It Took Me 1.5 Years to Finish It. Who Cares?

It took me a year and a half to finally finish this.

Who cares?!

As Creatives we often beat ourselves up for all of our incomplete projects. I certainly struggled with that as this piece stared me down from my living room wall every - single - day.

It's easy to beat ourselves up because we see a bigger vision and want to realize it. But here is what the beating up does:

→ It creates a vicious cycle that leads to a more procrastination.

We judge ourselves. The judging feels bad. We associate the feeling bad with that project. We avoid it because we don't want to feel bad. We feel worse because we are not working on it... And so it goes.

There are two ways to break through the procrastination:

1. The judgement gets so bad that we finally just do the thing so we can get some friggin' relief from it!!! (YIKES)

2. We talk to ourselves differently and find our way back to it with more inspiration and joyful motivation.

I chose number two. It maybe took a little extra time, but it felt amazing to be genuinely motivated to work on it again. The inspiration kept lighting the way allowing me to savor the process instead of "just getting it done."

Sometimes it can take a little longer to work through the inner judgement. But I will ask again: Who cares?!

Often our ideas of how long something should take are arbitrary and set ups for judgement to take hold.

Letting things take the time they need, letting yourself take the time you need, can help remind you what creating is all about.

☆★ Creative Challenge ★☆ Doodle your judgmental voice as a character. What does it say? What does it need to hear to leave you alone?

I often walk beside Creatives as they find their way through the procrastination that keeps them from realizing their visions. Happy to chat if you would like support for your Creative journey.