5 Ways to Stay on Track With Your Creative Goals

A few days ago, I got an idea for a book. I sat down at the computer and an outline flew out of me. It felt like this was the book I was born to write. In the process of writing the outline I entered that "flow state" where I felt totally in the creative zone. It was great.

However later that evening, the voices of doubt started to creep in: "Who's going to read this book?" "Who are YOU to write a book?" "How could you ever get this thing published?" "You're not even a good writer..." etc. So I stopped writing. A week went by and I did no work on my book. I abandoned this project that had given me a few hours of total joy and excitement. I believed the voices that said I wasn't good enough.

And then I had a realization: "Just write the damn book and worry about who's going to read it later. Write the book because right now your soul wants to create this book. Write it for YOU right now and trust that when the time is right this book will find it's audience... and if its audience is just you, that's okay." 

Have you ever found yourself giving up on a goal that earlier had given you lots of joy? 

Here are some tools for getting back on track:

• Don't believe everything you think. I've written a bit about this in a previous post, but it holds especially true in this scenario. Most negative thoughts are fear-based and invented by our subconscious mind to protect ourselves from perceived danger. Your brain isn't trying to sabotage you; it's trying to protect you. However, in most creative endeavors, you don't need you brain's protection. Shine a light on the negative voice inside of you that is trying to stop you from creating. Thank this voice and show gratitude for its efforts in trying to protect you. Also let it know that it's not going to stop you from pursuing your goal and then carry on creating!

• Resolve to work on your goal every day. I've committed to working on my book for 20 minutes every day. Now this might not seem like a lot of time, but 20 minutes a day adds up to 10 hours a month. Committing to work on something every day actually increases your odds of working on it for longer. Often I'll do my 20 minutes in the morning and then later find myself inspired to go back to work on a section of the book. I'm getting new ideas because the book is constantly on my mind and so my brain is working on it even when I'm not actively "working on it."

• Have an accountability partner. Oftentimes setting goals on our own isn't enough to keep us on track. It can be helpful to buddy up with a friend who is working on a similar goal. You can connect weekly in person or via Skype and make sure that you're both staying on track with your goals. Break your goals down into manageable weekly "chunks" and then check in with your partner to see if you've both reached the week's goal.

• Reward yourself. This one works really well for me and I've used it throughout my life. (It's how I used to get myself to go to auditions.) Your reward for making progress towards your goal can be anything you want it to be (although I do encourage green juice over ice cream). I urge you to give yourself small rewards as you make positive steps toward your goal, rather than one large reward when you've succeeded - this way you're most likely to stay motivated.

• Let go of perfection. I'm aware that my book is not ready to be published in its current state. I'm writing from the heart first and then will go back and edit and polish, etc. Writing a book takes a lot of time, a lot of work and a lot of endurance. I'm giving myself permission at this stage for the book to be rough, for it to be "bad." I'm in this for the long haul. I'm allowing myself to be in the process of writing a book, without needing my book to be a product.

I hope you found these suggestions helpful. They are certainly helping me stay on track with my goals. If you find yourself falling off the wagon with your creative goals, getting back on track is just a few actionable steps away. I'd love to hear how you stay on track with your creative endeavors.

Four Benefits of a Daily Meditation Practice

A couple of months ago I gave myself a challenge. I committed to meditating every morning for at least ten minutes a day for the next thirty days. I created a small altar on the coffee table in our living room, consisting of a Buddha statue, a surrender box, and an incense burner.

Every morning, soon after waking, I sit cross-legged for ten minutes in front of the altar. I meditate with my eyes open, but in soft focus and place my awareness on my breath. I count my breaths from one through ten and begin again when I reach ten. This method helps calm my mind and keeps me focused.

That doesn't mean that I've achieved enlightenment or inner-peace! On the contrary, meditating has helped me realize how active my mind really is. It seems as soon as I begin, my mind remembers this HUGE to-do list that had previously been living in the dark recesses of my mind. Things that had seemed trivial yesterday all of a sudden come to the forefront, wanting to be heard and recognized. When the thoughts come (and they always do), I try to practice compassion and loving-kindness towards myself. I label the thoughts "thinking" and bring my focus back to the breath.

Sometimes while meditating, I experience thirty seconds of presence and sometimes I experience two whole minutes! And at other times, no peace comes, just an endless stream of thoughts punctuated by breath.

What have I gained in my 80+ days of daily meditation?

• Time. I used to feel like I didn't have time for anything, like time was continually slipping away and I was running to keep up with all the items I had to check off my to-do list. I still have the same amount of responsibilities in my life, but now I experience a lot more space around these responsibilities. Time seems to be elastic, rather than fixed. And although I'm taking at least 10 minutes a day to sit in stillness, somehow I seem to have more time to do the things I need to do and, more importantly, the things I want to do.

• Inner Peace. A funny thing started to happen after I'd been meditating for awhile. I started sweating the small stuff less. For example, I live in New Jersey and have struggled my entire adult life with road rage. The moment I get in the car I'm "horn happy." I won't claim to be a saint now, but I will say that my tolerance for sitting behind someone who has stopped at a green light has increased ten-fold. I no longer take their absent-mindedness as a personal affront, but recognize that they may be having a bad day. Nowadays when I find my stress levels rising, I remind myself that "we are all one."

• Perspective. We all struggle. We all have stressful aspects to our lives that aren't going as well as we wish they would. Meditation has given me the perspective to recognize that my problems are only as big or as small as I make them. I have the power to change my perspective. I have the power to decide if a problem is going to ruin my day.

• Positivity. Before I started meditating, I was often at the mercy of my mind. Human beings have a tendency to over-focus on the negative and I was no exception. Since I've started meditating, I've become more aware of my negative thoughts. When you notice a negative thought before it takes hold, you can easily replace it with a more positive thought. One of my favorite sayings is: "You don't have to believe everything you think." Meditation has given me the power to chose more positive thoughts and that is an invaluable gift.

This started off as a thirty day experiment, but now that I'm eighty-seven days in, I think it's safe to say I'm hooked! I can't imagine not continuing to meditate daily and I've upped my daily meditation practice to fifteen minutes a day. Meditation is how I start my day; it is a small, but incredibly effective way that you can begin your day with self-care.