Seeing Clearly Through the Overwhelm
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Many creative professionals find themselves feeling perpetually overwhelmed. Not just by the day-to-day, but also by all the wonderful, creative projects they want to give birth to. So this month, we bring a ray of sunshine to the storm of overwhelm.
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- The Coaches of Artist’s EDGE – Debra Russell and Wendy Keilin
Challenge of the Month
Of all the things screaming for my attention – the daily minutia, the urgency of survival, the many different roles I’m called upon to fill, and every brilliant new idea that comes into my mind – how do I possibly prioritize what to do?
How do I keep all the plates spinning? How do I choose what to do when, so I can someday reach a point where I can relax?
In this issue, we explore how getting a clear long-term perspective can help you choose effective day-to-day actions to get you where we really want to go.
Wendy’s Solutions
We’ve found that creative professionals often get lost in the “trees” of all the stuff there is to do, and that the best way to gain some clarity and perspective is to take a moment to rise above all that chaos, and survey the “forest”. It may feel like you don’t have time for such luxuries, but in fact we believe you can’t afford not to.
You’ll be amazed at the difference a little long-term planning and visioning can make. When I was at MIT, I lived a mile from campus, along a railroad track. I used to try to walk all the way to campus on the rail, which was slippery, and narrower than my foot. And I discovered a surprising thing: if I looked at where I was about to put my next footstep, it was very hard to keep my balance, and I would fall off the rail many times.
However, if I focused instead on a point a few yards ahead of me, it was a piece of cake. Keeping my eye on where I was headed, instead of where I was right now, I could walk the entire mile on that narrow rail with speed, grace, confidence, balance, and ease. My feet knew exactly where to go without my having to consciously direct them.
Life follows the same principle. As long as we’re focused on the day-to-day details of what there is to do, where to place our feet, how to prioritize our many activities, we experience a lot of hard work, struggle, and confusion. And we think if we just try a little harder, and focus on our feet a little more steadily, it will get easier. We’re afraid that if we take our eyes off our feet, we’ll fall. And so we never look up long enough to discover there’s an easier way.
Yet when we shift our gaze, get clear where we’re headed, and steer toward an inspiring future, all that day-to-day effort begins to take care of itself. Our experience shifts from one of hard work and struggle to one of clarity, purpose, joy, and ease.
This month’s resource gives a process you can follow to gain this long-term perspective. If you’d like support in creating your plan and vision for the future, call one of us for a complementary session.
Wendy is no longer with Artist’s EDGE. To contact her click here.
Debra’s Solutions
I have worked with many artists to create a 5-year plan for their careers and lives. Over and over I’ve seen the clarity that the long-term plan brings to today’s choices. Based on the work I’ve done with clients, I have created a worksheet with directions for designing your 5-year plan (this month’s Cool Resource).
In addition to that worksheet, I’d like to give you some pointers. First, planning the next 5 years of your life takes time. My clients usually work for three months to create their plan. Set aside a few hours in a block every week and take one step from the worksheet each week. Doing this, you can probably get a solid framework in a few weeks.
Secondly, assume that all things are possible. Many times beginning this kind of long-range plan brings up all of our self-doubts, and we can find lots of “real world” evidence to support why we can’t do this or that. But this plan isn’t about someone else’s world experience. This is about your world and you are the ONLY one who can say what is and is not possible. So start with the assumption that all things are possible. Assuming that you can have anything in five years, what do you really want?
And finally, don’t worry too much about how you will achieve things. Look more at the end result and work backwards, identifying the mile markers along the way. Once you’ve identified the first step (3-month goal) on the road, think only about how you can achieve that first step. Then, in 3 months, you can worry about the next step, and the next.
If you would like coaching to create your 5-year plan, please call me for a free coaching session.
Contact Debra for a Complimentary Coaching Session
Get the Artist’s EDGE!
Get The Artist’s EDGE is a free class by phone that takes the themes from the Artist’s EDGE newsletter and expands on them live.
This month we’ll be looking at seeing clearly through the overwhelm. You’ll have the opportunity to work with expert coaches, Debra and Wendy, on the challenges you’re currently facing. Every workshop will be different, so attend as often as you like.
- Wednesday, November 10th at 7:00 PM Eastern
- Wednesday, December 15th at 7:00 PM Eastern
- Wednesday, January 12th at 7:00 PM Eastern
Register for ‘Get The Artist’s EDGE’ Free Teleclass
Cool Resource
Debra developed this worksheet for the workshop she delivered at FAR-West last month. Participants came out of this workshop with a lot of clarity and the beginnings of a powerful plan for the future.
The worksheet contains directions for developing your own 5-Year Plan. Simply creating the plan can often allow you to see clearly through the overwhelm.
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