Unblock Creativity With Mini Essays

 

The most common hurdles to creativity are lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of clarity, lack of follow up ideas, lack of writing skills, which can all lead to a lack of confidence.

Mini Essays are a tool that can help you get over this initial hurdle and move forward with the ideation process. Mini Essays involve attempting to flush out your thoughts in as little as 100-300 words (3-6 paragraphs).

The reason creatives should consider incorporating mini essays into their creative routine is because its design helps overcome procrastination. They force the creative to make their big ideas concise and short. If the creative feels like they only have to commit to a few minutes and a few paragraphs to the idea, they are less likely to feel overwhelmed with expressing their creative thoughts.

Another reason creatives should consider incorporating mini essays into their creative routine is because they help overcome perfectionism. Perfectionism tends to be a killer to many new, budding ideas, that if allowed to be nurtured could turn into something great! Many creative can't get to or past this early budding stage. Since mini essays are so short, they remove the pressure that an idea must be fully flushed out, mature, or complete to start to the creative process.

Mini essays are the perfect tool to bring about that feeling of clarity and maturation to ideas that many creative people so deeply desire. Authors explain that we don't write because we have cool ideas to share. Instead, many profound writers realized that it's though the writing process that they receive creative inspiration and figure what the message really is. Additionally, as your writing routine become consistent, your will develop the skills to fully and more clearly express yourself, which will also aid in clarifying and maturation of your ideas.

In conclusion, mini essays are a powerful way to overcome the obstacles that prevent many creatives from showing up to their creative practice daily. They offer a low time and low energy way to show up, grow your writing skill set, and come up with even more creative ideas.

If you are a creative, you likely have ideas popping into your head all the time. Instead of letting it circle around your head and eventually be forgotten, consider writing a mini essay to see what that idea could be when allowed to be expressed. You never know what new ideas you could generate and ultimately what that idea could be if allowed to be nurtured to its full potential. 

YOU Make the Magic

Last night, I dreamed I was at my grandmother's house. We were sitting at the table. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about. Every so confidently, loving, and proudly, my grandmother clasped both of her hands over mine, she looked me in my eye and told me to "YOU make the magic".

It was almost as if I were complaining or expressing helplessness (which I find I've been struggling with lately) and she wanted to remind me that no matter how much control I think I don't have in this world, I can still chose to show up and to not be passive.

I think about all of the areas where I've been passive lately. 

• I consume more social media that I would like. I consume other people's "magic" and creativity, yet I struggle to produce my own (although I know deep down inside I would very much like to).
• I feel helpless as I learn about genocide and dishonest politicians. There are things that I could contribute to social change, even if it's very small. Yet, I feel paralyzed, helpless, and I find myself just watching.
• I want to grow in my career. Over the last year and a half, I've experienced rejection after rejection. After a while, I started to become discouraged.

The message from my grandma reminds me to have hope and try again.

I think of all the ways that my grandma was a magic maker. One of the biggest examples was during holidays. Holiday's always felt so warm ,cozy, loving and inviting when she was around. Now that she's gone, I struggle to recreate that feeling in myself. I very quickly realized that the holiday's alone weren't that special. It was all the things that my grandmother did for us that made them feel magical. From hanging up decorations, to the fun traditions, to the home cooked meals. I wish I would have cherished those moments more when I had the chance. Without her special touch, those holidays wouldn't have felt as special. Modeling what she did for us, I try my best to be the magic maker for my own family.

To me " YOU Make the Magic," implies co-working/ co- creating with God, our creator. Action on its own can sometimes feel meaningless or like its not making an impact. When I feel like my actions aren't impactful, I find myself asking, "What's the point?" Aligned action with God means we recognize our limitations as humans, and know that God can make that small act more impactful than anything we could ever do on our own. This perspective gives me hope.

This dream was important to me because it felt like my grandma was reaching down from heaven, encouraging me to keep hope alive, to keep going, and to not give up. 

What Beyonce can teach us about opposition, criticism, and rejection as creatives

   I'm truly inspired by Beyoncé's bold move to step outside what some may perceive as her comfort zone and release her first full country album.

    Her decision stands as a beautiful example of embracing authenticity and vulnerability. She must have been well aware of the potential backlash that could arise from diverging from the expectations society has set for her. Yet, despite this, she's staying true to herself. In doing so, she sets a powerful example of not allowing fear of criticism to stifle her creativity.

    Beyoncé's journey highlights the common fears many creatives face: opposition, criticism, and rejection. These fears often hold us back, leading us to choose safer, more conventional paths rather than following what truly inspires us.

    Watching Beyoncé navigate through media backlash, rejection from some radio stations, and disparaging comments from certain fans, I see resilience personified. Instead of dimming her light in the face of adversity, she shines even brighter.

    Your authenticity is your light.

    Many creatives, like Beyoncé, contend with pressures to conform and suppress their true selves. Succumbing to these pressures not only deprives us of our own fulfillment but also denies others the chance to be inspired by our unique creations.

    Beyoncé's journey underscores the importance of sharing our authentic selves, regardless of the naysayers. Their acceptance is not a requirement.

    Yes, there may be backlash and detractors, but let's not forget the countless souls waiting to be uplifted by our authentic light. Keep shining, knowing that your authenticity has the power to illuminate the lives of others. 

Peace and Blessings,

LaDay

The Power of Framework Thinking

I used to think that frameworks were these magical solutions that only thought leaders and creatives had access to. 

I was always looking for other people's frameworks, never really trusting myself to create my own. But now, I finally understand what framework thinking is and how it can be useful.

Frameworks are simply the simplification of complex ideas. If the complex idea is a painting of a person, the framework is the stick figure drawing of that person. Once you have the framework down, you can begin to add more meat and bones to it by discussing or going over each component of the framework in more detail.

One of the biggest benefits of using frameworks is that they help you to digest complex ideas more easily. When you boil it down to the bare nuts and bolts, it becomes much easier to understand and build upon.

Starting with a framework creates a great starting point. And the best part is that there is no such thing as the one and only framework. They can evolve depending on the context and what the creator thinks is important.

When people create frameworks, they often start with a question or problem that they are trying to solve. This helps to determine which nuts and bolts to focus on first. It's like trying to figure out what's wrong with your car. There are so many components involved in a car. However, if you identify the problem that you are trying to solve , like why won’t my car start? or why is my car overheating? The question/problem can give you further focus when identifying which components to start with as the foundation of your framework.

As a chronic thinker and creator, I find this way of thinking to be incredibly helpful when navigating through topics that can seem all over the place.

In conclusion, starting with a framework is a great way to simplify complex ideas and make them more manageable. So, the next time you're struggling to understand a complex idea, try breaking it down into a framework. You might be surprised at how much easier it becomes.

Peace and blessings.

Love Always, LaDay