joy and relaxation… until the turkey is out of the oven and everyone is looking at you. They expect you to head up the decorating committee at work because you’re “SO artistic!” or they want to pay you [not nearly enough money] to make a quilt/knit a sweater/build a hope chest for someone they love because you’re “SO talented!” Worse yet, you excitedly bought all the supplies back in July to make gifts for everyone on your list… now it’s December 15th and you have 2 out of 12 gifts done.
It’s the happ- happiest season of all, right? The lights, the songs, the pumpkin spice everything. Family and friends. Gifts and good cheer. Or not.
Do you have beef with the holidays? I certainly do. Lots of people struggle with the holidays but I think creatives tend to feel it pretty acutely.
(this is a follow-up to my post on the mindfulness of disappointment – read that HERE)
In my last post, I discussed how to reframe feelings of failure when you get turned down for an opportunity. While I’m specifically talking about juried exhibits and gallery shows, the advice can apply to more: job applications… promotions… product launches… any situation where you put yourself out there and it doesn’t turn out as you hoped.
In this post, I wanted to talk about some of the more practical aspects of the “you just got turned down” situation. Understanding these aspects can further help you get past feelings of disappointment and back to trying.
The original working title of this post was “The mindfulness of failure.” But then I realized I was being a complete hypocrite. I wanted to discuss the attitude of not being hard on yourself and I was using a terrible word like failure!
So I stepped back for a bit in order to practice what I preach.
The idea of doing anything slowly seems like a joke in our constantly connected world.
Even with my own focus on mindfulness and patience, I sometimes find myself getting restless while I’m waiting on an email or text response. I think it’s just ingrained in us these days.
Productivity means getting lots of things done quickly and efficiently, right? Quick means easy… right?? Read more
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. – Viktor E. Frankl
What do you find challenging in your life? If I asked you to make a list right now, what would be your list of “problems?”
If you had asked me those questions ten years ago, I could have made a list a mile long. I was miserable and I felt obligated to share that misery with anyone who would listen. Read more
I get Brené Brown’s weekly Courage Works email and it never fails to inspire me. But one of her recent messages really hit home for me and I wanted to share it.
I looked for it online so I could just link to it, but these must be reserved just for her subscribers. So I took a screenshot to share here. Full disclosure: these are Brené Brown’s words and the photo is by Andrea Corrona Jenkins.
The idea that stillness is not nothingness, but space for dreams and all kinds of other good stuff, is integral to my own meditation and mindfulness practice.
Want to get this kind of good stuff from Brené & team delivered to your own in-box every week? Subscribe to Courage Works – it’s free! (scroll down to the bottom of the main page to enter your email) I have been getting selective about my email subscriptions but this is a really good one!
I know I have a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People somewhere (I have more books
than a public library. And that’s more than any one person should have… thank goodness for ebooks: they allow me to hide the evidence better. But I digress). And I know Dale Carnegie remains a gold standard in self-improvement. But I have to admit, I haven’t studied much of his writing up to this point.
Read more
