The Only Thing You Need to Master the Art of Creative Living

I’m cutting right to the chase here, Darling. The only thing you need to master the Art of Creative Living is to Just…Say…YES. That’s it, my friend. That’s as simple as it gets!

JUST SAY YES

I somehow get the feeling, however, that if I end the conversation here, you’ll undoubtedly feel let down, gypped. In other words, screwed altogether for taking the time to click on whatever link and/or enticement brought you here in the first place.

And, as I’m here to illustrate the attraction of The 385 Life – aka, the Art of Living with Passion and Wonder – I’m not going to leave you hanging. So let’s get to it, shall we?

WHAT IS CREATIVE LIVING?

When you embark on an adventure of any sort – personal or professional – it’s always best to begin by defining what it is you actually need or have to do.

With a clear and simple definition, the first steps you need to take are practically in place already. In plainer terms:

No Fuss | No Muss
No Drama | No Trauma

Let’s start with what Creative Living isn’t. Creative Living doesn’t mean seeking to become an artist, a writer, a performer, a sculptor.

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The Creative Life harbors a conscious approach to actively participate in your life. When you live creatively, you remain open to possibilities and you tap into solutions. This openness, in turn, sparks perceptivity, intuition, inventiveness, inspiration, and self-expression.

385 Life | Cynthia Hall

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Creative Living is the artful intention to live your life and not have your life “occur”.

Creative Living thinks outside the box, it thinks inside the box, it takes the whole damn box – where it was made, came from, and the stool it’s perched on – into consideration.

An artful, intentional approach to live your life as it is meant to be lived. That’s what Creative Living is all about.

WHY TAKE ON CREATIVE LIVING

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Human beings are a funny bunch. We have the gift of consciousness and then use it not to simplify our lives – which is its ultimate purpose – but instead, use it to overcomplicate matters and make life miserable.

We overcomplicate matters by overthinking, over-analyzing, doubting, worrying, fearing, etc. All of which create anxiety, frustration, hesitation, apprehension, panic, etc. All of which creates a cloud of self-judgment surpassed only by the harrowing fear of being negatively judged by others.

To top it off – because, why not complicate matters further – this fear of being judged by others is more often than not due to a false perception that people are actually judging you at all!

To top that off, if they are judging you, who cares!?

Oh, what a tangled web we most certainly weave indeed. I’m exhausted merely pointing this out. But the fact is, we can get stuck in a rote hamster-wheel-of-life that we create or exaggerate out of proportion.

There are several reasons why learning the Art of Creative Living is beneficial to you, the most important of which is that life is meant to be lived…HAPPILY.

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You are meant to live a joyful life, with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

385 Life | Cynthia Hall

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That’s another Nugget for you but there are other reasons too…

WHY NOT TAKE ON CREATIVE LIVING?

Why not seek to live creatively? What have you got to lose!

Life gets sticky. It happens. The constant barrage of distractions and responsibilities can wear us down. It’s during these moments of weakness that we get stuck, lost, sad.

I touched upon this in my last post where we discuss the Passion Powerplay and How to Ignite Passion Into Your Life. There are lots of ideas in that post on how to get yourself out of a rut and enjoy life again.

As a matter of fact, download our free handbook, “11 Solid Techniques to Get Out of a Rut and Find Purpose Again“. There you’ll find 22 pages chock-full of motivating ideas and concrete steps to get you Unstuck today!

But getting unstuck is just the beginning. The trick is to stay renewed, refreshed, and continually inspired.

How do you stay renewed and refreshed? You change what’s not working for you with a new approach.

You’re only one choice away from changing your life.

Mac Anderson

I’m not saying you won’t ever be sad again or that you’ll morph into a constant river of inventiveness. That’s not feasible. However, living creatively stops those moments from turning into ruts that can last years if not decades.

Creative Living offers you an approach to keep those life-draining, uninspiring ruts at bay.

The reason why I ask you, “Why not harbor the Creative Living mindset”, is that Life is going to come at you regardless.

You can choose to continue as is and let Life hit you upside the head. Or, you can choose to play volleyball with Life instead, but more on that in a minute.

You only have one life to live. You can choose to make it chicken shit or chicken salad. As I said, what have you got to lose?

CREATIVE LIVING IS PROACTIVE

Creative Living is actionable. You’re doing something, not sitting passively on the sidelines of your own life. And it feels damn good to DO something.

Also, remember that Creative Living doesn’t mean you have to DO anything at all. It means living on your terms and doing so creatively.

For instance, you may not want to do a thing on Sunday afternoons but nap. You love to take naps because they make you happy. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Creative Living acknowledges that you love naps. You don’t feel guilty about this simple pleasure and you don’t have to explain it. It’s carefree and simple.

You cheerfully declare, “I love to take naps!” With this no-pressure, affable approach, your heart is open. Your soul isn’t closed off by negativity.

Once open, you find yourself coming up with creative ways to secure those Sunday naps. You find opportunities and possibilities where others find hindrances and strife.

That is Creative Living. That’s what tapping into your creative mind looks like. This proactive approach feels great because it offers you a sense of control. You’re in the game, baby.

When you wake up from those naps you feel rested, happy, and energetic. You’re ready to tackle whatever comes your way.

This is very different than falling asleep every Sunday because you’re bored, exhausted, uninspired, and feeling so “meh” that you close your eyes just to make it all go away.

When you wake up from that sleep you’re just as tired as you were before, if not more. You never addressed your bone-deep ennui. Therefore, it’s still with you when you wake up.

CREATIVE LIVING IS FUN

Being proactive in your own life is fun, hands down. Living creatively automatically opens your mind and heart to all that life has to offer.

Remember what I said about volleyball? Creative Living is like playing volleyball. Let me explain…

A few years ago, I was unceremoniously fired after 10 years of stellar service from a company I’ll call, The Man. Getting fired by The Man was Life playing volleyball with me.

It came with a resounding WHACK, and a bruise on my forehead – ahem, ego. Naturally, I went through an expected period of despair, particularly after 30+ resumes were met with a “Thanks, but no thanks, lady.”

After a depressive period, I couldn’t take it anymore. Although ill-prepared, I had to do something. I didn’t know what I was going to actually do, but it didn’t matter. I had no other choice. Or at least one I was comfortable with.

Unhealthy wallowing would’ve been the death of me. That much I DID know. So, I picked myself up by my proverbial bootstraps and decided to jot down all the skills I’d accumulated in life. Then I canvassed companies in need of those skills.

I created a portfolio instead of a resume. I customized each portfolio to the recipient by highlighting what the recipient’s needs were and how I could fill them. Only slightly skewed from the resume perspective, the portfolio is a decidedly different approach.

A resume begs, “please hire me”. A portfolio declares, “you need me.”

Coming up with the idea for the portfolio is an example of Creative Living. Sending the portfolios out is equivalent to my smacking that volleyball of life right back out into the Universe.

I was in the game, folks! And although I was nervous, I was having fun.

WE ALL LOVE PLAYING GAMES

Now I had to sit and wait for the volleyball to come back, which is how life works. Patience is crucial in The 385 Life, it’s crucial in the Art of Living with Passion and Wonder, and it’s crucial in Creative Living.

Patience is a virtue, after all, but so is Faith and Trust. I armored myself with all three and waited.

Soon the volleyball came back to me: “Hello Cynthia, my name is Tom Watson and I’m looking over your portfolio here and…“

OMG!
YES!
SCORE!
IN YOUR FACE!

That call led to my first client. We’ve been working together for three years now. Landing that client led to a build-up of confidence, which was in the dirt because I’m human, too! That confidence led to my next client, my dream client, and soon I was freelancing at my local paper.

Today I’m racking up bylines and am setting my sights on my next client – the ultimate client. And why stop there?

I’m setting my sights on the ultimate clients, PLURAL. Why? Because the only limits that exist are the ones we place on ourselves, and I’m tired of shortchanging myself.

MODIFY ON THE FLY

Creative Living fosters flexibility on your part because Life requires flexibility. As I said, we all make mistakes, but Its OK. As a matter of fact, you’re supposed to make mistakes! That’s the progressive art of learning.

As you grow and evolve, you learn new things. As you learn new things, you’re bound to make mistakes. But who cares, Life isn’t a competition.

Playing the game is fun but it doesn’t mean you’re never going to have down moments. It simply means you’re actively participating in your own life and not letting life happen to you. When life throws you a curveball – and it will – you Modify on the Fly .

Sustaining adaptability allows you to actively participate in life. When you adapt to life’s craziness and pivot freely through all its twists and turns, you feel like you have some control, instead of feeling as if you’re spinning out of control.

We all have the ability to choose how to live our lives. Every day is a new beginning to make new choices.

385 Life | Cynthia Hall

You can choose to keep making the same choices you always make. Or you can choose to use your wiles and live creatively.

Ultimately, it’s up to you. However, please know your True Self is tapping her fingers on her desk waiting for you to make better choices.

HOW TO LIVE CREATIVELY

Living creatively is easier than you might think, it’s just unfamiliar. The unfamiliar is always scary. The unknown feels odd, unsure, insecure, or altogether wrong. But that’s what you’re telling yourself because you’re nervous and afraid. It’s a perceived reality.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

Zig Ziglar

That’s it, baby. Change Your Attitude, Change Your Perspective, and you Change Your Life.

If there’s anything you are in control of, it’s your attitude. Creative Living is all about perspective, mindset, and choices. It’s that simple. So, don’t get it twisted.

Creative Living is about maintaining a positive outlook, especially when you truly don’t feel like it, because that’s when you need it the most. Creative Living invokes the Glass Half Full mentality and it’s always grateful.

Remember that even the worse things that happen can turn out to be better for us. The silver lining is always there. It may not have been the way you planned, but we’re never in control of our future anyway. The concept of Total Control doesn’t exist.

Don’t let that Nugget upset you. Instead, play the game. Playing the game provides a measure of control, and it’s fun. Yes, I said it again because fun is better than not fun.

Young children know that fun is better than not fun. They hear the truth of it like the bell in The Polar Express. You’ve got to be your own prodigal daughter and come back to yourself. Once you do, you’ll hear that bell again.

JUST SAY YES

I started out this post by stating that the only thing you need to master the Art of Creative Living is to just say yes. By that I mean, Say Yes to Life:

Saying Yes to life is embracing life; it’s grabbing all that life has to offer and making it yours.

Creative Living is fearless. It doesn’t see problems; it recognizes only opportunities and possibilities for success.

When someone asks you, “Hey do you want to…” are you already saying No before the question is asked? If so, you need to stop, drop, and roll yourself to a Yes. Or at least a moment to actually hear the question and apply thought to your answer.

It’s time to get your head out of neutral and Flip the Script.

Obviously, you’re not going to say Yes to everything. That’s not the point. The point is to follow your intuition. When you’re inspired to do (or not do, if doing is your particular norm) or see something, go with it. See where life takes you.

Habitual doers can get stuck as well. If that’s you, it’s time to slow down. For you, it’s more like saying Yes to the fact that you’re not going to do something. Again, Flip the Script.

THE TAKEAWAY

Creative Living actuates The 385 Life. Creative Living helps you master the Art of Living with Passion and Wonder. You get to live your best life, as you define it.

Living creatively sparks joy. What was sad is happy, what was downtrodden is motivated, what was bleak is brilliant.

This is imperative because within happiness lies the real you. Happiness brings out the fearless you, the child in you, You the Conqueror. This is an important takeaway because you’re meant to live your best life.

You may not comprehend that right now. You may not even know what your best life looks like. Don’t worry because deep down, your True Self knows.

Trust yourself, honey. It’s Ok.

It’s time to come back to Yourself, Darling. The Prodigal Daughter returns home.

385 Life | Cynthia Hall

I hope this post helps you on the road toward living happily in your own skin. Employ the action of Creative Living and say Yes to Life today!

Be Well.