Last week I was challenged to get myself out of a rut! I was in a meeting with four other business women who are very different to me, do not know me and own other types of businesses. The common theme was that we all wanted to do better not only in business but in ourselves as well. And that is the challenge! Listening to the other women highlight what they wanted to change and possibly how they could achieve this, there came the proverbial light
bulb moment… I need to do something!
My side hustle is cake making and decorating. I love it and probably have more equipment than I really need (blog for another time). July saw me working on two dummy cakes as I was desperate to try new cutters I had just bought. Flowers and leaves were made. Dummies covered and ready. And that is where it all ended. My mojo had gone. I lost the belief that I could create something that was indeed beautiful. Until the challenge.
Sunday was a desperately dismal day in Cornwall. Rain. Rain. And did I mention more rain? The perfect opportunity to finish those dummies and that is what I did. Being calm and quiet in the kitchen and weaving some magic was therapeutic and a blessing. It gave me time to think – I need to build creative time into my week. Scary thought as I usually say that well-worn phrase, ‘I don’t have time.’
My diary has somehow become my new best friend. It knows everything. And that’s where I started as I looked at the next fortnight and decided where to block a slot for being creative and it doesn’t matter what ‘creative’ looks like. Blocked. Decision made. Not negotiable. Sense of relief.
Being creative does not mean always being arty! It is about looking to doing something differently. Take a different route when walking or running. Go for a solo coffee and read. Painting a landscape instead of the usual still life. Knit instead of crochet. Take a photograph from a different angle. It’s about creating something beautiful for one’s self in order to feel better and more fulfilled. Being creative is soul food. It’s expressing one’s self in order to enjoy life.
So what is my next creative outburst? Firstly, I am in process of finishing the blinds for the summerhouse so I don’t get blinded whilst I work by the elusive sun and secondly to start creating Cake Lace for the February demonstration at the Sugarcraft Guild. A daunting task as so many of the ladies are experts in flower making yet on the other hand not so scary if I knowingly create something beautiful.
Make that space in your diary space non-negotiable and be bold and creative!
Please drop me a line to share your creativity.
Margarithe
Next time – The Cold and The Wetsuit.
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