Have been looking for ways to rekindle your long lost passion? When was the last time you used it? Whether it is in painting, writing, playing an instrument, dancing or photography, read on.
Edited by Anna Termulo using Adobe Photoshop. DISCLAIMER: This blog is part of my practice and my way of rediscovering my passion and creativity. We all have different approach in rediscovering our passions. It just happened that these 5 tips worked for me. Just sharing it because it might also work for you! Enjoy reading! 😉
My college Basic Painting Class professor, once said, “Always practice because once you have let go of your brush, pencil or your passion for a long time, believe me, it will never be easy.” I never forget that advice of him but the mistake I’ve made? I forgot to apply and practice it.
I enjoy working with colors, pencil, and brush as a kid and I’ve become more passionate about it when I took my college course. I’ve learned the basics from manual to digital arts. Then for some reasons, I focused on working with digital arts and got busy especially when I became employed.
Eventually, I completely dropped the things I’ve learned from manual arts. Fears and doubts came in until I can’t find a way to paint or draw anymore. I know that I had so many excuses and I should have kept practicing because, hey, I love and enjoy doing creative things like this.
So after almost 5 years, I finally decided to rekindle that artistic innocence or creative child in me. A creative child in me that doesn’t constantly judge my worthiness or compare my work to others.
Here are the steps I’ve made on how I have replenished that creative fire that has been smothered by years of doubt & fears:
1. Find Inspiration
I found inspiration when I recalled what I love to do as a child. I remembered how my dad supported me with arts. I think I got my creativity from him. I remember that feeling when he affirmed my pen-scribbled wall instead of scolding me and putting my kiddie artwork on a frame like it was a masterpiece. Remembering my dad, those framed artworks and those joyful memories of finishing artworks, inspires me to draw or paint again.
Michael Michalko, an author and creativity expert, said, “When you surround yourself with images of your intention — who you want to become or what you want to create — your awareness and passion will grow.”
Start inspiring yourself by remembering where your passion started. Look back on the masterpieces you have created before and be inspired by it. Find your role model. Get yourself a vision board of who you want to be or what you want to create. Do what makes you inspired!
2. Go back to the basic
With that inspiration, I started to go back to the basics and learn again. I read art blogs, watch video tutorials and bought basic art materials. It wasn’t easy to get started for me because of some distractions. So I’ve decided to attend a basic art class to be totally guided and practice like I haven’t done any painting before.
See your art through the eyes of a beginner. Going back to the basic will help you improve your skills – a lot. Apart from recalling those basic skills, you will learn new things! Trust me, I kept saying “hey, I didn’t know that before!”. It’s exciting, right?! Learning never stops. Eventually, that creative passion in you will continue to grow.
3. Do small creative action every day
I know the struggle is real! We all have different excuses. I am guilty of skipping practices but this one is real.
One of our course requirement on Basic Drawing Techniques is to submit a 100 Drawing by the end of the semester. I remember how the whole class reacted. Haha! We never thought that we did it with all other course requirements. Every single day, we draw everything we see or anything that pops out on our minds. Until we made it to the last page and realized that we’ve improved our creativity and drawing skills. We were all amazed with that challenged!
The world is our best creative classroom. Try to give time for yourself to explore and practice out there. When you see a flower, paint it if you are a painter. Try to write a story about it if you are a writer. Try to make a song out of it if you are a musician. Just enjoy and have fun! Allow your creative imagination to roam free. And if you failed, it’s okay. Don’t be hard on yourself. Do small action every day!
My daily small creative action is designing posters/videos for my freelance clients, watching mini art tutorial clips or writing art blog. This Graphic Design is edited by Anna Termulo using Adobe Photoshop and GIPHY. Got inspired to create this graphic design after a 2-hour long nap. Haha!
4. Find your Tribe
They say it is good to surround yourself with like-minded people. On my journey to rekindling my passion for arts, I started to join support groups, got help from an NLP-Life Coach to remove my limiting beliefs and regain my confidence. I’ve also visited art galleries, even attended a Conference and followed Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups in line with arts or creativity. One of the tribes I consider is my basic art class. I’ve met a mentor and other wonderful students like me. I’ve learned a lot from them!
I know it might be not easy for some of you to be seen out there. Just be yourself and remember that you’re there for the support that other artists, musicians, dancers or writers who are going through the same things as you are.
5. Just Do it NOW and Keep on moving forward!
As I write this article, I’ve already finished my basic art class. I know that rediscovering my passion doesn’t end there. And so, I decided to practice by sharing it to this blog. (Yep! I’ll share my creative exploration here and this will be my mini gallery!) It’s just one simple way to remind myself, learn and rediscover my passions in life. I know it’s exciting and fulfilling to do!
There may come a time that you may feel down with your passion again. It’s okay and it’s normal. I, myself, is still struggling with it. We all have different reasons why we stopped from doing what we love to do. It will be a long process but the point is, you keep on trying to do it to move forward.
Forget about what others will say about your work! Sometimes we are stuck because of it. Remember that nobody is perfect and that we all have our own style and uniqueness.
Imagine yourself doing exactly what you want to create or being who exactly who you want to be. You just have to keep on practicing and learning, and when you fail, try again until you get it.
Soon enough, you’ll get there with ease and confidence… because you’ll realize that the passion that you are looking for is already within you – filled with love, freedom, and excellence. God bless us more!
“Success and happiness come not from changing oneself, but rather from discovering one’s natural talents and abilities and aligning one’s life accordingly.” – Jim Cathcart’s The Acorn Principle
What are your action steps in rekindling your passion? Share it! We are happy to learn from your stories. 🙂
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Homeworks With Anna 