Here’s one mindset shift that can help
If you’re older than say 25 years old, there is a good chance that your definition of “creativity” (and by default “being a creative”) was still pretty narrow. You probably believed that in order to break the mold and be creative in your day job you would need to work in advertising, on a TV show, or on the staff at one of the magazines you bought growing up.
Over the last decade our definition of creativity has expanded to include short form videos, personal blogging (from owning your own domain to writing…
Because no one will keep it top of mind for you
I started my career in the grief space when I was only 21 years old. I wrote blog post after blog post about my own experiences with loss. I put pen to paper because for me, after years of sitting in silence with my grief, writing felt like the only way I was going to survive the second biggest loss of my life.
It turns out though that writing poetry in a blue feathered journal after losing my mom when I was 10 years old is vastly different from writing online about losing my second mom (my grandmother) when I…
It’ll help you tomorrow
I’ve never had a traditional 9-to-5, at least not in the corporate sense. The only time that I adhere to the 5pm cut off time is whenever I’m struggling with my creativity. I find it helpful to give my creativity a finish line because the alternative is to keep torturing us both even as the sun sets and nothing about that sounds fun.
The idea of being a tortured artist for our craft removes so much of reality from that narrative. Some of us (myself included) have hard days with our creativity that are a result of our mental health…
First step, no content that supports your negativity
Hashtag Monday Motivation sometimes has the opposite effect. We go from feeling motivated by the quotes or 7-second videos of encouragement to feeling like it’s only 9am and we’ve already lost the race.
The key to not feeling defeated so early in the morning isn’t to stop consuming content, it’s to start consuming different content. You want to follow the kind of people who don’t prompt you to get on the bad self-talk train. You know the one I’m talking about — it’s the ride where all of your worst thoughts about yourself are not only seemingly confirmed, they’re encouraged…
Here’s why
Listen, let’s start with words you maybe haven’t heard lately — you’re not supposed to be an expert at your craft, you’re supposed to be a student of your craft.
Also, the world will never stop asking too much of us. Each member within our immediate sphere has expectations that are most likely motivated by their own needs and less by your clearly stated skillset, process, or bandwidth. Your job isn’t to meet their expectations at your own expense. It doesn’t matter what hustle culture says.
Your job is to not let their expectations push you so far past your…
What’s yours?
It can feel taboo if you focus too long on the “last” part of “last five year plan.” Are you drawing in the end before you should? Will this change the way you live your life?
Who knows. And hopefully.
Our society is fixated on looking forward at every big milestone — at graduation, what’s your next five years look like? At 25, what’s your five year plan?
We could live our days as the ratio of 1825 days at a time, if we wanted to, but very few would want to. This is the thought I had…
Surprise
I am morning routine’s number one fan. I wake up by 5:45am every morning. I change into workout gear, unroll my yoga mat, and pull up YouTube on my iPad. I finish up my workout and turn on the coffeemaker on my way to the shower. I shuffle between our bedroom and the bathroom for the next 20 minutes as I get ready for the day. An hour after I’m up, I’ve picked up my journal and I’m settled in to work on my morning pages.
Do you hate me yet for being so freaking rigid in my routine?
For…
Moving across the country a second time taught me that…
I’ve heard this time get called “re-entry”, which makes sense because we are re-entering. No season has ever felt like more of a re-entrance than this one. We moved from Portland back to the east coast before our first anniversary on the west coast. We did it all in under a week and it felt similar to the whiplash that came with the wave of COVID vaccinations across the nation. …
“Not Yet”
I almost passed out once because of a panic attack. I was sitting on a bench on the Museum of Natural History’s patio in New York City. It was a warm summer day and I confused anxiety with heat exhaustion, so by the time I realized I was panicking, I was too far gone. My thoughts had already moved from a slow climb to an unbearable fast spiral, I remember my breath and heart following suit.
Putting my head down on the picnic table and shifting my vision to the right didn’t help me see a future where…
Here’s how it helped me double my rates…
I’ve been working for myself and mostly by myself for the last 8 years. My career, like most twenty-somethings’ careers, has gone through ebbs and flows. But, all the changes have one thing in common — they exist within the context of independent work, a space that my business degree never prepared me for.
Back in 2014, I’d just graduated from college and my one goal was to find a way to make enough to cover my basic expenses without having to go into an office. …
Vivian Nunez
I write daily about creativity, grief and mental health. https://www.instagram.com/vivnunez/
