practice.practice.practice.

I don’t like surprises. As a result, I plan, I schedule, I make lists. (This is actually part of being an ENTJ). I used to think I have become this way because of baby girl. Not so. I have realized that my ability to organize and execute comes naturally to me. Because I am responsible for the life of another human being, these instincts have come out in full force. I am howling at the moon.

When baby girl was still tiny, I used these organizational instincts in order to meet her needs. Our day was planned and I was prepared for whatever she could dish out. (Or throw up.) However, the one place it was not applied, was to my creative life. It didn’t even make it on the list. It is a challenge, but I put work for this blog on my list everyday. Even if that work is just thinking, it is still part of the creative process.

Once you decide to respond to the call of the wild, you must rely on your own unique natural instincts to you lead to a creative life. And once you get there, you must practice everyday. Keep in mind that the creative process does not start and stop in any one place. Because you have not yet produced a tangible work does not mean you are not honing your skills. Expand. Research. Think. Write about it. Draw about it. Dance about it. Whatever it is. Natural instincts and abilities are nothing without practice—everyday!

Weekend Revelations

This weekend I attended a strengths building conference for moms, called the Yelo Experience. I admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but like many things, you take the best and leave the rest. I took an assessment called the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator. The type indicator was created by mother/daughter team, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Meyer, and was based on Carl Jung’s theories of psychological type preferences. The type indicator identifies 16 personalities types based on where you focus your attention, the way you take in information, the way you make decisions, and how you deal with the outer world. The results do not define who are so much as they may help you to understand the way you prefer to interact and react to the world around you.

My test results show that I am an ENTJ: “Frank, decisive, assume leadership readily. Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organizational problems. Enjoy long-term planning and goal setting. Usually well informed, well read, enjoy expanding their knowledge and passing it on to others. Forceful in presenting their ideas.”

Because this was a conference for mothers it was interesting to see all these different women apply this knowledge to the way they respond to their children, their partners, and their pursuits outside of family life. Women who were familiar with the type indicator seemed to not only know their partners better, but they seemed to have a lot of acceptance for their differences. Where aspects of their personalities might seem like weaknesses, they would turn around and present them as strengths. This was incredibly motivating and eye opening.

While I employ many tools to my creative process I am opening myself up to exploring the validity of these findings before fully recommending them to my readers. For the next few weeks, I will be examining my results from the conference and accessing the things that make me strong versus the things that drain my energy and how this pertains to my creative life.