Find Contentment in Your Creativity
We don’t have to know how the gas stove works. We use it. It has its function. But it is not the same with our mind and our life. We don’t want to use our life (and we certainly don’t want someone else to use it). We want to enjoy it. We want to experience it. We want to express it. And that is precisely what creative people do. But there is also a nagging that goes with us. We want more. It’s not just you. It is the human species. And it is not something you can fix. It is something you can adapt. It is biological. We’ll discuss it here.
To achieve total centeredness and effectiveness, we must engage in deep self-reflection, understanding our conscious and subconscious minds. This introspective journey can lead us to happiness, contentment, and self-actualization. As the old phrase goes, “Know Yourself.” We must know ourselves better than others, and even more frightening at times, we must understand who we are: the good, the bad, and the ugly. This process of self-reflection is not just a task, but a crucial step in our personal growth.
The best way to be a wonderful creator is to get your mind in order. There are two ways of thinking, and I use both. When I’ve got my business frame of mind on, I tend to think in a linear fashion. When I’m writing, I tend to think circularly. What you’re doing, as you plan chronologically or in idea clumps, is you are clearing out the junk so that the creative and important material can flow to the top. You can have plenty of junk in the subconscious because that’s where those beautiful ideas will come from. The subconscious mind plays a crucial role in creativity, as it stores our experiences, emotions, and memories, which can be used as raw material for creative ideas. But you must get the conscious mind to allow the other to bubble to the top.
Man is an animal with a problem. Looking at the proverbial story of Adam and Eve, the reason for man’s problems is that he wanted to know more than the other animals. If he’d stayed where he was, he’d live in a harmonious animal world, but that’s not the case. He wants to know more, and he wants to create. Man wants to be like God. If you read further in the story, you’ll see God Himself had the same concerns. “If we don’t do something, these people will be gods!” Yeah, baby, we want more.
Well, god-complex aside, the writer’s brain has a lot going for it, but it also has some things working against it. Here’s the most common problem I see with writers who contact me: they are never fulfilled. No matter their accomplishments, there is never enough. No matter how wonderful it is that they can write and take time to write and occasionally get published, it is never enough. I’m not going to lie. I have had the same feelings and have spent a lifetime trying to overcome them. I never will, but the important thing is that we try to adjust. Our happiness and contentment in our work are much more important than the results. Yes, the journey is the most important, but I am not sure there will ever be an arrival for a hungry mind. You will always want more.
So this is the question: do you want contentment? Or do you want more?
We can have both, but we can’t get rid of both. You see, the brain is not created that way. Biologically, we are designed to want more, so embrace that and accept it even though it may sometimes make you miserable. We use our consciousness to recognize that. We also use our consciousness to learn to be content with that. I will get a little nerdy on you, but all-brained animals' hypothalamus is always hardwired to want more. There you go. That’s where your dissatisfaction is coming from. You are hardwired to be disappointed for whatever reason with your lot. You can’t get rid of it unless you remove your hypothalamus, but I don’t recommend that (I think that would create other problems). So what do you do? You live with it, but you adjust for it, always knowing that the desire for more is not just something that you need to get over but rather something that is ingrained and built into your evolutionary species. It’s how your species survives: that part of the brain is designed to look for new opportunities to carry on the species constantly. It’s a pain. And, again, you can’t get rid of it. Yet, it pushes you forward, so we are thankful for that. But you can learn to live with it and be content, even if it is simply being aware of where that gnawing dissatisfaction is coming from. For instance, you can practice gratitude for what you have, set realistic goals, and celebrate your achievements to discipline your conscious mind to accept the desire for more.
Is there a solution for that malaise that sometimes settles over us creative types? Yes, there is. So, here’s the solution. You are never going to be able to get away from comparison or desire. Your inner brain will not allow it. But you can be thankful for what you have and pat yourself on the back for your accomplishments. You have the power to do that. You can discipline your conscious mind to accept that. Take pride in what you’ve done and do the best you can. Then realize that is all you can do. Look at the good things that have happened to you. I look forward to the things yet to come with happy anticipation. Don’t stress about them. Don’t kick yourself that you’re not there yet. Look forward to your future life with happy anticipation and hope. Enjoy what you do. Enjoy the journey. Leave the rest to fate (or well-calculated choices, which tends to be my modus). In the end, the journey is the life well-lived. Use your nagging hypothalamus to help you see new opportunities and give you new goals (that’s its function), but also use your conscious mind to remind yourself of the beauty of the life you have created now and enjoy it. You’ve made it. You’ve earned it. Find peace in that as you biologically strive for more.
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