Reflect on What You HAVE Done

Reflect on What You HAVE Done

• Wednesday, 29 June 2016

How often do you stop, take a deep breath and look around to see all that you have accomplished? All that you have achieved? This thought has been turning around in my head for awhile, after I heard the remarks of a michelin star chef on the tv one night - how he never really stopped to look around when they were awarded a new star, there was always something to strive to improve, so he doesn't really enjoy or savour the moment.



I thought that was really sad.

And it struck me, that when you are a perfectionist and constantly looking to improve and hone your skills and craft - no matter what field it is in, that this could easily become my problem and the problem of anybody who constantly strives for the ever elusive 'perfection' - a goal that will be forever shifting as we come to realize that perfection is like tomorrow - it never actually comes.

I'm not sure about you, but I know I rarely stop to appreciate the 'now' of my creative journey. To pause and reflect on all that I have achieved instead of constantly focusing on what I haven't and being on a mission to get there. Or worse, comparing my creative accomplishments to someone else's. A lot of this is completely subtle behavior that I don't even notice until I do stop, just to take a look around. After all, I don't want to spend my life climbing any ladder without stopping occasionally to admire the view, or the level that I currently sit.

When you stop and take in your work, you receive satisfaction and contentment as a reward.That's really what it is all about. Feel good about what you have done and be in the moment. Take the time to properly enjoy things. It's becoming harder and harder to remember to do this in a world that is always ten steps ahead of itself, but it must be done if you are to feel fulfilled in your creativity and want to reach your full, wild and free creative potential.

So I encourage you to look around and just take in all that you have accomplished and have done well. The things that you have achieved. I bet you surprise yourself - I bet you say "wow! Actually, I have done a lot and I've done a pretty good job too." Write it down if you want to and peg it to the wall.

We are all on our own journey's, at our own individual life stages. Don't compare your growth to someone else's. Stand tall and shine bright in your own space. Be proud of what you have achieved, what you have created and look to the future not as a destination you need to catch an express train to, but as one filled with the excitement and promise that creative freedom will bring.