What You Focus on is How You Feel
Welcome to this week's blog. I want to share something that I’ve discovered during this challenging year which is that what you focus on is how you feel.
I don’t know about you but I’m curious if you notice that after catching up on the day’s news, you don’t feel so great. You might feel more anxious, more depressed, more overwhelmed. This is in part because the news is almost always focused on something bad. And that makes us feel bad in one way or another.
I have three tips that I want to share with you today around how to get around this or how to shift your focus in order to feel joy or excitement instead of fear or anxiety. These tips work for me and I hope they will work for you too, especially when it comes to your creativity and helping you when you feel creatively stuck.
Tip number one is to shift your focus.
In order to shift your focus, you need to know and observe what it is that you're spending a lot of time on. This is a good practice to do periodically. Check in with yourself and make note of how you are spending your time. Are you on social media a lot? Do you spend a lot of time watching the news? Pay attention and make some notes for yourself.
Once you realize some of the major activities that take a lot of your time, think about shifting your focus to other things. Can you cut back on watching the news and spend a bit more time doing something creative instead?
Tip number two is to focus on something positive.
I know that 2020 has been a challenging year and we're heading into the holiday season. The outlook right now in terms of the pandemic is not very positive. This probably means that we will be celebrating differently this year in order to keep everyone safe and healthy during the winter months.
Instead of focusing too much on that, think about everything that you’ve learned this year. None of us knew at the beginning of 2020, that we’d all become experts using zoom. Or that you would become much more comfortable on the computer. Or that you would have more time to invest in your creativity through free and paid online programs.
It’s a great feeling to realize: “Wow, I actually learned a lot of really cool things this year!”
Tip number three is to reinvest time in a creative task that you love.
Invest more time, enthusiasm and energy into this creative endeavor. For example, if you took my free mini-course, From Doodles to Dollars™, you still have those beautiful lesson guides that I created for you. Dive back into turning sketches or drawings into illustrations or patterns.
If you're taking my 8-week signature program, The Pattern Design Academy™, right now, we’re just past the half way mark. Lean into the Modules we’ve covered so far. Even if you feel behind, remember that it’s not a race. Watch the lessons, do the exercises and create something beautiful that you can turn into a real product to gift to friends and family or sell at a holiday fair. You know my tag line is: It’s Never Too Late To Create™. Jump back in!
Let’s shift our focus and bring more joy into our lives. Let me know which tip resonates the most with you. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Watch Anne TV for more details.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
