Make space in your life for creativity

"I can't go on. I will go on." is a Samuel Becket quote that my mother has hanging in her kitchen. Now, I understand that this is supposed to be motivational and inspire one to perseverance (I think), but I've always found it somewhat defeatist. Isn't this how so many people are living their lives? Staying in the daily grind, justifying to themselves their need to stay in the mold because life is so difficult? These people think that life creates them instead of the other way around. I prefer to create my life.

The first thing to do on your way to a creative life is to make space in your life. Modern life is incredibly busy and tends to fill up our minds and free time. To be able to create, you need not only physical energy but emotional and mental energy as well. If your life is cluttered with bad relationships, work stress and trying to cope, there is no room for creativity and intuition.

So what is the solution? You need to declutter and simplify your life. It's a question of defining your priorities and redistributing your time. For instance, my most creative time is at night and my least productive during the morning, so at one time, I took on a half-day job that didn't require much input in order "to pay the bills". In this way, my creative energy was not used up during the day. Everybody has different priorities, but, if you want to make space for creativity, you will need to downsize and FREE UP TIME. Many people suggest that you schedule a certain time everyday for your creative activity, but I have found that this sheer doesn't work. If you limit your creative time to a schedule, you don't leave space for intuition to flow and this is vital for creativity. You need to make enough time for just "being" and going with the flow in your daily life. Suddenly, your intuition and creativity will soar!

I moved to the Seychelles, islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a couple of years ago. Living on a tropical island pretty much forces you to live the simple life. Everything is slower and time loses it's relevance. It's easy to get into the flow here. I do understand that it is more difficult in an urban environment, but it is possible.

So do yourself a favour and simplify your life. Cut out all the extras that eat up your emotional, mental and physical energy. Make time and space for creative simple being and your creativity will flourish in no time.