2020 has been a strange year so far, to say the least.
As we etch closer to 2021, I look back on these last months and thank my lucky stars I have come out the other side, relatively unscathed – which is a lot more than can be said for so many others.
One thing I can say for sure, is I kept my sanity in check by following some really simple ‘guidelines’, for want of a better word.
I have seen SO many courses, so many how-to’s, so many ‘you must do this to survive lockdown’ type posts that I don’t know where to turn sometimes. And at one point, I did let a little side-thought into my head that questioned whether I should be doing more…
But what did I do that was so amazingly brilliant that saw me through 12 weeks of running my business and homeschooling with a 6 year old, a 3 year old and an 11 month old? What was the secret sauce that I was able to call upon to get me through the long days? What have I done that has kept my business running smoothly through these difficult times?
Nothing.
That’s my secret sauce.
I gave myself permission to be mediocre. To get by some days with doing bare minimum. To not pressure myself to build another online course to get it out in time for the next lockdown. To not kick myself when I didn’t send out a newsletter. To be happy that I was serving my current clients to my usual standard and not doing anything else.
My creativity is at it’s best when it comes out of the blue.
I don’t know about you, but some of my best business ideas came while I was minding my own business in the shower thinking about my breakfast, then all of a sudden WHAM! Creativity snuck up and hit me on the head.
And it’s those days that I then get into action, allow the ideas to form and to let my creativity juices flow – when it is natural.
So when it feels like others around you are hustling and bustling and appear to be getting all sorts of stuff done while you are not – know that that is ok.
There’s an energy that comes with creativity when it is not forced. When you are in a place that allows the ideas to come naturally and with an ease and grace that makes you wonder how you didn’t think of them before.
So if you’re in a bit of a funk, or you feel a bit ‘meh’ (you know that feeling, right?), then that is a-ok.
You do not need to pull new content out of the bag every week. You are not bound to wow your subscribers with literary brilliance every week with your newsletter.
You can allow yourself the time and space to let your body and mind rest.
That’s not always possible if you’re working at home with children and partners and goodness knows what else going on, but you can still take a step back and say ‘actually, I just don’t have the energy left today to write another module for this course’.
Like the moon allows the sea to breath in and out, our energy also gives life to the creativity inside of us…and if you don’t have that energy – forcing it will only allow you to gasp and splutter at best, instead of exhaling with the full force that you know you are capable of.
So for now, be ok with breathing steadily, and you’ll know when the time is right to sing from the rooftops.