There are a huge number of different creative endeavours out there that you can try out, ranging from working on writing a great novel, to trying your hand at painting or sketching, or even coding a website.
But whether you want to pioneer a new, more environmentally friendly way of doing something that already exists in the market, such as selling fuel in a box rather than a barrel, or want to create a stunning musical piece, there are always challenges involved in any creative endeavour.
Here are a handful of tips that can help you out, whatever you are striving to make headway on a creative endeavour.
Set aside time to work on it on a regular basis, ideally daily
One of the issues that people often come across when it comes to following a creative pastime, is the necessary tension between sitting down (or standing up) and doing the thing whether or not you really feel like it, on the one hand, and waiting for inspiration to strike on the other.
The issue is, as many creative individuals have noted over the ages, that although inspiration is very real, it is also somewhat fickle and tends to come more often when you consistently turn up.
In order to actually make headway with any creative endeavour, it’s a good idea to try setting time aside to work on it on a regular basis – ideally daily – in order to see how this influences your moment of creative inspiration.
There’s a good chance that you’ll be surprised by just how much headway you do make, if you do things this way, not to mention how much more often inspiration seems to strike.
Come up with techniques and rituals to help overcome creative “resistance”
In his highly acclaimed book “The War of Art,” the author Steven Pressfield describes his creative process and the best ways that he has found to actually get things done, and ensure consistency.
Essentially, the main principle that Pressfield stresses is the importance of noticing and overcoming “resistance” to the creative process – the tendency to procrastinate or to otherwise fail to turn up, that he believes is something like an inner sign that the creative work is genuinely important.
Techniques and rituals that help you overcome creative resistance can include things like a particular affirmation, visualisation exercise, or just a morning playlist before getting started. Either way, don’t let yourself be discouraged before you even begin.
Make sure that what you’re doing helps to renew interest in the thing, rather than diminishing it
It’s important that whatever creative pastime you are engaging in, you are engaging in it in a way that helps to continually renew your enthusiasm for the thing, rather than diminishing it.
Often, when creative individuals try to force their project into a mould that they believe will be more suitable “for the market,” a lot of the spark that was originally motivating the art can seem to disappear.
If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, change something so that you are.
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