3 Ways To Awaken Your Creative Spirit

Have you ever tried loosing your passion for photography?

Have you ever tried feeling uninspired and in a creative rut?

And do you sometimes feel blah about your work?

From time to time photographers turn to me for help when they find themselves in this situation. I personally know how it feels and if you do too – read on…

I want to tell you: being in a creative rut is a dangerous state of mind for a photographer—it often results in a big wave of negative, self-critical thoughts, and feelings of anger, frustration and resentment.

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I want you to reframe these feelings. When they pop up, take them as a red flag that perhaps you’re on the wrong track.

The truth is: these negative feelings are a sign that you haven’t been taking care of yourself—which means it’s time for a change.

When you feel like this, it’s often because you feel stressed or burnt out.

Perhaps you are:

making too many compromises in relation to your work
saying yes too many times to too many people
working your butt off but don’t feel valued
feeling under appreciated

Creative passion ebbs and flows, and sometimes it can feel like it disappeared and won’t return. The dangerous part comes from giving up when you do lose passion —calling it quits and accepting the fact that you just don’t have it in you is dangerous territory.

You need to know that even the BEST photographers in the world, have at one point in their lives, felt this way. ALL creative people have. If they haven’t yet, then they will at some point during their creative careers. It’s 100% normal!

“Creativity is not a talent, it´s a way of operating!” – John Cleese

It’s time to admit that something isn’t working anymore. It’s time to take action!

Here are 3 ways to get you out of a creative rut and back behind the lens more inspired than ever

1. Know your priorities and focus on your goals

Knowing your priorities and values helps you put the brakes on your creative rut.

Ask yourself this

Is what I’m working on a part of my larger goal? (aka your dream)

Avoid doing any creative work that doesn’t help you move towards your larger life goals. And say no to everything that doesn’t make you excited.

If photographing aunt Sally or the children next door isn’t a part of your future dream then learn to say no. Respectfully say no and refer them to someone else. Your time is worth investing in YOUR dream—not someone else’s!

2. Don´t be afraid of change

Look at the way you work: your workflow, your client contact, your photography style, your pricing structure and so on. Point out everything that makes your stomach hurt with resentment. Listen to your gut feelings, and make those difficult decisions that you believe are the right way to go.

Change is a positive thing and it’s your life—do what you have to do to make it amazing!

Ask yourself:

Is this the type of creative work I want to be known for?

Is this the type of work that makes me happy and excited?

If not, start making small changes right now to get your focus back on track.

If you’re afraid of change, consider:

What’s the worst that can happen if I make this change and it turns out to be wrong?

then…

How will I benefit from this change if it turns out great?

Often, the potential positive outcome will outweigh the negative. And often the change will turn out to be exactly what you needed!

3. Take a break

This is crucial.

Taking a break is neurologically proven to help spark creativity. Take a holiday. Travel. Get away from your photography or creative projects for a few days or weeks.

A holiday doesn’t have to be an expensive vacation. For example I often just drive a few hours away, check in to a hotel/Inn/Cottage and stay one or two nights alone (or with a friend) without my husband or kids. It’s my time, just for me to restore.

Do activities that you know will boost your energy and your mood. Remember that losing your creative passion often comes from stress, so knowing that, choose to take it slow and restore yourself.

If you can’t take a long break, take as many small breaks you can during your day, or work less hours than you usual do. Perhaps you need to turn down some projects or clients to create more time for yourself.

“Without rest, a creative mind can’t function at its best!” – Christina Greve

Most important is to be gentle with yourself, and be delighted that you always have a choice. You can do much more than you think you can and you have all the power inside of you to create the most amazing life for yourself.

Oh and…

If money issues is stopping you from taking time of: Raise your prices TODAY!

If money issues is causing you to take on jobs that you don´t really want: Raise your prices TODAY!

Remember: When you take care of yourself, your creativity will blossom!

With Love

When You Trust Your Heart, You Find True Power

5 / 22 / 162 / 9 / 17

I´ve worked with personal development most of my life, not only as a coach and therapist but I´ve done the hard work myself. I´ve been searching for my happiness, my peace of mind, my confidence, my purpose. I´ve tried every mind exercise, testet every coaching tool and gone through many, many psychological training programs.

There are so many tips available on how you can improve your life, that it can become a little bit confusing to know which is the right one for you. So today I want to share with you, what I personally think is the most important key to create a better life for yourself:

Listen to your heart!

Listen to your heart, and only your heart. Not the voices of friends, family, strangers, magazines, tv….not the critical voice inside your own head. Listen to your heart!

Your heart is the foundation of your wisdom; love is intelligent; and knows the truth of things.

The Heart can see further than the eyes. It can see the truth behind appearances. It knows what you should do in each and every situation you find yourself in.

When you trust your heart, you find your true power!

I know this advice is very abstract, and it will be so for a while when you start to train this – and it´s okay. You can´t do anything wrong, you just need to give yourself time to listen. If you take this seriously and make an effort to really listen and then act accordingly, then it will quickly become much easier and your confidence will grow.

The first step is to accept and respect, that your heart always tell the truth. Trust it. Your heart is your best friend.

Secondly, you need to act on what your heart tells you – even if it´s a small whisper.

In the beginning it might be scary, you might have to do things you would like to avoid, you might have to change some things in your life.

I remember how I used to doubt the voice of my heart…and I often ended up unhappy and in frustrating situations. The day I started trusting my heart, my life changed completely. Needless to say, I was often scared when I acted on my hearts sayings, and I often had to deal with negative reactions from people around me. But I keept trusting my heart, I took chances based on my feelings, not my intellectual. I took love as my guide.

I´ve never ever made a wrong decision based on the truth of my heart – feelings don´t lie.

The exercise:

I wan´t you to consider, to take on your own heart as your personal guide/mentor. Which basically means to feel your decisions, in stead of over-thinking them. Of course you may consult your intellect, your clever mind – consider pro and cons of your choices – but make the final decision with your heart.

Now write down 5-10 specific situations in which it would benefit you to do so.
How would you live your life is you weren’t afraid to fail, if you weren’t afraid of other people judging you, if you simply trusted yourself completely?
How would you be able to live your life, if you trusted your heart as your only guide?

I hope you will enjoy this exercise. Let me know how it goes – I would love to hear it!

And remember your heart is always open to you!

Much Love

Why You Don´t Need To Be Perfect To Be Successful

5 / 15 / 162 / 9 / 17

I can´t tell you how many times I´ve almost given up on blogging… I used to spend hours on a post, never entirely satisfied, constantly looking for errors, spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar…

I was afraid to appear stupid! Not clever enough!

When someone unsubscribed from my mailing list, I was convinced it was because of me – something I said, something I didn´t say, an unfortunate word used the wrong way….and the list goes on..

Still, I continued to blog every week…

I refused to back down; I refused to let my fear of not being good enough stop me..

Why do I reveal my insecurity?

Because I believe in my heart that to truly connect with other people I need to show ALL of who I am. If I only appear to be perfect – who will connect with me then?

I believe that those who like what I write, and what I have to say – despite my spelling mistakes, despite my flaws – they will connect with me even more when I´m fully honest!

Deal with the expectations of perfection

I have a wonderful friend that coach business people for a living. One evening we went out to dinner with a group of ladies. Over dinner my friend told a personal story that revealed that she too has insecurities (yes, like everyone else).

A lady across the table began to look more and more surprised, and suddenly she said “Aren´t you supposed to be perfect coaching people and all?” It was said in a harsh/mean tone…. I was there overhearing it first hand. Taken by surprise, by this woman´s directness, my friend, and I both looked puzzled…and to be honest we were also lost for words….

It still annoys me today, that I did not stand up for my friend, whom I´m so proud of and love so much, because she always is like an open book – with flaws and all! Which, by the way, is key to her success!

So if you sometimes find yourself

holding back because you are afraid that people will find out, you are not perfect, that you actually have flaws

constantly waiting to become good enough, talented enough, intelligent enough to follow your dreams

afraid of being judged by others for being who you are and therefore hiding behind a social mask

Then I have great news for you;

Perfection is an illusion, and you don´t need it to become successful!

You´ll gain more credit and success by being you, authentic and real!

You don´t need to be perfect to achieve success. What will make you much more attractive to the world as a person, a photographer, a creative person, a business owner is authenticity. Being you with all your flaws and your real personality is the new black.

From Perfect to FLAWSOME

A few years ago a new buzzword appeared; FLAWSOME. Flawsome is a mix of two words; flaws and awesome. It´s the reality that everyone can be awesome, but also can have flaws – at the same time. The same goes for businesses.

People around you will embrace you more if you are FLAWSOME: acknowledge that you are still brilliant despite having flaws; even being open about it can be awesome.

The flawsome trend will keep growing bigger and bigger in the social media world and the business world. The brands that are smart will operate with this idea to create buzz around them self and to gain trust from consumers.

So how can YOU as a photographer – aspiring or pro, use this to your advantage?

#1. Acknowledge your flaws instead of trying to hide them – ultimately you’ll gain more respect

Decide to be you. Be honest, be transparent, show your flaws. Allow for your true personality to shine through. Recently some of my favorite blogging friends bravely wrote a blog series called; “Things I’m Afraid to Tell You“.

The bloggers reveal personal stuff in the aim to break down the illusion of them being perfect – they raise their voices to celebrate honesty and transparency! I think that is amazing!

You can read how it all started over at Creature Comforts and see how many bloggers took part in this series. I can only imagine how many people have read these posts and enjoyed the bloggers openness and honesty – I know I did.

That form of transparency and openness makes it possible for other people to relate to you, to get a real sense of your unique personality – you gain respect and trust.

#2. Be real to genuinely connect and make an impact

Human psychology dictates that people have a hard time genuinely connecting with, being close to, or trusting other humans who (pretend to) have no weaknesses, flaws, or mistakes. Think about this when you are online or in contact with customers.

When I have clients coming to me for the first time, they are often a little nervous. So I like to tell them an ice-breaker-story. Just a short story that reveal that I´m not perfect = a real person like everyone else. It can be a little joke about how I stepped in dog poop that morning when walking my dog, or just something silly that will put a smile on their face. I want them to relax and see me as I really am.

If you want to succeed, you must open up to the world with the intention to genuinely connect. I know many photographers, business owners and artists are afraid to interact and appear like a cheap sales person or a look-at-me kind of person. But you don´t have to be sleazy or brag to get success – the opposite is necessary. Be caring, be honest, show interest, be helpful, and you´ll begin to grow your business.

#3. Start with what you have – don´t wait for things to be perfect

I used to think I should be perfect before I could do anything! And it limited me big time! When I was, younger I wanted to be slim and wear the perfect outfit before I went to the gym..lol.. I was like; I need to loose 3 pounds. Then I can join a fitness club!!

Thought´s like I should have a REAL logo or a professionally designed website, or all the right photography gear to start a photography business also limited me. But I soon realized that it was not needed.

People started to follow me even though I was a novice in photography back in 2009, they liked my photographs even though they were far from perfect, they read my blog despite all my spelling mistakes…by being me with all my flaws I was able to build a great network of people – photographers and bloggers.

I built my business up from scratch with a simple Blogspot blog and a lousy camera. Many things have changed since then. I finally have a better website and an excellent camera – but still my writing is full of errors…I don´t worry about it anymore. I know now that I don´t have to be perfect to be successful I just need to be me – and ask myself how I can serve the world.

Therefore, my last advice for you today is this:

Don´t wait for everything to be perfect to reach for your dream. Start without the perfect camera, begin without that beautiful logo, sell yourself even though your product or skills are not fully developed yet.

Just begin!

How to put it all into practice:

Ask yourself how you can serve – how you can inspire – how you can bring your unique personality to the world?

Make a plan on how you can celebrate transparency and authenticity – online as well in real life.

Consider how you can become more open. In which situations could you benefit from skipping your social mask? Can you be more real on your blog, twitter profile or on facebook? Which flaws do you have that you would be willing to share with others?

What step can you take today towards your dream – even though it´s not the perfect moment to do so?

Much Love

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