Category: Creativity

Creativity Thursday: 9 Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Creativity

Creativity Thursday: 9 Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Creativity

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

Creativity is very subjective to the person seeing, hearing or feeling the art that has been created.  There are plenty of critics along the path to try and derail the creative and bring you down.

However, there is one person that should be your greatest cheerleader.  That person should be your parents.

So what can a parent do to support their child?

  1. Put them in classes—help your child to learn, improve and develop their skills and ability    dance class
  2. Give constructive criticism in a loving way—never put your child down.  Find a loving way to encourage them and offer advice.  One great approach to use is the orea method—start with something positive, mention what needs to be improved, end with something positive.
  3. Find a mentor—help your child find a mentor to encourage them, guide them and help them continue to develop their skills
  4. Set up their own space to work—set up a special place just for this child to create
  5. Give time each day {or week} to work on their craft—allow time each day {or week if you can’t each day} to allow your child to work on their art.  Even if it is just for thirty minutes or an hour each day, you will be able to determine the interest and dedication your child has towards his/her craft.
  6. Help them find a critique group—a critique group helps you to grow and improve your craft      unconditional love
  7. Love them unconditionally—love your child unconditionally for who s/he is and support their dreams.  Even when being realistic about a job and employment, you can support your child’s dreams in their spare time.
  8. Give emotional support—give your child emotional support.  Sometimes that is a listening ear, a hug or even bragging to others about your child’s abilities and interest.
  9. Set limits on how long you will support them financially—this is mainly for adult children, dependent on their parents and longing to pursue a career in their area of interest.  Regardless of being an actress, writer or dancer, let them know up front at the beginning what {if any} support you can offer and the cutoff date.  This way the child knows to either find work in that field or a job to tie them over in the meantime.

What have you done to support your child?

 

Tweetables:

9 Ways to Encourage Your Child’s Creativity

Creative Thursday: Saying Thank You

Creative Thursday: Saying Thank You

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

I had several piano teachers as a child and young person.  I learned something from each of these teachers.

tough teachers              By far the hardest teacher was the one I had in high school.  She was extremely tough on me and even difficult at times.  We often disagreed.  Our biggest obstacle was I wanted to play other styles than just classical and she refused.  Even a hymn would have been nice, but she was resistant to anything but classical music.  This led me to become greatly discouraged and not practiced what she assigned as much as I should.  I’d rather play what appealed to me.

The punishment for not practicing and being as polished as she preferred was to receive a smack on the knuckles.  {I don’t recommend this.}  However, because she pushed me, I was able to receive a partial scholarship the first time I went to college.

Once I became a teacher and had my own roll of students, I was able to better understand where this former teacher of mine was coming from.  I was greatly discouraged when students did not practice or seem to care.  Believe me, a teacher can tell!  thank you

I had a greater appreciation for this woman and the discipline she instilled in me.  Ironically, today I greatly enjoy playing classical pieces; although that is not the only style I play.

A few years ago, I decided to say thank you to this woman.  I wasn’t sure if she’d even remember me, but I wrote her a thank you note telling her how much I appreciated her and all that she taught me.  I never received a reply, but felt considerably better just knowing that I had said thank you.

What teacher’s do you need to thank?

 

Tweetables:

Saying Thank You to Our Teachers 

Creativity Thursday: How Do I Recover from Negative Feedback?

Creativity Thursday: How Do I Recover from Negative Feedback?

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

As creative types, people are going to either love or dislike our product.   It doesn’t matter if you’re a musician, artist, writer, designer, or dancer, there are going to be those that absolutely love what you do and those that don’t care for your style and aesthetic.seek

So how do you recover when someone doesn’t like your work:

  1. Allow yourself a few minutes to deal with the rejection and “lick your wounds”
  2. Remind yourself that this is only one person’s opinion
  3. Determine if there is any constructive feedback you can use to improve your skills
  4. Read positive feedback
  5. Get back to work
  6. Pray and Seek God

What do you do when someone doesn’t like your work?

 

Tweetables:

How to Recover from Negative Feedback

Creativity Thursday: Am I Any Good?

Creativity Thursday: Am I Any Good?

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

Doubt often plagues us creative types.  Regardless of being a painter, musician, writer, dancer or any other creative outlet we want acclamation.  One of the biggest questions we ask ourselves “is am I any good?” things that matter

Being “good” is all in the eye of the beholder, listener or reader.  However there are a few things we can do to gauge our talent.

  1. Ask your fans for their honest opinions—usually they will tell you what they like or don’t like and why they feel that way.
  2. Find a critique group—together you can collaborate, brain storm and offer honest critiques to help one another grow and improve.
  3. Ask your colleagues—find others in your field that is willing to give you an honest assessment.  The best way to do this is to build a friendship with one another.

    Have a mentor
    Have a mentor
  4. Have a mentor—a mentor is someone that take you under his/her wing and gives you the guidance and wisdom they’ve accumulated over the years.  A mentor will offer suggestions and direction to help you grow.
  5. Never stop learning—with online classes, blogs, podcast and numerous other resources at our fingertips it is easier than ever to continue learning, improving and practicing our craft.
  6. Workshops—this is a great way to learn new techniques and receive honest and open feedback
  7. Practice, Practice, Practice—you can learn everything there is to know about your craft but if you never practice and work on improving then you are no better than when you started.  The more you practice and work the more you will grow and the better you will become.

What other ways do you gauge your talent?

 

Tweetables:

7 Ways to improve my creative skills

Gauging my creative talent

Determining if I’m any good in my creative endeavors 

Creative Thursday: How setting goals can help you be more productive and creative

Creative Thursday: How setting goals can help you be more productive and creative

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

Setting goals is a great way to move forward and achieve your objective.  These don’t have to be huge goals, but they can be.

Whether you want to write a book or paint a mural, setting goals can be a great place to start.

Did you know that:

creativeo   People are much more likely to reach their goals if they write them down?

o   Setting goals helps you to visualize what you want to achieve?

o   Setting goals helps you to work out the steps necessary to reach your desired outcome?

o   Setting goals helps you track the progress you’ve made?

o   Setting goals keeps you focused on moving towards the dream?

What are some of your goals that you are working towards?

 

Tweetables:

Why setting goals is so important in creativity

How setting goals can help you be more productive and creative

 

Enthusiasm Matters in Creative Pursuits

Enthusiasm Matters in Creative Pursuits

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

piano“I can’t wait to come to piano,” are words I love to hear from my student’s mouths.  As a teacher, I love to have students that want to be here and want to learn.

I have had students of every age, capability and enthusiasm over the years.  I have learned to easily read those that want to be there, compared with those that don’t.  Sometimes I wonder why some of my students are still taking.  Often, it is because their parents wanted them to take.  The problem is that they do not enjoy the lesson, do not want to be there and have not looked at their books since the last time we were together.  They don’t have to tell me this is the case, it is obvious and I’ve often come to expect it.  Sadly, I am just as happy when these students quit as they are.

Maybe I should be a better teacher and try to build up some enthusiasm in them.  Sometimes this technique does work, but more often than not, I’ve discovered it to be short lived.

Then I have students, that bounce in and plop down on the piano bench.  Before I can ask about their assignment, they have their books opened and are playing their piece.  I often discover that in their enthusiasm they have even worked ahead in their books.  These are students that want to learn and look forward to it.  I love these students and look forward to our time together.

I can see the progress these students have made and know that it’s because of their enthusiasm.    enthusiasm

Do they practice daily?  Usually not!

Do they practice?  Yes!

Is there performance perfect?  Usually not!

Is their performance showing an increase in skill?  Absolutely!

Are they enjoying music lessons and learning?  Yes!

How often do we give 100% in enthusiasm to our project?

When you are working at your creative best this week, how much enthusiasm are you giving?

O%, 20%, 50%, 75%, or 100%?

If you had/have a teacher or mentor suddenly show up, what would s/he say about your enthusiasm and effort?

Enthusiasm quote

Tweetables:

Finding enthusiasm in your craft

A creative dud or home run

Your enthusiasm shows in your creative outlet 

10 Ways Creativity Can Reduce Stress

10 Ways Creativity Can Reduce Stress

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

I’ve discovered that when I work on my craft, I notice my stress level go down.   After some probing, I want to share the reasons that I came up with.

  1. We allow our minds to focus on something else then our current troubles.
  2. We are doing something that we enjoy.                pottery
  3. We are doing something that relaxes us.
  4. We are doing something that feels productive.
  5. We are creating something that expresses our hearts and feelings.
  6. We are using our craft as a way to vent or work through our thoughts and emotions.
  7. We are allowing ourselves the freedom to be who we are.
  8. We use our art as a form of meditation or worship.
  9. We have the freedom to mold our craft any way we desire.  We can add to, take away or start over.
  10. We can lift others up with the use of our craft.

In what ways do you use your craft to reduce stress?

writer

10 Ways to Carve Out Time to Practice Your Craft

10 Ways to Carve Out Time to Practice Your Craft

Posted on by trinitychristianlifecoaching

I find it very easy to procrastinate and allow everything else use up my time.  I then become frustrated because I’d planned that time for my craft and never got around to it.   I decided to come up with ten ways to help me carve out time for my craft and stop the procrastination.

  1. Turn the TV off—sometimes we just have to shut out the distractions in our life.  The TV is a big distraction and we have to recognize that we just need to shut it off and do the work.
  2. Carve out a space for my craft—this has been a struggle for me at times to find a good place to work.  Often I’ve had to make do with what was available, but wherever works for you and you are most comfortable set up your own space.  creative space
  3. Recognize when I am at my best—we all have a time of day when we are at our best.  That could be first thing in the morning, mid-day or late at night.  If you’re not sure, pay attention to your body and mindset or experiment with various times to find out when you are most creative.
  4. Exercise always helps—I’ve discovered that after exercising that not only do I feel better but I am also more focused and creative.
  5. Make my craft my first priority of the day—often I find that I feel I have accomplished more for the day when I dedicate time first thing in the morning to my craft.
  6. Recognize when I need a break—I discover that once started it’s easy to work through to the point of exhaustion.  Sometimes I just need to take a break for 10-30 minutes.  By stepping away and returning to my craft I am refreshed and have a new take on things.    exercise
  7. Recognize what inspires me—I’ve discovered that there are some things that inspire me.  When I can be around these items or people, I am much more creative.
  8. Collaborate with others—often we just need someone with the same interest to bounce ideas with or offer critiques of our work.   This should be a time of lifting one another up and offering constructive advice.
  9. Get away—there are times when I just need to get away from everything and the day to day distractions.  I then have the ability to dedicate to my craft and make a huge dent in the project or wrap it up.
  10. Just do it—often it’s so easy to put things off and continuously procrastinate.  There are times when I just have to say, “just sit down and do it.” Once I get started I discover that I’m in the rhythm of my craft.

What are some ways that you carve out time to practice your craft?