Creativity can help you to achieve happiness, health, and productivity! You can embrace 2018 as your year to exercise your creativity with these five goal suggestions.
“Creativity” means different things to different people. Everyone, however, can agree on a common factor: the positive emotional release that creativity provides. In this post, you’ll find five creative goals to work toward this year. You can pick and choose which ones suit you, and perhaps integrate those goals in your 2018 goal list!
Once you create something, it’s natural to dwell on the mess-ups. This negatively skews your impression of the piece as well as your own abilities! If you focus on the negative, your creative endeavors will become a chore rather than a source of joy and personal development.
No matter what projects you work on this year, resolve to pick out at least three positive things about each project upon finishing. You don’t need to be blind to mistakes; but instead of concentrating on them, learn from them. For example, I look at the calligraphy above, and I can see that it looks juvenile (a problem that was fixed with practice). Still, the calligraphy shows promise with the stroke contrast, and I like the dots separating the numbers in the zip code. Sure, the letter slants are all over the place, but that gives the piece a pleasant, casual look! Moral of the story: approach your work with a forgiving outlook, and you’ll keep moving forward.
Creativity can help to transform mundane tasks into rewarding projects! For example, we all have bills to pay. Next time you have to send a check, try making some mail art to put it in. It’s a good way to exercise your creativity, and it will pleasantly surprise someone on the receiving end!
Mail art isn’t the only way to incorporate creativity into your routine. You can make wifi signs to display in your home, place cards for meals in, and brown paper “tablecloths” for gatherings, among other projects!
Approaching must-do tasks with a willingness to be creative can make the tasks genuinely enjoyable! Next time you encounter something not-so-fun on your to-do list, try to brainstorm ways to inject some creativity into it. You’ll have fun, complete your tasks, and build up your creative skills in the process!
The way I see it, there are two ways to treat yourself with creativity. The first is the most obvious, which is to go out and buy a supply that you’ve been coveting. The second is more important — it involves giving yourself permission to indulge your creativity.
If you have the funds, a new art or calligraphy supply can spur hours of creativity and experimentation! If you don’t have the funds, however, treat yourself with time. Give yourself at least an hour per week to zone out at your desk/kitchen table/wherever and just do what you want to do! Remember, you don’t need expensive supplies to explore your creativity. From making wax crayon gems to creating “Crayola” calligraphy, there are a lot of ways to exercise your artistic side without breaking the bank.
If you surround yourself with creative inspiration, you are much more likely to act on that inspiration! If you’re on social media, Pinterest offers a way to smoothly catalog anything that catches your eye. If you enjoy a more tangible approach, try starting a sketchbook journal.
Collections of inspiration will come in handy when you have time to get creative, but you have no idea what to make! A neat side effect of cataloging things that you like is the awareness you develop of yourself and your tastes.
When you share your work, you open yourself up to judgment, which feels scary. However, you’ll find that — with very few exceptions — people are kind and encouraging. So, next time you finish making something creative, try snapping a photo and posting it on Instagram or Facebook. If you’re not on social media, you can send a photo of your project to a loved one (or send them the actual project as a gift).
Sharing your work can gain you encouragement and feedback. It also may motivate you to finish projects — after all, you’ve got an audience waiting! You never know, too, what kind of doors will open when you post your creative endeavors. You may get people asking for commissions, or you could garner a cool opportunity like a feature in a magazine.
So, there you have it: the list of TPK suggested creative goals for 2018! For additional creative goals, you can check out the Five Attainable Creative Goals for 2017 post. Remember, the year is young, and you have it in your power to make it your best yet!
Thanks so much for reading TPK, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Warmly,
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