Tried watercolor for the first time after watching some Youtube videos. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Challenge myself to new things keep me motivated and inspired!
It is 2018! Another year on the calendar, another chance to set new year's resolutions. I ceremonially wrote down goals for myself and tried to follow goal-setting best practices - how they have to be measurable, reasonable, achievable, etc. At the same time, I started wondering about why I have to do this and how I can motivate and inspire myself enough throughout the year to follow through with all these goals. To a creative person, motivation and inspiration go hand in hand, but not always mutually inclusive. It is definitely a daily struggle that I battle with. This month, I have been on a quest to find reasons I needed to keep myself motivated and inspired to reach my goals - because nobody would do anything without reasons.
I have read my fair share of articles on the internet that told me exactly how to be motivated or inspired - broken down to manageable baby steps (like this one and this one). Yet, something felt missing. Knowing how to wasn't enough to get me to actually commit. Why do I have to be motivated all the time? Some obvious answers I came up with was that I wanted to be a more creative designer, a more prolific artist, and a better person in general. The answers seemed obvious but too abstract to be convincing. Why is it important for me to be more and strive for better? Life will carry on regardless. I have to get to the bottom of this so I don't end up with unachieved goals and unrealized resolutions. Something that would make me feel really shitty about myself because I am an achiever, and the opposite really hurts my self esteem.
When we have a job, a family, and a life, it is so easy to get stuck in our comfort zones. Going through our daily routines feels safe, but over a long period of time, this is exactly how we end up feeling trapped and lost. We often start to wonder about what is the meaning of all of "this". I have been there, and I don't want to end up there again. I have to be motivated and inspired because they are the antidote for this crappy feeling that people often experience. We have to keep ourselves motivated and inspired because it brings hope and directions during times of uncertainty, and pushes boundaries during times of safety. One of my goals this year is to try a different art medium every month as a way to keep myself inspired and push myself out of my comfort zone. So in January, I challenged myself to use watercolor for the first time. After watching some youtube videos, I went for it and surprised myself because the painting came out beautifully. It really did motivate and inspire me immediately. I can't wait to try the next thing in Febuary!
By digging deeper into this topic, I also realized that being motivated and inspired has to be a way of life, and not just an ingredient in getting something in return. So the real question that I actually need to ask myself is how I can be more creative, more prolific and better. It isn't important that I am one way or another, or when I start. I want to be more creative and better at what I do, not because there is a finish line where when I crossover, I get to proudly declare, I AM more creative and better now, and I am done. The line doesn't exist. In reality, as long as I continuously search for that line throughout my life, it will keep me motivated and inspired, which leads to the ultimate happiness in life. Happiness is found in becoming. We have to learn to embrace and enjoy the possibilities of approaching something great without needing to actually ever obtaining "it".
I think anyone in any situation can benefit from this line of thinking. When we have passion for what we are doing, motivation and inspiration seem to come easier (sometimes). When it comes to things that we are not so passionate about, it is even more important to remember that this way of approaching life is the only way to be content and satisfied for long periods of time.
I know that if I can get myself motivated and inspired enough to achieve all my goals for this year, or even just 80% of them, I will be very happy with myself. Motivated and inspired people usually are happy and content people. This is my reason, and I think it is worthwhile.
Do you think what I said makes sense? Leave a comment and tell me about it!