Creativity and Happiness

I've mentioned before about how I think exercise is part of the bedrock to happiness, at least in my life. Another one I confirmed recently is social experience; being involved in some sort of community of people where interactions are personal and based on an often deep history of the group's dynamics. And I believe that a healthy diet is a third supporting pillar of a contented life.

The fourth area that needs some attention, it seems to me, would be creative output.

This might be in the traditional senses of art, writing, music. It may be photography, woodwork or some form of spiritual dance. Or maybe it's computer programming, scientific research or deriving mathematical theories. But it's something that gets your brain cycling through ideas and scenarios, creating new neural connections and really working out.

I look at the really contented and happy people in my life and they all seem to have some aspect of creativity going on in their hobbies or jobs.

And for those of you who are wondering, I do believe that creativity can be learned if it's practised often and enough. But you don't need to be "good" to get anything out of it, you just need to get your mind in the right gear.


Questions? Comments? Opinions? I'd love to hear them! Please leave all of your lovely feedback in the comments section below :)

Rules

Sometimes there are Rules. They're sort of unwritten, unspoken Rules. And those are the worst kind because their invisibility makes them harder to bend or revoke.

For me it feels a bit like being in a spectral prison that I'm not entirely aware of, but can sense the restriction, and obey it. The guards, walls and bars are all ghosts, because they're made of the Rules. But sometimes I catch a shimmering outline; a ghostly edge that makes me stop and think.

Another way to think of it is being stuck watching a familiar and painful play put on by your life, and you can't do anything because you're just the audience.

I hadn't really thought deeply about this until last week when I read a post on Lucy's blog*. Then I started asking questions.

Because what if I'm not just the audience?
What if I knew what my captives looked like?
What if I realised I'm in The Matrix?
And what if I faced the Rules?

If I can do this, things start to change. I can start to interact with the rules. I can ask them what they are. I can ask them why they're there. And what they need. And maybe I can let some of them go.

And then I realise this is the sort of NVC-inspired stuff Havi has been talking about all along.

^{* I do realise that this isn't the way Lucy was talking about rules, I'm just taking the concept and applying it to my own life.}

Velvet Rope

One of the things I fear is that my friends will see this blog and think that I'm Not Cool for writing it.

This blog is a place where I can just let my inner hippy run around naked, collecting proverbial wild berries and talking about the benefits of acupuncture. So to speak*.

Everybody has an Inner SomethingThey'reAshamedAbout, right?

If you think my blog kind of sucks then that's fine, it's probably not written for you. It's written for me and anybody else who finds it helpful in any way.

If you don't like it I hope we can still hang out on Twitter or Real Life or wherever.

I just wanted you to know.


_{* I don't actually do any of those things. It's just my poetic license.}

Patterns

When I first came across The Fluent Self (surely you must know about that by now) I thought it was great, a really fresh look at changing habits and looking at life. And from reading Havi's blog I've come in contact with some fantastic things like NVC and Shiva Nata.

But I never really thought about my patterns. In fact I never really thought I had any._{(Despite posting about them twice? Yeah, I'm about as confused as you).}

But recently I've come to the realisation that, actually, probably, I have a lot. But I bury them away beneath the desert island that is my mind.

I have small patterns, and slightly larger patterns. Patterns of work, play, thought and relationships.
Patterns to do with giving up, patterns to do with self worth, this weird thing involving clicking my teeth.

What I'm really hoping for now is that on this new adventure doing the Dance of Shiva I will start to learn more about myself and my patterns. So if and when the epiphanies come I'll be sure to share!

Ok, I'll shut up now.

Tapping Magic

I was meant to write this post yesterday, but it hadn't been written. Or conceived for that matter. Because I have been a little down in the dumps, not quite knowing why.

But this evening I remembered - and then I kicked myself because this isn't the first time it's happened.

You see, I am a wizard. And the source of my magic is exercise. I come back from a run and am full of zest and lust for life.

Forms of Power

Maybe your power comes from somewhere else. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was exercise or some sort of active activity. Just watch the lives of many big names and they all have some sort of regular workout going on. Let's look at a couple of my idols:

Jonathan Mead
Mr Mead, who runs Illuminated Mind, is big on his martial arts: he's a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do - an art (and philosophy) founded by none other than Bruce Lee.
I also hear he's a keen drummer, which is a big workout in itself.

Havi Brooks
Good old Havi, of The Fluent Self, follows the Dance of Shiva. Again, an activity which has a bit of a spiritual side to it. But an activity none-the-less. And she just radiates amazingness.

This is just one component of leading a happy and successful life. But to me it seems to be one of the most important.

You
So how about you? Is exercise also the source of your power, or do you have some other place you tap from? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

How Not To Do Deadlines

I have a weird relationship with deadlines. And yet one I'm willing to wager a lot of people share.

Take yesterday, for example. The deadline for the SRA entry was 5pm. I've had since May (actually probably somewhat longer) to sort this out and yet it came right up to the line - and I mean literally within seconds of the deadline.

It had been on my mind for weeks, months even, but the real work didn't even start until about a few days ago. Then I worked almost solidly for two days and got in by the skin
of
my
teeth.

Oh yeah, and it's a pattern.

Sound familiar?
I hope so.

Well I was thinking about this. Why does this happen. Is it a motivation problem? Am I scared of completing it lest it unleash some horrible demon? Am I just a rubbish person? No.

The problem is that I focus on the deadline as being part of the work period; I naturally "plan" in my head to have the work done on the day it's due. Maybe I start early, but the work I do is minor and only increases to a significant amount when the final date starts to approach.

The solution is to practice disassociating the deadline from the work, and creating my own personal deadline. And stick to it. This is another one of those things that's easier said than done, I know.

But not impossible.



Any thoughts on this? Have you had similar problems that you've tried to overcome? Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this.

Untitled #2

The SRA awards. Awards for student radio stations. For those of you who don't know, I spent the past two years working with Surge in Southampton.

This one last thing I'm doing for them is putting together their entry for Station of the Year award. And, as with every task or project like this for the past three years (and probably more), I have left it until the very last minute.

Patterns, eh?

Don't ask me why it's like this. It is something I really want to do. Maybe I don't want to do the hard work associated with it, maybe I'm scared of doing a bad job and letting down the station. Maybe finishing this entry signifies me cutting the last link to the best year of my life, or finishing it means I have to actually get on with job hunting (oh, the job hunting!).

And the deadline is about three days away. Looks like another issue I'm going to have to bulldoze through for now.

Another thing that's come up in all this is my inability to say "no". For some reason I've taken it upon myself to coordinate the whole of the station on the creation of individual entries for Best Show, Best DJ, etc. and am now offering help and critique to the people entering these awards. Not that I don't want to be helpful, it's just that it puts unnecessary stress onto me. Actually I have some ideas on this but it's going to take some more thinking.

Not that life is bad or anything. Just a little bit hectic. Feeling resistance that I'd rather not feel.

Elsewhere in the news

I have ordered the Shiva Nata starter kit from the lovely Havi... I'll let you know how that goes.

Don't judge.

And finally, I have been writing this post from The Bottom Of The Airing Cupboard and it has been amazingly easy to concentrate, if a little cramped.

And That's How.. For Now!

Isn't It Strange

Lately my life has been feeling congested, for lack of a better word. Back from uni, living under my Dad's roof. Job hunting. Oh, the job hunting.

Hiding myself in the bottom of the airing cupboard today, cocooned in duvets and darkness with sheets of light creeping in around the door, I tried some more faux meditation.

And the answer that came to me said that I was spreading myself too thinly. Thinking about too many things at the same time. There are the SRA awards, job hunting (oh, the job hunting), starting a club, starting a website, starting a radio station, getting into journalism and/or production, and all the other little rocks that like to litter themselves around my days.

So the plan is to focus on one thing at a time, SRA entry first. Then the other stuff. And also stuff I've not even been thinking about recently:

• The hundred things project
  
• Finding my own place
  
• Making music
  

And as well as that I'm starting regular blog posts to see if blog therapy gets me anywhere.

So... see you later?