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 sixth 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 #6: REALITY CHECKS
The four deadliest words in the world for those aspiring to live a creative life are: BUT THE REALITY IS… The reality is the economy… The reality is I’m not gifted… The reality is I’m too old… The reality is I’m not a genius… As harmless and natural as these might sound, these thoughts and verbalizations are affirmations of self-condemnation, complacency and stagnation. The Universal Law of Attraction and most spiritual philosophies agree that when I ask, it is instantly granted! The reason I don’t see the physical manifestation of my desire is because I default to focusing on the “lack of,” or the problem at hand. BUT THE REALITY IS…because there is a mismatch between what I’m asking for and my actual belief about receiving it, the wheels of manifestation slow down or stop altogether. These are the thoughts lurking around in my mind: Where do you think you’re going? You can’t really have that! That kind of thing never happens to you, are you kidding? You’re in your fifties (or sixties). In fact, it’s no wonder so many people never even make it to asking. These beliefs are so dominant that they leave no room for even the most remote chance of having what I want, so why bother to ask? Reality becomes what I want it to be through my thoughts and actions, not because statistics say it is so or because CNN said so, or because I am genetically predisposed to it. Creativity asks me what I think, what I want to say, and how I want it to look. All great creators and innovators – and this includes every child on the planet – break through the barriers of what REALITY dictates, and from there bring something new and original. Creators don’t react to REALITY; they create REALITY!
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.
