We are thrilled to be featuring a seven-part series of guest posts by coach Donn Rochlin of Living the Creative Life. Check back each week for the next “block”…and advice on overcoming it.
All human beings are born with the gift of creativity. It is either developed or lost through lack of use. Following is the fifth of seven blocks that often show up for those who choose the creative path. Each block is seeded with an inspirational perspective to give encouragement and hope.
BLOCK #5: LOW LEVELS OF ACCEPTANCE
I never really got the idea of acceptance until I saw it in the light of it actually being part of my creative process. I always equated acceptance with “enduring.” What I have since come to understand is that the creative process is all about contrast. When I can accept something for what it is it doesn’t mean I have to take up residence with the situation, but that I can use the situation as an indicator of what I do not want and begin to shift my attention to what I do want. What I focus on gets bigger! I can write a poem or a musical composition, or paint a beautiful mural, and, when I look at the outcome, feel dissatisfied or unfulfilled. But rather than immediately going to self-flagellation, despair, and hopelessness (creative people can be very dramatic), I accept it! I take a breath followed by the words, OK! This is what it is! That’s it! Now something can change. All of the data I need to improve the situation or a chronic behavior is what I see before me in the present moment. By acknowledging what I clearly don’t want I flip it around and I’m shown what I do want, i.e. this piece of music does not sound authentic; it sounds contrived and labored. I want my compositions to reflect authenticity. I want them to reflect how I truly feel. So I have accepted the problem, catalog what I do not like, and flip it around make a statement (write it down) about want I want and put in the request to my higher power. My job now is to get out of the way trust in the law of attraction. I stay out of the “Hows.” How it will manifest is none of my business. I may be led to study with someone who can help me improve my writing or technique, my muse may decide to work a little overtime, or lightning could strike a few times… These are the universal Laws of Attraction. What I focus on gets bigger! What draws my request to me the fastest way possible is to keep focusing on what does work in my life, having chronic gratitude. I only ask for things for one reason: because I think what I am asking for will make me feel better. By reaching for better-feeling thoughts, I am setting up a magnetic field that has to draw good to me. This works for creating a beautiful work of art or a brilliant musical composition, or getting a new car, a financial backer, an inspiration, or a new studio off the coast of Spain…anything! So: 1) accept, 2) collect data from the situation and flip it, 3) ask for what you what, and 4) set up a “magnetic attraction beam” by reaching for better-feeling thoughts….and stay in positive expectation.
Donn Rochlin coaches artists, musicians, writers, performers, speakers, and entrepreneurs at Living the Creative Life, and has been a professional musician for over 25 years. You can reach him at 503-539-9153 or donnroc [at] ccountry [dot] net.
