Tapping into Your Creativity to Build a Life of Inspired Choices
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. It is our shame and our loss when we discourage people from being creative. Too often creativity is smothered rather than nurtured. There has to be a climate in which new ways of thinking, perceiving, questioning are encouraged. ~ Maya Angelou
Inspired choices. That sounds so easy. But is it? We all have choices for sure, even when we don’t feel we have. However are they inspired?
In the past I have written about indecision being a decision, in that the person has chosen to stay with the status quo, and maybe that is the safe way to go, until you can find some option that appeals or feel confident enough to move out of your comfort zone.
Trouble is you kinda stay stuck, and if you are wanting to make changes, that won’t happen. How does that saying go – if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.
I’m one of those people who makes lists – the pros and cons – and then I try, not always successfully, to listen to my gut and take a leap of faith. It is that fear of failure that can hold us back.
Thing is, making a change doesn’t have to be an all or nothing decision. Take starting your own business, for example. You can test your idea while you stay employed and take baby steps towards making your business a reality.
Or perhaps you want to make a career switch? Learning more about yourself, your skills, strengths and interests, can help you find and follow your passion. Do your homework. Is there a demand or job market for that career? Find out what training you need to take. The more you learn, the better able you are to make an informed choice and hopefully an inspired one.
In Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking the authors observe that we tend to surround ourselves with like-minded people and so when we ask around or involve others in our decision-making, the options are likely ones we can live with. Often trade offs are inevitable and we settle, but sometimes that’s just not good enough and we have to get creative.
And perhaps it is that creativity that we find inspired choices. Talk to people who see your options from a different perspective. Dig deep to understand what you really, really want. Self-awareness is key, because then you can develop choices for yourself that empower and energize you. Then you take charge of what you want and then you create inspired choices for yourself.
Anne Day ~ Founder, Company of Women