How I Stay Motivated As An Artist
As an artist and an entrepreneur, it can be difficult at times to stay motivated and keep pushing yourself forward. After all, you have no one to tell you what to do or when to do it, no one to answer to if you decide to slack off, and no one to bounce new ideas off or to offer you advice if you hit a mental or creative wall. Over the years I’ve discovered a few key things that help me stay motivated, grounded and on track.
1. Networking
I recently joined the Athena Network in London, which is an organisation that connects female executives and entrepreneurs over networking lunches. This is a great way to connect with other women doing interesting things and learn some tips and tricks from other business professionals. I’m also a member of the American Women of Surrey (AWS), another great support network of women. This November I’ll be taking part in their Christmas Gift Fayre along with other artists, crafts people, importers and artisan food producers. Be sure to stop by if you’re in the area!
www.theathenanetwork.co.uk
www.awsurry.org
2. Headspace App
Studies show that meditation can relieve stress, improve happiness and even help us to eat better, sleep better and get more exercise. The only thing is it can be hard to find the time to meditate and even harder to stay focused when you do find the time to practice. I recently did a trial with the Headspace app and loved it so much that I purchased the full version. They offer easy 10-minute meditation and mindfulness sessions that you can do pretty much anywhere, and they even have special sessions for things like creativity, motivation, and balance.
3. Self Development Group
No matter how busy I get with work, family obligations, and other aspects of day-to-day life, I still make an effort to do things just for myself, particularly things that allow me to tap into my creative side. For example, once every two weeks I go to a guided meditation group, which helps me to hone my focus and better channel my ideas. I have also been fortunate to meet a few gifted Seers with exceptional gifts of psychic awareness, and they have helped me to further expand my mind and focus on working towards my creative vision.
4. Yoga
What’s not to love about Yoga? It helps to stretch, lengthen and tone your muscles, gets your breath and blood flowing and pushes you to challenge the limits of your own body. Since I’ve moved back to the UK, I’ve re-joined a Kundalini yoga class and am absolutely loving it. This form of Yoga aims to awaken the spiritual energy or life force in the body, and it is also supposed to be beneficial for raising awareness of how to achieve your creative potential.
5. General Exercise.
I think we all know that exercise is one of the keys to a healthy and happy life, we should all probably be doing a whole lot more of it than we actually do. With that in mind, I’ve started to go for walks on a regular basis. I’m fortunate to live in leafy Surrey Hills, which is a beautiful part of the UK, so there is no excuse not to get out there and enjoy this lovely area. Even if it’s just a walk to the Post Office or a few strolls around the block, I find that this bit of daily exercise helps me to relax and clear my mind.
