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Affirm the Creative Life You've Chosen for Yourself

By Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com

When it comes to making resolutions for the new year, many people unleash their inner task-master and list rigid goals that they will pay attention to for a little while — but eventually will allow to fade away before Valentine's Day.

In general, it seems that New Year's resolutions are a "novel" ritual designed to remind us of our ability to not follow through with our intentions. Why do we keep doing it? Because somewhere in us we desire to make changes in our lives.

It's not much different when it comes to making changes in our creative lives. It's amazing how quickly we are ready to 'take on the world' after being inspired by a weekend workshop, a well-written magazine article, someone else's creative expression, or encouragement from a respected mentor. We resolve in ourselves to get back to our work and follow through with our creative dreams — perfectly.

And then what happens? You soon realize just how similar making New Year's Resolutions and making New Creative Resolutions are. Not following through seems to follow you!

Well, this year, how about approaching the resolution game a bit differently? In respect to your Creativity Resolutions, why not make them more relevant and meaningful to the human condition; elastic and forgiving, with principles to guide — not task.

What would such a list of resolutions look like? Here's an example — my own list from 2006 to inspire some possibilities. Remember, an effective list of resolutions should encourage success and not make you feel defeated and give up if you fall short. Most of all, the list should affirm the creative life you've chosen for yourself, even when that life is ever-evolving, growing, and changing. •

© 2007 Chris Dunmire, CoachingYourCreativity.com. All rights reserved. (01/26/07). Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.

About the Author
Chris Dunmire is the author of the Dollar Bill Origami Money Plant and driving force behind the popular Creativity Portal Web site. She finds meaning as an artist, humorist, and creativity coach and channels her overactive imagination into multiple containers on display at ChrisDunmire.com.