How many of you can honestly say that when you decide to do something, you intentionally try to make it fun?
No doubt many of our creative passions are fun in and of themselves. But I’m talking about those things like goals or projects.
Have you ever said that about a creative goal?
Let’s say you want to write a book, learn to play the piano, or maybe paint a series of paintings. Maybe you’re thinking about the upcoming holidays and would like to use your crafting skills to make gifts this season.
Then, all-of-a-sudden, reality hits and it looks B-I-G and scary!
But what if we tried to make it fun?
I think we can all agree that the artists dates might sound fun immediately. But what is we also tried to make the morning ages fun? What if that big project really could be fun?
Yes, It Counts!
Ok, I know what you’re saying. Since when are BIG goals supposed to be fun? Isn’t something worth having supposed to be kinda hard and grueling to count as worthy?
And the answer would be – NO!
Nowhere is it written that you have to hate it all in order for it to “count!” Count toward what?
And especially since we’re talking about creative stuff here! Anything you create will have your love and energy in it so let’s make it fun.
My new rule to live by is this: If it’s not FUN, it’s not worth doing!
Caveat: OK, I’ not saying you no longer have to clean your house or go to the doctor. (Darn it!)
What I’m saying is – Make those things fun too!
As someone I follow says, Make it FUN if you want it DONE!
Hop in the comments if you think you know who this is! (I’ll confirm in my LIVE chat this week!)
What Motivates You?
So let’s dive in and figure out what makes you tick. If you have something you want or need to do, what is it that makes it worthwhile for you? There are generally two sides to this coin. Let’s unpack both of them.
Are you motivated by the reward at the end? (This is an approach mentality toward motivation.) What I mean is that you like moving toward something fun at the end. It’s like the kid who will mow the lawn in minutes and sweep up all the leaves if he knows he gets to go for ice cream after. That’s reward motivation.
Or are you motivated by fear? (This is the avoidance mentality) By this I mean that you will do something in order to steer clear of something perceived as negative. Here you aren’t trying to achieve a desired outcome. You’re trying to avoid something bad, now or in the future.
Maybe you’re both depending on the circumstance! That’s me! In some cases, I can’t wait to get the goal finished because of what I can see at the end! Other times, I want to avoid something unpleasant, so I get it done!
The first thing to do when trying to finish a creative goal, and any goal for that matter, is to figure out what motivates you.
Here are examples of both of the above motivators, using the same goal.
- My reward for getting one dozen holiday cards done is a nice soothing bubble bath. (Reward motivation)
- I’ll spend 4 hours this Saturday completing one dozen cards because if I don’t, I’ll have to buy them and I won’t have the money to spend on gifts. (Fear motivation)
As you can see, your motivation may vary, even with similar creative tasks. It can even vary depending on what else is going on in life. And, in some cases, you may use BOTH types within a project at different stages.
The key is to identify what works for you and then incorporate it so you can have fun doing the things you want to do. And, of course, the things you don’t really want to do! Which brings us to…
What’s Fun For You?
The next step is to identify your definition of “fun.” What is meaningful for you? What lights you up? What makes you smile? You are an individual so what makes sense for someone else may not make sense for you.
This is essential info if you are motivated by rewards, but you may be wondering how it can work for you if you are fear motivated.
So glad you asked.
I don’t know about you, but that whole fear-based motivation sounds like a buzzkill for me! I don’t really want fear wrapped up in my creative goals! That’s’ where the fun comes in!
If you aren’t necessarily reward based, how can you make what you do SO fun that the activity becomes desirable by itself. I maintain that my creative pursuits are fun, and I wish I could do more of them most of the time. But there is an inherent “chore” mindset wrapped up in it if you are on a deadline or it’s a big project that takes a while to complete.
That promise to have the quilt done by the holidays as a gift now seems a bit dicier than it did a few months ago. You’re motivated to get it done because you don’t want to disappoint your family! But how can you make it FUN in the meantime?
Well, you identity your own brand of fun and then inject it into the project. Are you competitive? Maybe it would be fun to see how much you can get done in the time it takes to listen to one of your favorite shows in the background. Or maybe, you keep a “personal best” log and track how much you get done day-to-day and see if you can beat your own record.
This also works for the reward side of things too! For every square you get done, you put a coin or a dollar bill in a jar. When you’re done, you treat yourself to something wonderful.
But here’s the thing. Fun is individual. What’s fun for me may make you roll your eyes. All those things you want to do need to be fun. Otherwise, what do have? A whole lot of B-O_R_I_N_G!
Over To You
Your work for this week is to try to make all the things you want to achieve FUN. Make your dates fun! Make your pages FUN! Make completing any of those creative projects FUN! And especially make completing anything that is blocking your path to your creativity Fun!
Why?
Because if you can get it done and out of the way, your path is clear! SO – housework? Make it fun and get it done! Paying the bills? Make it fun and get it done!
How you do that is completely up to you. Pretend you are in a room of possibilities and all of it is yours to use however you want. (A little intimidating, I know!) It’s a playground and you can have as much fun as you want. Fun counts, especially when it’s used as a tool to get things done!
So, identify what motivates you and what kind of fun can help you succeed! What fun rewards will help you get something done? What fun can you add that will help get that goal finished so the big bad wolf doesn’t arrive! Share your ideas with us! I’ll bet you’ll look at a few ideas from others and want to incorporate some of them into your creative goals!
Join me LIVE on my Facebook page, Virginia Leigh Studio, at 3:00 pm Central every Wednesday and we’ll chat about this. I’ll share my tips and tricks on this whole soundtrack thing and talk about a few more of my favorites.
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Become Creatively-U!
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