bear | year of creative habits

Yesterday in my newsletter I asked how you might be able to use your creative habit to help others. A few subscribers replied and said that it got them thinking about why they do this and ways they could help. That's fantastic, I think it's really important to know why you're doing this. For me, it's taken a lot of time to figure that out. And of course just like everything does, it changes a little over time. Way back on day 51, I found myself answering that question and I think it's helped to reflect back on those reasons. When I struggle, I remind myself why I'm doing this and it helps to put things in perspective for me.

Another important question to ask is what defines success for you? This is something that I thought about from the very beginning. What do I want to get out of this project and what things need to happen to make it successful, at least in my eyes?

I hear from people who say "well, nobody 'likes' my stuff on Facebook (or Instagram, etc.) and so I stopped." I wonder...is that how they've defined success for themselves? I hope that your definition of success would be based on things that are within your control such as effort, diligence, growth, etc. I would encourage you to think about your mindset and strive to have both a growth mindset and a thriving artist mindset.

And finally remember that nothing happens overnight. You don't wake up and become good at drawing. You don't wake up to a book deal or a thousand new followers. Even when people appear to be an overnight sensation, know that they are not. Maybe you've thought a little about this before but take time to write this stuff down. It's easy to forget your intentions. Ask yourself:

why do your creative habit?
what will make your creative habit successful?