It’s a new year and for those of us continuing on this creative journey it’s an opportunity to re-prioritize and re-structure according to what has and hasn’t worked for us so far. For those just joining us and dipping their toes into the creative pool, a new year is a chance to start fresh and begin feeling your way through this exciting new chapter of personal growth and creative fulfilment.
We all hope for growth and improvement. Let’s face it, we don’t make resolutions to remain the same. But growth isn’t going to look the same for everyone, and we aren’t all starting off from the same place with the same tools. It only makes sense that everyone’s creative journey will look different, and so will everyone’s success and growth. The key is to encourage each other and celebrate together in community, especially for the small wins.
Last year my creative growth was exponential in my life. I claimed my creative life. Called myself a writer. Set up boundaries to protect and value my creativity. I started my little blog and began writing a novel. Continued to teach dance and choreograph with intent. I am not published. I do not choreograph for competition and high visibility. My instagram is small. My blog is smaller. But I made leaps and bounds in my creative confidence , in my willingness to explore more avenues and embrace this creative well within me. Others in the same field debut their first novel this past year, grew the instragrams, became brand ambassadors, made commercial success, while some, like me, took that first step by starting their first journal or building their first piece of furniture. Creative growth doesn’t just look like personal or commercial success. It also means attaining that fifth rejection letter, the eighth failed project that never got off the ground, the hundredth dead idea only a note scribbled in a journal in a drawer.
Celebrate the beginnings: For those just starting out on their creative journey and those at the beginning of a new project or direction, the best advice I can give is to celebrate the start. Too often we wait for the success to hit or the project to end before celebrating anything at all. The biggest step is the first step. Celebrating the beginning is embracing the journey you are embarking on. It reminds us that the outcome isn’t why we’re doing it; by celebrating the beginning of your creative journey is celebrating growth. You are taking a step towards something new. Celebrate yourself before celebrating your output. You are valued for who you are, not just what you can do. Celebrate the beginning, the decision to put yourself into something and move forward.
Embrace the changes: Many people resist change. The superpower of creatives is to adapt and expand in ways we can’t yet imagine, that means embracing and even working towards change. Whether this is your first step or you’re thoroughly entrenched in the creative process, embracing change is a key part of the creative life. Creative projects very rarely go according to plan, adaptability, pivoting, evolution, are all necessary to lead an enriching creative life. Growth from a place of fear to a path of searching for and challenging yourself to change is a growth curve that yields every reward.
Chase your version of success: Everyone’s version of success is different. Personal growth, ambition, commercial success, followers, project numbers, enjoyment - all of these can be measures of success, but not everyone will care about the same markers. If I cared about the number of followers I would not be writing or posting much. My marker of success is personal fulfilment. The accomplishment of committing to something and doing it. Gaining confidence in my creative path is my success story. Being able to admit in what areas you fail, and which you succeed is hard to own. But when we own our own markers of success and decide what that looks like for us outside of the norms society tells us we have to meet, we reclaim our confidence and autonomy in our creativity - that is where growth happens.
Revel in the failures: Creative growth can also look like failure. More oddly, it can look like you enjoy failure. Pursuing creativity is a constant battle between insecurity and confidence. By putting yourself and your creativity out there you are opening yourself up to rejection. Writers get rejection letters, home crafters don’t make sales, or bad reviews drive traffic away from your website. But time and again you come back swinging ready to do it all over again, fail again in the name of creativity. When things don’t go according to plan, the doubts creep in, but we come back to it and try again. The growth is revelling in those failures, relishing the knowledge that each failure is one step closer to getting better, to improvement and growth.
However you choose to grow or are forced to grow on this creative journey, regardless of where you’re starting this year, growth is the goal. The only thing you owe to yourself and your creativity is to continue growing. Expand in every direction you can and take every small victory like a big win, because being this brave with your creative life is a beautiful thing that deserves to be celebrated at every stage and in all its forms.
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