5 Good Things Creative Practice
I’ve always had an abundance of ideas about almost everything; far more than I could ever follow through on!
In fact, the more awareness and presence I cultivate the more creative I naturally become so the flow of inspiration continues to increase.
Of course, this is wonderful for all of the projects I love creating for my work and personal priorities.
Yet it’s also a double-edged sword.
Managing the Creative Fire
Over the years I’ve had to learn to manage this creative fire and the intense energy that’s an integral part of it.
Yet there have been many occasions in the past where I’ve been left feeling depleted from having followed my enthusiasm for too many possibilities and ended up taking on too much.
I’d find myself at the end of the day noticing all the actions I hadn’t managed to complete for the multiple projects I was working on simultaneously and largely ignoring all the things I had made progress with.
Not Doing Enough
As a result, I often felt like I simply wasn’t doing enough and ought to be doing more.
Sound familiar?
Of course, this is a negative pattern that ultimately leads to burn out.
When I realized what was going on, I came up with a solution that has transformed how I feel at the end of my working day and simultaneously contributed to a fundamental shift at every level of my being.
5 Good Things
I call the solution the “5 Good Things Creative Practice”
Essentially, it’s about cultivating enough awareness to notice that you’re caught in a negative pattern because if you’re not aware of it, it will simply run unconsciously and eventually drive you into the ground.
Then you need to make a conscious choice about where to focus your attention as this directly affects your perspective and your feelings about absolutely everything.
This practice leads you to do that and gives you the opportunity to train yourself to direct your gaze (and your creative energy) towards factors that support you to feel creatively alive and on track with your purpose.
Here’s how it works:
- Ideally you’ll decide on a similar time towards the end of each day to reflect on 5 good things that have occurred in the previous 24 hours. This could be things you are grateful for like a special person in your life or having hot water out of the tap so you can soak in a nurturing bubble bath. You could include things that have gone well for you like a piece of writing you’ve done or a tricky conversation that turned out better than you thought. Or you might recognize small details like taking a few moments to savour the aroma of fresh coffee or listen to a bird singing to uplift your spirits.
- Write your 5 good things down in your journal. It’s not enough to do this as an intellectual exercise and quickly think of 5 things then consider the practice ticked off your mental “to do” list! It’s important to write down and feel the joy of whatever you come up with, especially while you’re training yourself to develop this positive new habit. It doesn’t need to take long; 10 minutes should be plenty.
- Finally, re-read what you’ve written and feel into the positive feelings as deeply as possible. Consciously let go of all that you’ve haven’t done or whatever details are relevant in your particular situation. Acknowledge that you can revisit your priorities the next day and ensure you take care of whatever is most important to you. For now, simply immerse yourself in the positive feelings of knowing that whatever still remains to be dealt with, you’ve got 5 things to feel good about; and that’s a great note on which to end the day!
What are your thoughts about this creative practice? If you have your own version of something similar, what benefits have you noticed?
Great idea, I mentally list 5 things I’m grateful for at the end of each day, rather than what I have achieved, so will start to do that as well. Thanks for the prompt to focus on achievements.
Hi Jeanine – this practice can be interpreted in any way that feels right following the direction of my suggestions so gratitude is certainly an important component and yes, noticing what you achieve is part of it too. Just one point to clarify, a sense “achievement” can come from the smallest details such as completing a simple task and feeling positive about having done so; the “achievement” doesn’t have to be anything major and could equally be a realization you’ve had or a good idea about something. Enjoy the practice!
Hi Julia
I have a similar practice on retiring. I call it “Being in gratitude and appreciation.” focusing on the good stuff of the day stimulates these inner “natural principles” within us. As you say, it’s important to get in touch with these feelings, not just tick off the good stuff that happened.
repeated practice can instil a state of mind that allows for more of these feelings to flow through and it is this state of mind that attracts abundance (in all its forms) to us.
re-reading what you’ve written maintains this positive state of mind as you go to sleep — thus facilitating a peaceful night!
in gratitude and appreciation of you, Chris.
Hi Chris
Thanks for sharing your version of this which sounds excellent too. And yes, feeling the feelings is so important for experiencing the benefits. My favourite time for the 5 Good Things practice is at the end of the working day as a transition into the evening… so I’m not surprised that you have a peaceful night’s sleep afterwards!
Heartfelt thanks for the gratitude and appreciation, and right back to you! Julia
I love this Julia. As you say, building a new practice or muscle takes repetition, and attention. I like how it doesn’t have to be a big thing, and to flick the switch from ‘not enough’ to ‘enough’. I’m going to start and see what happens. Rita
Hi Rita, that’s great to know and thanks for sharing your reaction! Yes, it is indeed about flicking the switch to “enough” and often simply acknowledging the small things makes a huge difference to your perspective and how you feel about everything. Enjoy 🙂 Julia
I like this idea, Julia. The best part for me is to take a moment to re-experience the “good” feeling as I write it down.
Absolutely Helen! You’re so right – that’s the most important part of the whole practice. It’s not enough for it to be an intellectual exercise; it’s feeling the feelings that triggers the shift. Enjoy 🙂
This is such a powerful tool to reflect, to be grateful, and to truly embrace each moment and all they hold!
Yes, thank you Debi, beautifully put!
Thanks for this prompt, I have usually done this as a mental exercise but never put it down on paper and will now try hard to put it on paper and review and let the shift happen.
It does make a difference to write it down as it’s all too easy to forget when it’s just a mental exercise.
I’m glad to hear that you’re inspired to put it on paper now and review regularly. If you do so and keep it going, the shift WILL happen! Let us know how it goes in due course.
I love this idea. I’m finding writing is a great way to acknowledge my daily accomplishments. Great practice!
That’s great to hear Michelle! Thanks for your comment and enjoy the positive boost that acknowledging your daily accomplishments provides 🙂
My Brother gave me a copy of the five-minute journal for christmas this year.
It is a fill in the blank kind of template per day.
The first section says i am grateful for … and then there are 3 lines.
I have used this some and I need to get back to use it more consistently.
Today I wrote 2 more items under the 3 lines offered. And I stopped to feel grateful for each.
Hi John, how lovely and good for you writing 2 more items today and feeling the gratitude. It’s amazing just what a difference these kinds of simple yet powerful practices make. I hope you enjoy the benefits of doing so and thanks for sharing your experience.
I so needed to read this … with protest riots destroying the peace in our town, most of us are focusing on fear and distrust. I know we have the choice as to how we respond to any situation and I shall use these 5 points as my navigating guide. thank you for them at this time.
That’s great to hear Beth… yes, the current climate is increasingly one of fear and distrust and it’s stoked to the max by the media and the powers that be for the sake of the “hidden” agendas that are not so hidden these days.
What can’t be controlled by anyone other than ourselves is the choice you so rightly identify of how we respond to any given situation. I wish you well using the 5 points to navigate your consciously chosen experience of life going forwards.
Hi Julia,
After reading I thought it’s so me the “not doing enough”, then took a notebook put the date and wrote 5 things and yes I can do good things but I forget to notice it and congratulate myself. Thank you what a good idea.
Hi Helene – well done for picking up your notebook straight away and realizing that you are already doing “good things”! You’re far from alone in forgetting to notice it and congratulate yourself. However, hopefully this post will remind and encourage you to make it a daily priority until it becomes an effortless and regular component of your life. Enjoy!
I have just read this and all the comments and just feel grateful for the sheer fact of having read it. What with the weather and all the news if has been easy to slip into post Christmas ‘blues.’ Whilst reading the last comment I was aware of several positive things which I have done today. Now I am going to take my notebook and write them all down and feel them too and look forward to tomorrow. Thank you Julia for another very timely comment.
I’m so glad this has prompted your awareness of several positive things from your day Daphne. It’s amazing how easy it is to skip over the positives. However, with a bit of commitment initially, it doesn’t take long to re-train your brain to focus on all the good things rather than the negatives… its’ all about where we place our attention!
Julia, I found you today via MLSTL and am opening random older blogs that “speak to me”. Interestingly I added Daily Gratitude to my morning routine about 6 months ago. Every morning I write down three things from the day before that I am grateful for. Since I have morning journaling habit, this time of day worked to create a gratitude habit tag on. It’s not 5, but I do try and be specific in the recollection. The habit has definitely helped me stay in a more positive space, especially lately with the isolation. I am so glad I created the habit, and it’s nice to see it’s one of the tools you recommend.
Hello Patricia, I’m not sure what MLSTL stands for but I’m glad that you’ve found my work and thank you for connecting with me through your comments!
It’s good to hear that you already have a gratitude practice which is working for you. It is a tool I recommend although it’s not always restricted to “gratitude”; the practice includes what you appreciate, uplifts your spirits and/or puts a smile on your face and in your heart…
The most important part is to feel the gratitude, appreciation and joy… that’s where the real benefit lies.
Enjoy discovering more blogs that speak to you!