How do you recharge?
If you caught my last newsletter, 5 creative archetypes and their struggles, be honest, which archetype are you? Tell me here.
One of the best things you can do for yourself as a creative human is to recognize what you need in a particular moment. If you need rest, you rest. If you need some inspiration, you fuel.
This may sound stupidly simple, but it's weirdly hard.
It's hard to admit not only WHAT you need at a given moment, but HOW to give it to yourself.
The "how" part is important here.
For me, I just finished a new body of work. It felt great to finish a series and get it photographed. I feel closure. And I know what I need to do next. I need to reflect and re-fuel. Which leads me to today's question:
What helps you feel recharged, expansive, and open to new ideas as an artist?
There are two common challenges artists face at the fuel stage.
1. They over-fuel (i.e. take in too many inputs)
2. They look for fuel in the wrong places.
Let's look at the first one: over-fueling. This happens when we're seeking inspiration without any limits or focus. Maybe you're looking to feel inspired and you don't really know what you're looking for. You scroll IG for hours, listen to 100 podcasts, and go to every art exhibit you can. You do this for a looooooong time. You consume voraciously, hoping that something will FINALLY click and get you motivated enough to work.
In reality, this kind of consuming might give you some ideas, but it doesn't help you take action. Artists tend to feel scattered and overwhelmed when they over-fuel.
Artists can also struggle with looking for fuel in the wrong places. Everyone fuels differently. My partner loves to binge YouTube tutorials. God bless him but this would be my personal hell...
Here's what works for me: traveling, reading, seeing an ambitious art exhibition by a single artist, and having peaceful "non-doing" time. Throw some Nature in there and I'm GOLDEN.
The most important thing with fuel is to recognize what fills you up in a BIG way. You don't have to do everything. You don't have to do what works for other people. Know yourself. Prioritize. And when it comes with how to take action afterwards, check out this little guide.
