One Thing Every Creative, Parent, Spouse and Entrepreneur Should Know

I am my own biggest critic. I probably edit a piece of creative work more than I should and just when I'm done, I realize, "Nope, I can't possibly be done, that line just isn’t good enough", "That expression fails to communicate", I'd rumple my electronic sheet of paper and start all over. Of course, I'd continue to poke and cringe at it for ages even after it's published.

Everyone who has ever created or invented something-no matter how seemingly minute- has probably criticized their creation on some level. For sure, it's important to be uncomfortable with mediocre work but at the same time, we must be sure that we see the good in what we do, much more than we see the bad (Creatives, Selah).

Well, that wasn't me a few weeks ago. Critique-extraordinaire was my compound middle name, and if I had written something as awesome as the Ulysses or The Great Gatsby, I wouldn't have known. I would probably have burnt it or deleted it (if I was feeling less dramatic). I became so critical that I lost the sight of the good (spouses out there, Selah!). Anyway, as always, I was stopped in my tracks when I stumbled on this scripture:

“And He created the *insert creature*…and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:4; 10; 12; 18; 21; 25; 31.

Every day that God created something new, He saw that it was good. Granted, He's the grand master of all creators and creation, and everything He could ever make will be good, but He could have chosen to see how huge my nose is (which is perfect, by the way) or thought the sky was too blue or not blue enough after it rains. He chose to see good. He created, saw the good and moved on to create more! He saw the good in you. He sees the good in us, everyday.

When you create, take some time to stop and actually look at the wonder you have produced and consciously see the good in it. See the good in your creation, in your toil, in your kids(yup, they are creations too technically). See the good in your idea (Hey, Entrepreneurs). Yes, that one idea.

Go for it.

It is good.

I would love to know your thoughts! How does this message apply to you life? I'm pretty sure is transcends many more life roles than those in the title! 

Dreaming in HD

As children, we dreamt in high definition (HD). The sky was very blue, the clouds were very white and very tufty; the idea of being an astronaut was so accessible, outer space was just a ship away; no need to bother about the logistics. Words like 'President', 'Doctor', 'Lawyer', 'Engineer', 'Actor', 'Dancer', rolled off our tongues like butter whenever people asked about our future ambitions.

As we slept, our dreams came alive vividly- the delight, the adventure-as we ran and played in dreamland, the excitement burst into reality, even, as some of us would often run off our beds still in dream-mode and into the door! Identify yourselves! Lol. 

When I was much younger I wanted to be a Doctor, Farmer, Librarian and a pixie and not any of the four but all four! The pixie who went to med school, who loved books and planted onions and mangoes. Lol!

There's a quality of wonder in children that we lose as adults, because the big bad world has been thoroughly unfair to us and also because we had to "grow up" and "face reality". 

Many people associate being child-like with being deluded, unrealistic or retrogressive, but this scientific study shows that behaving and thinking like a child actually gets your innovation and creative juices flowing. Why? I guess because kids don't think mainstream like adults do. Studies actually show that they spend two-thirds of their day dissociated from reality.

And, why would I want to be dissociated from reality, Ike? 

Good question.

Because we actually secretly (and apparently) crave dissociation from reality!  It's the reason we spend hours on social media, the reason we pay to see Game of Thrones, to see Empire, to watch like 5 versions of Superman or Batman! (If they make another, I'm going to scream!) Escapes from reality are what concepts like TV shows and social media are based on. For that hour, I'm no longer 'Ike with the endless to-do list, instead, I'm a proud reality-escapee. Escapes from reality are valuable to us and apparently kids are pros at it. Kids think creatively and innovatively because their minds are wide open and their imagination is off-the-cliff.

Don't despair, I don't believe our wide-eyed child-wonder is gone forever as adults, I think it's just buried beneath a lot of adult emotions and rational soot.

Dust off your adult soot and don't let it shade your high-def dreams and don't ever stop dreaming! Do something that unleashes your inner child and let your creative juices run free!

I think I'm going to see "The Secret Life of Pets"! 

I watched the magic school bus recently and my adult brain said, "It can't be healthy that these people shrink at will and get enlarged again." Then I thought, "If my kid was in that school, we sure would be looking for another school soon." Lol! That's the adult brain for you, right there.

What did you want to be when you were a child? Have you ever tried having a rational conversation with a child? How far did you get with that? Lol! Have you written your dreams out on paper yet? Hope it's all HD!

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