Persisting on the Creative Path: How to Have Fun and Keep Going
With the start of a new year, you might have set some creative goals for the year - start a new sketchbook, paint every day, try a new medium, join a creative community. There are lots of different things that might’ve made the list. I’ve written down quite a few creative goals for myself, and while some are off to a great start, some are already feeling too overwhelming to start.
The creative process is a funny thing. From the outside looking in, it might seem like it comes easy for some people, but the truth is, it’s not easy at all. There are lots of bumps along the way, and anyone who’s been there knows - it takes a lot of persistence, hard work, and mental strength to keep going.
Some days, showing up to create can feel easy, but some days it can feel downright daunting. It’s the feeling you get when you’re staring at a blank page and you don’t know where to start. Or the feeling you get when you try something new, but it doesn’t come as easy as you thought it would. How about the feeling you get when everyone seems to be moving forward, making progress, creating masterpieces, but it’s been weeks, months, maybe even years since you even picked up a paintbrush? There are so many moments when it feels hard, and the resistance is so real.
So in the midst of all this, how do we keep the creative process light and fun? How do we get over these humps? And how do we get ourselves to keep going?
These are all questions that I’ve wrestled with during the many lulls of my creative journey, and today, I thought I’d share some of the things that have helped me along the way.
Let go and have fun.
I know this is a lot easier said than done, but the first thing we have to do is to let go. Let go of what? Of all the things that add unnecessary pressure to our creative process - perfection, comparison, unrealistic timelines and expectations, the list goes on and on. Your creativity, by nature, thrives in an environment that’s open, free, playful, and joyful, so adding any of these negative pressures will only stifle it.
From my own experience, once you start to protect your creative time from all these things that try to suffocate it, your inner child - the one who is full of ideas and overflowing with creativity - starts to feel safe and starts having fun again. Free from all this pressure, making that first mark isn’t as scary anymore, and “mistakes” genuinely start to feel like opportunities to explore, learn, and grow. In this kind of environment, your confidence is bound to grow and your creative practice inevitably becomes a place of freedom and joy.
So the next time things start to feel overwhelming and hard, try to ask yourself what feelings, pressures, or expectations are blocking you from diving right in. Then practice the art of letting go while reminding yourself that the creative process is not a race or a test or a competition. YOU hold the power to decide how you want to spend that time and how you will allow yourself to feel about it. Protect that time, delight in new explorations, keep things light, and remember to have fun.
Take things one step at a time.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed at any stage of the creative path. For beginners, the overwhelm can come in the form of not knowing where to start, what supplies to buy, or not knowing how to overcome that initial fear of just getting started. For artists who are further along, it could be the overwhelm of figuring out the next steps for their art. Should I sell my art? Where do I sell my art? What about a website? A shop? Do I need to start a mailing list? How do I price my art, ship my art, market my art? The list can go on and on.
When things start feeling overwhelming, there’s one thing that’s always helped me, and that’s to take things one small step at a time. For those just starting out, maybe it’s picking up a pencil and letting yourself doodle for 10 minutes. Maybe the next day, you do it again. For the more experienced artist, maybe you brain dump a long to-do list and focus on checking off one simple task each day.
Every time I’ve taken this approach, the overwhelm usually subsides, and a natural progression starts to happen. It might feel slow, but remember that even the tiniest step is still moving you forward.
Allow periods of rest.
As with all things in life, rest and recovery are necessary stages of your creative process. Some people may disagree and say that showing up every day is more important, but I don’t think creativity should feel forced - especially during periods of creative block or burnout.
There will be times when you feel completely unmotivated and uninspired, and during those times, I think it’s totally ok (and even necessary) to take a break. Taking a break doesn’t mean you’re quitting your art. Taking a break simply means you’re taking a break.
For me personally, I like to spend my creative breaks doing other things that “fill my well”. Sometimes it’s taking a walk or doing some stretches, sometimes it’s mindlessly swatching paints, and sometimes it’s journaling for a week as I sort through my thoughts and ideas. I like to think of these breaks as periods of “active recovery” where I’m doing low-intensity activities, keeping my creative muscles warmed up, but rested, until I’m ready to jump back in.
In the process of active recovery, I find that I’ll usually catch a spark of inspiration that will help me get started again. Sometimes this can take a day or two, and sometimes it can take a little longer, and that’s totally OK. As much as we try to psyche ourselves out about it, our creativity isn’t going anywhere. It’s not something that suddenly runs out or depreciates with time. It will be there, like an old friend, waiting for you when you’re ready to come back.
So give yourself some grace, rest when you need it, and remember that breaks are an important (and necessary) part of the creative process.
Trust the journey.
You’re never going to feel inspired all the time, make great art all the time, or enjoy the process all the time. Don’t get me wrong - of course there will be periods of tangible growth where you’re producing beautiful art and your creativity is thriving. But there will also be periods of stillness and quiet, where it feels like things are plateauing or coming to a standstill. The highs can feel so high and the lows can feel so low.
But trusting the journey means regardless of the outcome or the type of season you’re in, you choose to stay on the path and continue working towards your creative goals, knowing that each step along the way (even the bumps and plateaus) are part of your creative growth.
When we trust, we:
embrace the ups and downs, and know that each mistake or “bad” piece of art is teaching us something new
continue making progress on our goals, one step at a time (tiny, slow steps are still steps!)
believe that each season is serving its purpose and there for a reason
have faith that each step we take along the way is leading us exactly where we’re meant to be
Being on the creative path is not an easy one, but it’s one that can bring so much joy and fulfillment if we allow it to. At the end of the day, I think the key to all of it is to honor your pace as you continue to trust and move forward.
While each journey is unique, I hope that you were able to find some helpful encouragement here.
Here’s to making more marks and pressing on :)