Many creative people who are juggling their career and their home life think the reason for their overwhelm and their procrastination is because there isn’t enough time in their day.
Does this sound familiar to you?
Everything Else is More Important
Are you like many creatives where prioritizing YOUR creative work simply takes a back seat? Do you convince yourself that everything else is more important?
Perhaps you find yourself hiding behind the ‘good friend’, ‘good partner’, ‘good mother’, ‘good husband’, ‘good girl’, ‘good boss’ or ‘good team player’ badge and convince yourself that others (for now) must take priority.
As well-intentioned as this is, you may fail to realize that this behaviour can eat away at your very core, negatively impacting your physical and mental health and overall wellbeing.
People who are caught in this ‘system’ often experience feelings such as envy, resentment, frustration, low self-worth and anger.
Free Up More Time?
Because you frame your situation as lacking time, you may think the answer lies in better time management.
You may believe that managing your schedule will help you ‘free up time’ and then you will have time for your own creative work and play.
The problem is, this rarely works.
Time management is of course a good thing however, it is not the answer to the perennial problem of the inability to honour your personal hopes and desires, especially when it comes to feeling fulfilled and productive as a creative being.
What are the Underlying Reasons?
When the focus is on time management and the underlying reasons for procrastination and overwhelm are not addressed, constriction becomes the norm and stress and overwhelm are amplified.
Creativity is not possible when creative energy is blocked.
In my work as a coach with creatives, I have heard and seen the impact of failing to get to the root cause of the beliefs and structures that keep a person stuck.
Examples of Underlying Beliefs
Common examples of how these underlying beliefs that cause overwhelm and procrastination are indicated in the following scenarios:
- An inability to say no and/or set robust personal boundaries
“If I make time to work on my business and someone asks for my help, I can’t say no because they might think I don’t care about them.”
“I find it hard to stand up for myself and to speak about what I need because it sounds selfish.”
- Under-responsible for Self and feeling responsible for the emotional wellbeing of others
“I can’t take time out on a regular basis to work on developing my career, because members of my family depend on me to keep things in balance.”
“I can’t make decisions. I want someone to tell me what to do.”
- Caught in a cycle of self-judgment and guilt
“I need to get a ‘real’ job otherwise, people will think I’m just playing around and not pulling my weight.”
“I feel guilty spending ‘me time’, I should be doing something productive.”
-
Messiah Complex
“If I focus on my stuff, who will keep the family on track?”
“I can’t ask for help. I’m a grown adult and I should have my act together.”
-
Emotional Cripple
“I’m all over the place emotionally. I can’t focus. But that’s who I am.”
“I can’t tell my partner how I really feel because I always end up crying.”
There are many ways that unresourceful beliefs manifest. But one thing is for certain, being compliant, disregarding your inner calling, not honouring your deepest self, discounting your need to create or shutting the door on your creative dreams will not be solved by time management!
When you go deeper and tap into your creative unconscious, you will discover that these beliefs are running the show. They operate out of your consciousness, and yet, they are incredibly powerful.
Discovering Your Truth
Uncovering what is deeply meaningful to you, knowing your intrinsic self-worth, possessing emotional intelligence, and being spiritually awake takes dedication. Many of us need to return to the essence of who we are, to rediscover our truth and unlearn what we have been conditioned to believe about what is worthy or right.
Society’s Answer
Society’s answer is to do more or to find a quick fix. But for the clients of mine who have made a choice to go deeper, they have freed themselves from the exhausting cycle of overwhelm.
Now, they are able to focus, fuelled by their truth and not by beliefs that no longer serve them.
Through our work together using Generative Change processes, including Generative Trance they have created robust meaning for what they deeply desire, and they are enthusiastic about creating a life that aligns with their souls’ purpose. The overwhelm is gone and procrastination is no longer blocking them from taking action.
Are You Ready?
If you’re ready to free yourself from overwhelm and your tendency to procrastinate by identifying and shifting the beliefs that hold you back please get in contact. We can discuss if we’d be a fit to work together in my three-month 1:1 coaching program or my group coaching program, Unleash Your Creative Genius.
Monica O’Brien is a professionally trained and accredited Coach and founder of Creative Edge Coaching www.creativeedgecoaching.com.au. She blogs on issues about creativity and small business development for conscious artists and business entrepreneurs.
Join CREATIVITY UNLEASHED! Facebook GROUP – the Official Facebook Community for Creatives.
If you are a creative person building your career or looking to grow your creative business, this group is for you! Our purpose is to support and celebrate creativity and the talented people who enrich our world with music, art, drama, poetry, words, shape, colour, beauty and innovation. Our goal is to connect with other like-minded creatives, ask questions, reflect, get unstuck, move through resistance and blocks, participate in group conversations, share our stories, learn, get support and feedback for our creative endeavours/career/business and tap into the wisdom of the group.