Month: August 2023

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Feeling Stuck? At a Loss for Creative Ideas?

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Feeling Stuck?You’ve heard of writer’s block. But blocks aren’t unique to writers, artists and other creatives. Feeling stuck is something each of us experiences at times. It seems we can’t seem to come up with creative approaches to a situation we are facing. Even the most creative soul can struggle to find inspiration. Sometimes, this creative block strikes at the worst time. We desperately need to finish a project, but we can’t create. We are facing a situation that must be resolved quickly, but we can’t think of creative ways to approach it.  If this sounds like you, these tips may help you find your creative spark.

Start by taking a few minutes to practice mindfulness. Simply sit quietly, focus on the current moment. This can help you relax and clear your mind and consider which of these ideas to try first. Feeling stuck can change before you know it.

  1. Spend Time Just Having Fun

When you’re feeling stuck, it can be helpful to take a break from whatever you’re working on or pondering and do something you enjoy. This could be anything from playing a game, reading a book, or walking. The idea is to take your mind off the task at hand and allow yourself to relax and have fun.

  1. Always Be Ready

Inspiration can strike at any time, so it’s important to always be ready to capture your ideas when they come. Keep a notebook or journal with you at all times so you can jot down your thoughts as they occur. You can also use your phone to record voice memos or take pictures of things that inspire you.

  1. Take A Digital Detox

In today’s digital age, getting sucked into social media and losing track of time is easy. Taking a break from technology can help you clear your mind and refocus your energy. Consider turning off your phone for a few hours or taking a weekend off from social media to give your brain a break.

  1. Get Out Of The House

Sometimes, simply changing your environment can help get your creative juices flowing. Go for a walk in nature, visit a museum or gallery, or work from a coffee shop for a change of scenery.

  1. Forget About The End Outcome

It’s easy to get bogged down in perfectionism, especially when you feel creatively stuck. Instead of worrying about creating a perfect end product or solution, focus on simply generating ideas. Remember that rule of brainstorming: don’t judge ideas, just think of any possible thing. The more ideas the better. Open the flow. Set a five-minute timer and write down as many ideas as possible related to your project, situation or dilemma.

  1. Do Something Outside Your Comfort Zone

Trying something new or challenging yourself to step outside your comfort zone can be a great way to spark creativity. This could be taking a class on a new subject, trying a new hobby, or taking on a project that feels intimidating.

  1. Do Something Monotonous

Doing something monotonous, like washing dishes or folding laundry, can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing. These types of activities allow your mind to wander, which can lead to new ideas and inspiration and ends your feeling stuck.

  1. Make Self-Care A Priority

Taking care of yourself is crucial for maintaining creativity and avoiding burnout. Ensure you get enough sleep, eat well, and take breaks when needed. You might also consider incorporating activities like meditation, yoga, or exercise into your routine to help reduce stress and boost your energy levels. Having a personal wellness routine can be a powerful tool. Read more about it here: https://carolbrusegar.com/effective-wellness-routine/

  1. Set Better Boundaries

If you’re struggling with creative block due to too many demands on your time and energy, it might be time to set better boundaries. This could mean saying no to certain projects or commitments or delegating tasks to others. By managing your time and energy more effectively, you’ll be better equipped to stay creative.

Using strategies such as these can open up your creativity when you’ve hit a block. Learning more about how to approach any part of your life with more creativity will give great benefits. I wrote about creativity here: https://carolbrusegar.com/develop-your-creativity/

Here are a couple of books that you may find helpful:

Emotional Agility, Getting Unstuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life

Anatomy of a Breakthrough – How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

 

 

 

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Create and Use Micro Habits to Help You Live the Life You Desire

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Micro HabitsDo you ever feel like your goals are unattainable, no matter how hard you try? Or that you can’t seem to make changes you desire to make your life work better? It could be because you’re overlooking one of the most powerful tools for your success: micro habits.

Micro habits are small changes that can have a huge impact on your life and help propel you towards achieving your goals. They may seem insignificant at first, but these tiny actions add up to create big results in the long run.

Why are Micro Habits a Powerful Tool?

Reason #1: Micro Habits Are Easier to Stick To

When it comes to forming habits, consistency is key. Creating a micro habit requires less of an effort than long-term goals, making it easier to stick with over time and turn into a lasting lifestyle change. Because they don’t take up a lot of time and energy, it’s easier to commit to them for the short and long term!

Reason #2: Micro Habits Measure Progress

Creating micro habits can help you stay on track and measure your progress. When you make small, incremental changes to your daily routine, it’s easier to see how far you’ve come and keep yourself motivated. And, if you use a habit tracker, you can create your own visual display of the progress you make along the way. It’s a great way to inspire continued action.

Reason #3: Micro Habits Build Momentum

Once you start forming micro habits and begin seeing the results, it will create a sense of momentum that will help propel you towards achieving your long-term goals. Many small micro habits can inform a bigger overarching goal.

Reason #4: Micro Habits Are Flexible

Because micro habits are small, they can be tailored to fit any lifestyle or schedule. This makes it easier for you to create the perfect micro habit for yourself and stick with it over time.

Reason #5 Micro Habits Increase Motivation

The feeling of accomplishment that comes with performing micro habits will help keep you motivated. When you’re able to see your progress and the results of your actions, it will give you the confidence to take on bigger goals. They help you build confidence one micro movement at a time. Micro habits give you an immediate win. You can start a micro habit in the next 5 minutes and get it done.

Reason #6: Micro Habits Reduce Stress

Creating micro habits can help reduce the stress that comes with trying to reach a big goal. By taking on smaller tasks and measuring your progress along the way, it can make achieving your long-term goals less overwhelming. You’re actually training your brain to react positively to new stimuli.

Examples of Micro Habits

These examples may help you identify micro habits that will enhance your life, whether in physical health, mental health, relationships, or any other area of life.

Read for 10 minutes a day.

Reading for 10 minutes a day can help you to improve your vocabulary, writing skills, and overall knowledge. What’s more is that it will give you a much-needed break from whatever else you were doing. The brain loves novelty as it keeps it sharp and agile.

Write in a journal for 5 minutes a day.

Writing in a journal for 5 minutes a day can help you to process your emotions, clear your mind, track your use of micro habits and other things and set goals. And, if you’re deep into writing, ignore the timer and keep going!

Meditate for 5 minutes a day.

Meditating for 5 minutes a day can help you to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also improve focus and concentration. To get started, find a quiet place to sit, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Don’t worry about it. Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts. It’s more about allowing and just being!

Exercise for 15 minutes a day.

Exercising for 15 minutes a day can improve your physical health, reduce stress, and boost your mood. You can exercise in the house or outside. You can exercise by lying down, sitting in a chair or standing up. There’s always something you can do.

Eat one healthy meal a day.

Eating at least one healthy meal a day can improve your overall health and help you to manage your weight. To get started, spend some time planning meals, create a shopping list and get what you need. Cook at home more often than eating out and avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive amounts of saturated and unhealthy fats.

Drink plenty of water.

Staying hydrated is vitally important to your overall health. After all, we are 70% water! Dehydration is not good for the body or brain and it can disrupt both from functioning properly. For tips to increase the amount of water you consume in enjoyable ways, check out https://carolbrusegar.com/stay-hydrated/

Take a walk outside for 10 minutes a day.

Getting outside and enjoying the fresh air for 10 minutes each day can improve your mood, reduce stress, and boost your immune system. Even if you can only walk back and forth in front of where you live for 10 minutes, do it! Moving your body and being outside will positively impact your life.

Call a friend or family member for 5-10 minutes a day.

Stay connected with friends and family by calling just one person each day for a short 5-10 minute conversation. It can improve your relationships, reduce stress, and boost your mood. Be sure to tell the person, up front, that you need to jump off after that time. You’ll be amazed at how refreshed you feel after connecting! And, the other person will appreciate you reaching out and connecting!

Be grateful for one thing each day.

Being grateful enhances our appreciation of life and our happiness. Each day, find something that you’re grateful for. Take just 5 minutes to either sit quietly and think about why you are grateful for that person or thing or consider journaling about it. When you do this, you’ll start seeing how much you truly have in life. Gratitude can completely change your relationship to everything in your life!

This is a brief introduction to the practice of micro habits; check out this book which has become extremely popular since it was published: Atomic Habits by James Clear It includes scientific and practical aspects of changing habits – “Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results.”

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

 

 

 

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Reclaiming Clarity in Turbulent Times

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INTRODUCING:

Clarity

“Clarity is alignment. Clarity is a clear impulse of where to go. Clarity is trusting the path.

Clarity is not standing in a wobbly place. Clarity is that momentum that has no resistance, 

and when you’re in that place of clarity, the feeling of what to do next is right there.” ~ Abraham Hicks 

Do you feel you have clarity right now about the direction of your life, your vision, your goals? For many of us the answer is no. I count myself as one. Why is that?

Put simply, we have experienced and continue to experience major upheavals and threats in our lives over the past few years. The combination of all of it has affected everyone somehow. As human beings, we have incredible ability to compartmentalize things or suppress our reactions or feelings. The are situations when this is useful for some period of time. But it is not the healthiest for us in the long run.

Quick View of Our Scenario

In the past few years, I have found clarity to be elusive. Perhaps you have too. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, nothing was clear. As uncertainty and fear prevailed and our usual routines and connections were interrupted, a fog descended over so many of us. Our survival instincts kicked in and we figured out how to live in a totally different reality. We took things day by day. There wasn’t much else we could do.

As I look back, the greatest clarity I had during that time was when I had 6 weeks to prepare to move cross country in August/September of 2020. The imminent move, arranged by my daughter so I would be nearer to her and her family, forced me to focus on what had to be done to make this happen. I wrote about that here: https://carolbrusegar.com/reflections-on-pandemic-liminal-space/ 

Since the official pandemic crisis is past – although the virus still lurks and is infecting and killing people daily – we imagine we can be back to pre-pandemic life. But that’s not reality. For many of us our way of making a living has changed in some way. Our relationships may be different. We may be grieving loss of loved ones. We or loved ones may be grappling with the realities of long COVID. Our economy is still adjusting and recovering from the massive upheavals beginning in 2020.

And it’s more than the effects of the pandemic. Our political landscape has divided us in ways most of us haven’t experienced before. Changes that truly affect the daily lives of ourselves or people we know and love are occurring regularly. The ground is trembling beneath our feet.

Extreme weather events are affecting so many of us across the globe. Heat, cold, snowfall, rain and floods, wildfires out of control for months and smoke affecting people hundreds of miles away. The list could go on.

It’s not surprising that our brains are on overload and we feel scattered with all of these realities and more.

Greater Clarity

Lack of clarity manifests itself in many ways but we often don’t realize how that affects our lives. If we don’t know how something impacts us, we don’t address it. And sometimes we don’t realize what we are missing until we are reminded of it and its benefits.

When we realize why clarity is important, we are ready to identify our own status and take steps to gain greater clarity. Clarity and focus can vastly improve our lives.

The above is the introduction to my new Special Report, “Reclaiming Clarity in Turbulent Times.” The full report includes 8 benefits of finding clarity and then 12 signs that you lack clarity along with suggestions of how to make changes and additional resources. The free download of the report – no optin required –  is here: https://carolbrusegar.com/Reclaiming-Clarity-in-Turbulent-Times