Motivation-Mania

*Phone rings*
*Glances at number*
*Recognizes a NYC area code*
*Panics*
*Imagines the feelings of bliss you're about to feel*
*Presses answer*
Me: Hello?
Caller: Hi, I saw that you had recently inquired into...

NOOOOO! But I can't be the only person this has happened to. An excited writer waiting for "The Call" and getting a salesperson who so cruely is calling from New York City.
April Fools Day indeed.

It can be so easy at times to feel like that call is never going to happen. To feel like you're drowning in a sea of "no's" or "almost-but-not-quite-theres."

In an effort to live a life of transparency, I'm going to be honest and say I've been struggling with my motivation hard core. I poured my heart and soul into a book that has failed to capture that "yes." I've gotten a lot of "almosts," so many that it can break your heart much more than if everyone was just a big ol, "nope."

I've been trying to focus on my next book, but my self-confidence and motivation have taken a beating over the last few months. Trying to refill the well, I picked up Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.

It slapped me around with the truth that creative living is not tied to goals, it's tied to a journey. A journey I'm privileged to be on. I loved this excerpt:

“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.” 

Good stuff, huh? Then you add it to this:

“But to yell at your creativity, saying, “You must earn money for me!” is sort of like yelling at a cat; it has no idea what you’re talking about, and all you’re doing is scaring it away, because you’re making really loud noises and your face looks weird when you do that.” 

 Love that!

So here's where we're at now: Creativity can't be tied to a goal. It can't be forced to perform on demand. It must be fed. It needs to allow you to feel.

So if you're running on empty, it may be time for a perspective change.

Want to connect?

Find me at www.destinycole.com

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