Self-Care for Creative Artists: 10 Reasons To Care About It

1. To be more comfortable in performance situations ? performance anxiety usually stems from a variety of causes ? physical, mental and emotional. Maintaining your overall health and wellness, including keeping your stress at a manageable level, managing your negative thinking tendencies and getting the emotional support you need, will diffuse some of this anxiety before you hit the stage.

2. To connect more and isolate less ? other creative artists can provide you with inspiration, understanding and support. Looking at your social and communication habits can help you to deepen these relationships and allow them to enrich your life.

3. To have enough energy for everything you want to do - healthy habits will give you a fresh spark of energy and a clear mind.

4. To relax ? relaxing, letting go and gaining some perspective on the creative process can help you to ease into it, and to let what's meant to be expressed come out naturally.

5. To use your physical environment to make you more creative ? paying more attention to your physical surroundings and how they affect your creativity and well-being can have infinite rewards, once you take the steps to create your ideal environment.

6. To find time for what's important ? learning how to say "no" to things that are draining your time and energy, in order to say "yes" to yourself and your art.

7. To deepen your creative experience - self-awareness and personal growth will add depth to your creative expression.

8. To stop sabotaging your own efforts ? more awareness into the choices you're making will help to shine a light on your hidden and destructive self-sabotage patterns.

9. To take the power away from your inner critic ? learning to recognize, hear and then dismiss the voice of the inner critic will increase your confidence and give you back a sense of empowerment.

10. To have easier access to your muse ? whether it's speaking to you as your own higher self, a higher power greater than yourself, or through someone else's music, art or words, it's sometimes necessary to "set the stage" for these important conversations. Why make your muse compete with your inner critic, your busy schedule, your late-night adventures or the many other users of your time and energy?

(c) Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive her free monthly newsletter, "Everyday Artist", subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-n ewsletter.html

---

Creativity Management ? Measurement, Benchmarking, and Improvement

Contrary to common perception, creativity can be made tangible, measurable... Read More

Becoming More Creative -- What We Can Learn From Disney

When you think about the legacies Walt Disney left us,... Read More

3 Clever Creative Strategies!

I've got a confession to make... there are many ways... Read More

Are You A Creative Meathead?

Remember Archie Bunker's description of what a Meathead was on... Read More

Three Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Your Business

I have a friend who has struggled with her creativity... Read More

Break An Egg For Creativity

In 1420, the dignitaries of Florence held a competition.They offered... Read More

Connect with Your Inner Artist

In the "Roadblocks to Creativity" e-course, we look at the... Read More

Achieving Limitless Creativity

There are many out there who wish to help individuals... Read More

Creating Reality ? Discovering the Magician Within

We all create our own reality each and every day,... Read More

How A Creation Box Can Work For You

Bring to mind a time when you decided that you... Read More

Top Ten Ways To Jump-Start Your Creativity

1 - Take A Tour of the Great Outdoors Consider... Read More

True Power Series Part I. Visualization: Image Production and Verbal Thought

(5 minutes a day) There is no limit to what... Read More

In between Luck & Effort

I have one magical thought, lets see it more closely.... Read More

Why Teach Thinking? Why Not ?

The word 'creativity' has so many diverse meanings and interpretations.... Read More

Inspiration, Creativity, and Channeling ? Opening Ourselves to Greatness

Channeling is much easier to do than most people suspect.... Read More

Its Time to Get Out of the Box

"It is never too late to be what you might... Read More

Courage and Creating

Doing anything creative often brings up fears, anxieties, insecurities. Courage... Read More

Make EVERY DAY An Artist Retreat Day

What do you enjoy most about going on an Artist... Read More

Magic In Your Spice Rack

Variety is the spice of life, but spices, historically are... Read More

Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1)

How many times does an artist stare down at that... Read More

Dare to Dream

Have you ever thought of this? When you were young... Read More

Gift of a Letter

"What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they can speak;... Read More

Unleash Your Creativity and Think Your Way Out of the Box

The brain is a strange organ. It works in ways... Read More

Mindfulness and Creativity: The Wow of Wonder

You are so creative.Don't deny it. Whether or not you... Read More

A New Discovery Of An Old Secret

Some years ago, when the world seemed to close in... Read More