Creative Commitment Challenge

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom (Anais Nin)

http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/news/howwewillterraformmars

Change can be disruptive, disturbing, unsettling and even scary, but it can also be exciting, rejuvenating and liberating. Remember that creativity means new, novel, original or innovative, so commit yourself to doing something new, novel, original or innovative in one area of your life. You can make that change a huge leap or a small step.

Commitment means doing the following, and having fun in doing so:

1   Take stock: Curl up in a comfy place with a notebook and a pen. Make a list of various aspects of your life, such as your home, your garden, your workplace, your habits and practices, how you dress, how you prepare and eat your food, your social life and interests, and so on. You should have at least five categories (aspects of your life) on your list. For each category, honestly write down all the ways you express yourself personally; for example, write down all the ways that you express yourself personally in your garden, in your office at work, in how you prepare and eat food ... (what do you do that expresses your personality and individuality?). So, by the end of your session in the comfy chair, you will have identified at least five areas in your life and you will have listed any and every way in which you personally express your creativity in that aspect of your life. Honesty rather than CYA justification is important for this excercise, so it is OK if you cannot find any way in any aspect of your life that you personally express yourself with integrity (i.e. that you do anything differently from your family, friends, colleagues or your community).

2   Brainstorm ideas: Now for each category ... your home, garden, habits, practices, how you dress, how your prepare and eat food, your social life, interests, and so on) think of all the ways that you could, if anything and everything was possible, express your personal creativity in that aspect of your life. Write down whatever thoughts come to you, without censoring or judging your ideas. For each, aim to write down at least ten different ideas in ten minutes. Don’t think about what is possible or not, but just write whatever and all the thoughts you have (not to be different for the sake of being different, but to explore your own interests and passions). The only critic and censor of your ideas is in your head, so don't hold back. What if anything was possible in your life? (If I was 30 years younger, I would devote my whole life to getting to Mars as part of an expedition to terraform the planet! How could I include this passion in my everyday life in a personally creative way?)

3   Act on one idea: Choose one aspect of your life and one idea you wrote down about expressing your personal creativity. Aim to choose one that brings significant change to your life, but if you are apprehensive about changing your life radically, then choose to take a small step (such as, such as setting and eating at the table instead of in front of the TV every night, or wearing a different colour each day, or finding a new fruit or vegetable to create a meal with each week, or  committing yourself to mindfully reading a book each month in exploration of your personal interests, or devoting 15 minutes each day to develop a talent, such as photography or drawing or writing poetry or dance). Now go ahead and for the next month (yes, for one full month, every day), honour your personal creativity in that aspect of your life in that way every single day. (For, me, how can I include my passion for relocating to Mars to terraform the planet in some aspect of my everyday life?)

You are unique and special and all that I ask is that for every day, for one full month, you honour your special unique, personal creativity in one aspect of your life, in one way, honestly and wholeheartedly. When we choose to commit ourselves to honouring our true selves in small everyday ways, we find the courage to honour ourselves in all ways and truly live as the unique beings that we are.

© SD Vahl, 2012
SD Vahl hereby asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work.

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