So it’s that time of year when many decide to overhaul their lives and make ‘new year resolutions’. They can give us a burst of motivation and hope but sadly, according to Forbes, about 80% of our new year resolutions will have failed by February!
So why do they fail when we set off so enthusiastically after a couple of glasses on new year’s eve? Quite often we start off too ambitiously and try to achieve things that don’t fit into our daily lives. When a friend told me that she was going to get up at 6am every morning to swim before work I wasn’t surprised that the cold winter mornings put a stop to it after a couple of weeks. Far better to have resolved to swim once a week and build up to develop a habit rather than setting an unrealistic goal. The ‘all or nothing’ approach is so often self defeating. It sets you up to fail and leaves you feeling bad about yourself.
Kristen Neff is a researcher and academic who writes about self- compassion https://self-compassion.org/. Self compassion is different to self esteem. Self esteem is how positively we see ourselves overall whereas self compassion is about how we treat ourselves.
‘With self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness and care we’d give to a good friend’
Few of us would set up a friend to fail and then berate them for doing so, but all too often this is what we do to ourselves. New year resolutions which involve self compassion then would be realistic and fun and good for our overall well being.
In this lovely video Kristen talks about what self compassion means:
My only new year’s resolution is to exercise more. I don’t really enjoy exercise but I do love being out in nature. Walking in nature raises my mood, gives me energy and sharing it with others and my dog gives me a much appreciated social outlet.
Walking with Ted is always a joy!
There are some great projects out there to help us stay motivated too. One of these is the End to End Virtual challenge https://endtoend.run/. This is a virtual walking experience with lots of motivating features and a community to engage with. This year I’m doing the Mizen to Malin walk across the whole of Ireland. It’s a 360 mile ‘walk’ across the length of Ireland. As you clock up the miles you are sent postcards along the way – I’m looking forward to finding out more about the Emerald isle whilst walking around my locality. Check out the website and see if this is something you might like to do.
Another challenge you might consider is the 110 day creative challenge. This is a free challenge to undertake some creative activity for 100 days. It really doesn’t matter if you miss days, the intention to be more creative and enjoy it is what it’s really about. Again check it out here: https://www.the100dayproject.org/
So what about your creative, crafty habits and what new resolutions might help you out this year?
Here are some that others have considered:
Finish work in progress …… or give up!
Perhaps you’ve got a project on the go which you’ve lost interest in and is lurking at the back of a cupboard – perhaps you could get it out and give it another go, there will be a sense of achievement there. Or, in the spirit of that self compassion we talked about – just give it up! If it doesn’t give you any pleasure why carry on just for the sake of it?
Try something new
Having a go at something new will spark those creative juices and boost your confidence. Often as crafters we have lots of ‘transferable skills’ and being good at one type of craft will often help you to tackle another. At Dadesley Crafting there is plenty to go at with over 60 different crafts to try.
Use up your stash of crafting materials
It’s safe to say that a fair amount of hoarding goes on in crafting communities! It could save money and motivate you to create if you have a look at what you’ve already got and see what you can do with it without having to buy new stuff! Pinterest is a good place to go for this as you can type in ‘creative things to do with……’ whatever you’ve got and get loads of ideas. Here’s the result of a search I did on jam jars! https://www.pinterest.co.uk/search/pins/?q=creative%20things%20to%20do%20with%20jam%20jars&rs=typed
Again though, in that spirit of self compassion, if the thought of sorting through old stuff you no longer like turns you off then give it away! At Dadesley Crafting, if it’s in decent condition, we will have it! One person’s rubbish is another’s treasure!
Find inspiration
Sometimes we just run out of ideas and our creativity needs a nudge. In her inspirational book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron suggests every creative (and like us she believes everyone is creative!) should take themselves on ‘artist’s dates’. These are trips on our own, so nobody else’s creativity interrupts your own, to places where our creativity will be stimulated. This could be as simple as a walk in nature, or an art gallery or museum or to a craft fair!! These ‘trips’, like the walks, can be virtual and you can do them from the comfort of your armchair. The National Gallery here is a great example:
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours
Check out Julia Cameron’s website https://www.theartistswaybook.com/ for more information about The Artist’s Way, an individual creative and spiritual journey to find your creative spark!
Keep a portfolio of your work
Life gets busy and we might not do as many creative things as we wish. Sometimes we can feel as if we haven’t accomplished much at all. Keeping a portfolio of our work is proof of our endeavours and is likely to motivate you to do more. A portfolio of photographs of work completed, ideas and work in progress is a creative inspiration in itself.
So…. lots of ideas we hope will inspire you. Alternatively you can just ‘wing it’, whatever you do – be kind to you!
