It's Fall. Do You Know Where Your Creativity Is?

Seasonal Affective Disorder and the Creative Mind
Our thoughts and our biochemistry are so closely entwined, it's no wonder that SAD can leave you wondering if you have a creative bone left in your body! Maybe, like me, you sometimes feel that the bears have the right idea about coping with the darker seasons.

An inability to take in enough light through your eyes during shorter, grayer days can affect your biochemistry and make you feel like a wet noodle for months if you are susceptible. And while you may be able to slog through your day job, the muse is not fond of slogging and will likely leave you feeling about as creative as a kitchen sponge.

Symptoms Are Compounded by Misconceptions and Stigmas
Common symptoms of SAD include depression, irritability, carb cravings, fatigue, sleepiness, and a lack of motivation. Friends and family who aren't affected may wonder why you don't just "snap out of it." As if you wouldn't if you could!

And then there are the stigmas around behavioral health issues and asking for help. Ugh!

Help Is Available
There are lots of resources available today to help you deal with SAD:

• Self-help tips abound.
• Specially-designed light boxes are available.
• Professional help can be very valuable. Therapy and/or medication may be called for in some instances.

In addition to using these resources, I also have an accountability buddy. We provide gentle structure for each other by setting up several hours a week when we call each other to declare what we are going to work on and then what we have completed.

The encouragement and feeling of connection that we provide for each other is very helpful, too. It keeps up our motivation, and we feel good about our accomplishments, which leads to more motivation!

Your accountability buddy need not suffer from SAD to benefit from this arrangement. This idea has been used in the coaching community for years, often in groups on conference calls.

If you're interested in having such a buddy, email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com, and I will make every effort to match you up with someone. If there is sufficient interest in doing this in a group, I would be glad to host the call.

Coaching can also provide accountability, motivation, and encouragement. Feel free to email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial tele-session.

I'm not willing to let SAD rob me of a full, happy, and creative life. How about you?

To your fulfillment and good health,

Susan

Closed Hearts Shut Out Creativity

When Do We Close Our Hearts?
We close our hearts in order to prevent further pain when we have been emotionally injured. But like denial, closing the heart is meant to be only a temporary arrangement while we set up the healing process.

Why Does A Closed Heart Block Creativity?
Over time, a closed heart robs us of our enjoyment of life, our playfulness, our ability to trust, our creativity and our intuition. It leaves us in a state of disconnection from Spirit, other people, and ourselves. We feel empty and tired. It can even lead to depression.

Walling off our hearts is an all-or-nothing deal, like general anesthesia. All welcome sensations are blocked out along with the unwelcome ones. Joy, creativity, and even colors are muted. Negative emotions, which are designed to stay in motion, get stuck. Instead of being the useful messengers they are meant to be, they overstay their welcome and can even make us sick.

How Can We Tear Down The Wall, Open Our Hearts, and Start Feeling Again?
Usually we have to do this brick by brick. Even in the case of a sudden catharsis, it takes time to integrate a new way of being. Coaching can often help with this, but if the problem is deeply entrenched, do yourself a favor and find a great therapist. If you're not sure what kind of help you need, I can help you sort it out in a complimentary trial coaching tele-session; email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com.

Part of opening our hearts is learning to forgive ourselves and others. Forgiveness has been given a bad name because people think it means that we have given in and are going back for more bad treatment. But forgiveness means releasing ourselves from the energy-draining situation in our own minds. It does not always mean reconciliation with the difficult person.

Placing blame leaves us powerless when it leads to feelings of resignation and victimization. We must take responsibility for our responses and for whatever we can do to improve the situation, whether we are to blame or not. As for our own mistakes, we can use the energy they stir up to learn from them and correct them instead of wasting it on beating ourselves up.

As we open our hearts, we can test the creative waters now and then to measure our progress. Here's the good news: Just as the closing off process affects us holistically, so will the opening process! Our general outlooks will improve, along with our energy and creative output levels. Unexplained physical problems may bow out, as well, once we "get" the messages they were sending!

Closing our hearts means closing ourselves off to a full life. What will you do for yourself today to let your heart help you express all of who you are? I'd love to see your answers in the comments section!

To your happiness,
Susan

Wanted: Consultant, Therapist, or Coach?

Confused about who does what? Read on:

You'll Benefit from Hiring a Great Consultant If:

• You want someone to step in and tell you what needs to be done and then to step back and let you do it.

You'll Benefit from Hiring a Great Therapist If:

• The weight of your emotional concerns is preventing you from taking action, being creative, and/or enjoying life. Call one today; you have suffered long enough!

You'll Benefit from Hiring a Great Coach If:

• Aside from the stress of your current situation (transitioning, feeling stuck, etc.), you are in reasonable emotional and physical health so that you can carry out the goals (creative or otherwise) you'll be setting with the guidance of a coach.
• You're not sure what/who you need. A coach can help you sort it out.

If I Can Help...

• Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial coaching tele-session!

To your success,

Susan

P.S. From time to time, I would like to feature some great role models for the creative life on this blog. To nominate someone, please check with them first, and then email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Thanks!

Authenticity Invites Creativity, Joy, and Like-Minded Patrons

The Ease of Authenticity

Signs and symptoms of authenticity:

• You attract the right projects and ideas because your authenticity makes you a worthy steward or vessel for them.
• Your need for self-expression is satisfied because you're creating what you love, not just what a fickle market supposedly wants.
• You're using less energy and causing less stress for yourself because you are going with the flow of the Law of Attraction (see http://www.thesecret.tv/).
• You attract the patrons who are aligned with the "real you."
• You definitely enjoy your work and even your marketing and networking more!

...But It Takes Practice

I'm a big fan of the intuitive Belleruth Naparstek (http://www.healthjourneys.com/) About ten years ago, I attended one of her workshops. She had lots of great stories, including this one about authenticity.

Belleruth said that she was at a conference listening to an inspiring speaker encouraging the group to be more authentic by aligning everything they think, feel, say, and do. Belleruth thought this was a great idea and adopted it on the spot. Or so she thought.

The next speaker at the conference did not appeal to her at all, and she was planning her escape when the person next to her said, "Isn't she wonderful?!" Belleruth whispered back, "Yes!"

As she was relating the story to us, she said, "I lasted three minutes!" So don't beat yourself up if your efforts to become more authentic take some time.

Our Many Masks

How do we get off track so easily, as Belleruth did above? Why is it so hard to just be ourselves?

I believe our cultural programing and coping mechanisms have a lot to do with it. Here are some of the masks we commonly see:

• The People-Pleaser
• The Intimidator
• The "Nothing Bothers Me" Mask
• The Brick Wall
• The Tough Guy or Gal
• The Perfectionist

Do whatever you need to do to get rid of these masks. As a coach I may be able to help you drop the ones you have. Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to try out an introductory session with my compliments by phone.

If the problem is deeply entrenched and/or was brought on by a trauma, you may need to find a good therapist to help.

Sweat Happens

There are lots of so-called "resources" out there that tell you exactly how to "get ahead" by being inauthentic. "Never let 'em see you sweat!" they say. Well, I have sweated buckets, and if someone else can learn from my mistakes, I would rather share them than hide them!

I saw an article the other day about the so-called "correct posturing" when decorating your office. They suggested putting books on the shelf that will give the impression that you are studying your way to the top. And heaven forbid (heavy sarcasm is mine), don't let it show that you're a well-rounded human being by having too many family photos around! I think these folks need to join...

Chameleons Anonymous

Authentic work is not one-size-fits-all. You risk turning (even ticking) some people off, but it's a risk you must take. (It's not easy for a recovering people-pleaser like me!) But how can anyone resonate with the "real you" they never see it? There will always be those who don't "get" your work. Let it be OK.

People can sense insincerity and insecurity (from working too hard to hide your "true colors") a mile away. Chameleons are cool-looking creatures, but it doesn't serve us to act like them in our creative work, networking, or marketing!

Recommended Sites for Authentic Marketing

• http://www.authenticpromotion.com/
• http://www.joyfulmarketing.com/
• http://www.marketingontheplayground.com/

Here's hoping you'll see the "real you" in all your work!

All my best,

Susan