How to Use Creativity to Inspire Your Life

{flickr photo courtesy of Meredith_Farmer}

Creative Obsessions

I once read a riveting article in Whole Living magazine about creativity and obsession. It was called, “Perfect Brainstorm: How to Tap Your Inner Genius.”

The article itself was brilliant. In my eyes, it exemplified the title. It was the writer Frances Lefkowitz tapping into his own genius.

Essentially, the article discusses all the time zappers in our lives (the worries, the insignificant tasks) that prevents us from doing the really important things-the things that really matter.

It was a reminder of my Get More by Doing Less Challenge. It reminded me about my essay that’s been collecting dust on my computer since summer. What have I been doing in the last 6 months?

It got me thinking about all of you out there who are also like me and the author. You’ve got all these BIG dreams. But several months and years later, you wonder what happened to the dream?

It seems as though little insignificant things took it apart and killed it.

All the attention you’re spending on everything and everyone else stole it.

So what’s the remedy?

Creative obsession baby.

Transforming Your Passion Into an Obsession

Do you remember how you felt when you first fell in love? Do you know how you get when you want something REAL bad?! (Think those pair of shoes you couldn’t stop thinking about, the career you’ve been dreaming of since infancy, etc.)

Choose your passion as your object of affection and then immerse yourself totally and completely into it.

For me, it means obsessively talking, thinking, reading about (yes I’ve already had my eye on 2 books and 1 course on personal essays) everything personal essay.

It means I’m devoting every day to reading it and revising it.

It means that when I’m window shopping or watching a television show, I’ve got one eye on the prize at the same time.

I’m bringing it with me to the doctor’s office-along with a pad of paper and a pen for easy note-taking.

If you think this is all a little…well OBSESSIVE, you’re right! It is. But that’s the whole point.

Try it. Be creatively obsessed and see if that doesn’t just inspire all the things you dream of for your life.