{a NEW mini-series: “How I live a creative life,” featuring five personal tips from Gussy // tip #3}

this is week #2 of my creative life mini-series.

last week the focus was on five guest bloggers + their tips on living a creative life: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ~ and this week the focus is on sharing five different applications i currently use to live a creative life and how they’ve transformed my mindset into something incredibly inspiring and freeing.

on monday i talked about tip #1: cooking delicious meals and yesterday i talked about tip #2: having a defined “end of work” day. if you haven’t read them yet, click over! and be sure to read the comments below, they’re almost as good as the blog post content ;D

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tip #3: never stop learning + exploring

in january of this year it felt appropriate to share a list of my favorite books {see photo above} while sharing the importance of becoming an expert in your field. or fields :) — it’s always fun to start the year off positively, right?! — it doesn’t take any money to do this, you can reserve pretty much any book you want from your public library — but what it does take a lot of is determination. you’ll need a large dose of it to make it through the challenging times, but that’s when your passion for this field of study picks you up and carries you through. whenever i find myself in a creative lull i go back to my tried + true method of learning. i believe you can learn something from everything. that one word ~ learning, will treat you well if you let it.

are you in a creative lull? do you need to be learning? remember i said learning, not lusting. don’t lust after something that’s not yours: a blog you don’t write or a shop you don’t own. when you find yourself in a creative lull, how do you get yourself out of it? do you turn to education, or do you turn to commiseration?

if you answered, A — my eyes are twinkling with happiness for you.

if you answered, B — my hands {with painted blue fingernails, –wink!} are reaching out to squeeze your shoulders with encouragement. don’t go there, don’t trade an uplifted spirit for a discouraged spirit.

so how do you keep learning + exploring? take time to learn more about your field, the one you’re going to become an expert it, by being present in real life. you could read a book, like i mentioned above, to learn more. you could study your field by going on a day trip and exploring the industry. a few weeks ago i left the house in the afternoon, fully intending on visiting my favorite fabric supplier for some color inspiration. but once i got there i was so sure of what i wanted that instead of just looking at this inspiration i brought it home so we could sew it into pretty, ruffly gussies! my learning turned into an exploration of happiness! you could map out what your plan of action looks like by making notes in your planner how you’ll schedule each task. and then once you’ve spent some time learning, go to your favorite cafe and sip a refreshing drink. like me here, sippin’ a Coca Cola ;D

to live a creative life you have to be your own unique person. take time to craft who that person is by reading and learning and finding favorites in life. never stop learning + exploring. never stop treating yourself well.

take the determination you had at the beginning of the year and use it to refocus your spirit. when your blog or your shop presents you with challenges, feed your creative self with the words from a book.

SHARE WITH US: what are your thoughts — how are you feeling? feel free to leave an anonymous comment and really be real with yourself and us. when you find yourself in a creative lull are you spending more time learning or are you spending more time commiserating {are you educating yourself so you can get out or are you fueling the nasty feeling}? xo.