Tag: creativity

The True Thief of Joy

“True simplicity is about bringing order to complexity.”

Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s Design Wizard

“The beauty of truth is its complexity.” ~Unknown

Life is complex and complicated. It’s the human condition. It is apparent to me that it was designed to be this way. Living life as a human being has always been about pain, struggle, problem-solving and decision-making. Survival of each hour, day, week, etc., depends upon one’s ability to figure out the complexity so that the pain is minimal, the struggle is manageable, the problems are solvable, and choices result in the most desirable outcomes.

About 6 years ago, a friend shared with me a year-long online course for which she had signed up. I took a look and decided it was a great idea and would be fun. I bought the course and became a paying member of a community that has inspired me forward ever since. The name of the course was “Simple Year” and the architect was Courtney Carver. Courtney and her genius can be found at http://www.bemorewithless.com. The purpose and defined outcomes for “Simple Year” resonated with me and included ideas, activities and resources for learning how life could be more intentionally lived. There was an emphasis on simplicity. Each month, Courtney introduced us to a new voice and personality with ideas and insights for creating more intentionality and better results in a particular area of life. We dived deeply into areas such as finances, our home environment, schedules, health and wellness, travel, etc., et. al. The featured leaders of each monthly module varied and the year was kicked off in January with two friends, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, better known as The Minimalists.

One of the optional activities shared for the month, focusing on simplicity in our living spaces, was the Mins Game. I invited my husband to play and the two of us had a lot of fun that January. The Mins Game focuses on the strategy of decluttering as a means of achieving simplicity in your home by intentionally identifying and removing useless items that many of us accumulate over time. The result is intended to provide you with a home that feels calm and serves your family better. It was simple – and just a reminder, simple does not translate into easy – and I have to say the challenge also became a lot of fun! It produced much laughter and some great competition. It also resulted in a lot of donations and more cleared, calm space in our home.

The rules of the Mins game are simple. On January 1st – or whatever first day of the month you choose – you get rid of one item you no longer need, use or love. On the 2nd, you get rid of two more, on the 3rd day of the month, three more items must leave, and so on. You get the picture. The real fun begins around the 25th day of the month, especially when two of you are playing. And, yes, on January 31 of that year, we removed 62 items out of our house! (Just a hint, should you decide to play the game during spring cleaning in May, save your kitchen junk drawers for the last few days of the month. I’m pretty sure everyone can find 31 useless pens, or paper clips, or thumb tacks!) Actually, on January 31, we donated more than 62 DVD’s to our local library! Win-win!

When you add it up mathematically, it equals 496 items, each. That January we removed over 1,000 items. Some were sold, some were donated, and true junk was trashed.

We’ve played the Mins game twice and probably need to play a couple more times, now that our four ‘kids’ are grown adults.

That experience was 1/12 of the Simple Year course. It had a significant impact on my vision and mission for this new chapter. I liken it to a ‘mid-life detox’. It has also created my #2 Highest Priority ~ to live a life of simplicity and intentionality. Why? As author Gretchen Rubin says, “outer order, inner calm.” I value orderliness and inner calm. After 39 years of a highly demanding career, coupled with raising four children active in sports year round (35 of the 39 years), I am ready for the simplicity, the calm, and the empty spaces. It serves my heart, body, mind and soul well. It helps me to honor self first. As Rick Rubin says, so eloquently, in his new book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, ‘make art that moves YOU.’ He says to think of the audience last. It’s brilliant wisdom and advice. Those are my why’s for choosing simplicity and intentionality as Priority #2. I call it “living by subtraction” ~ intentionally taking away, removing, and stopping the things that inadvertently steal our joy. Because the true thief of joy is excess. Less has truly given me more.

What can you take away, remove, and/or stop doing that would give you more? More calm, more solitude, more peace, more time, more money, love, health, joy….? Living by subtraction really adds up!

In next week’s post, I’ll delve into my ends in mind, my SMART goal aligned to support this priority, and the action steps I am taking to move me closer to ‘more’, my specifically defined outcomes.

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your precious time and energy to read my post today. I appreciate you and wish you kind and simple moments. Live inspired!

Live an Inspired Life

Photo by Khanh Le on Pexels.com

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.”

It’s all about creating! The world, life, all of it, is about creating. Everything begins and ends with creativity and creation. An idea becomes something physical. A car, a desk, a vacation, a family, a painting, and a better me living an inspired life. They all are first an idea (mental creation) and then they become something physically present (physical creation).

In the fall of 2021, almost 5 years after I stated this website, I turned 60. That December 31, I retired from a full time professional career that spanned 39 years and included two college degrees. I walked away from 50-hour weeks (sometimes 60-hours), a lot of time spent in my car, on the road, or in an airport, or on a plane, or in a rental car, a different city or town 4 days a week, and a six-figure income. It was a bittersweet decision which was preceded by a lot of thinking. And I mean A LOT! And honestly, in hindsight, way too much thinking.

Looking back now, it should have been a simple decision, but we all know simple does not translate into easy. That career, highly demanding work and grueling schedule served a lot of people and organizations, but not me. I was helping a lot of people create a pathway to their desired results, but I wasn’t creating the results I wanted and needed.

After 39 years of professional work and 36 years of parenting four children to adulthood, I decided it was time to put MY personal results as the highest priority in my life on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. So for the past 15 months I’ve been focused on (re)creating who I want to be, which is why today’s quote resonated deeply.

I want to use writing as the vehicle for sharing what/who I am creating ~ my why, my how and my results. I love writing and always have. (See my first post on my site, 6 years ago!) It’s something that comes easily to me and I believe writing is the gateway to a happier, healthier, more creative self. I know that neuroscience shows the positive impact the act of writing has on the human brain and mind. I also know there are hundreds (probably more like millions) of stories of how writing has changed lives.

The one example that always stands out for me is the story of Erin Gruwell. Erin was a young teacher at Woodrow Wilson HS in Long Beach, CA, in 1994. Through writing she inspired hundreds of students to create a better and different life. Their story was documented in the 2007 film, “Freedom Writers”. The impact writing had for them was immeasurable. Writing makes a difference. It helps us create.

Additionally, I love quotes. They are how I surround myself with others’ brilliance. They are how I ‘get better’. So every blog post will be inspired by a quote that contributes to my creating. My end in mind is to share my story, my learning, connections and ideas in the hope that small pieces will resonate with you, the reader, and you find a ‘take home’ take-away that makes today a little better. Because, that’s what I am focused on creating ~ a little bit better me every single day. I hope you’ll follow along as I share my why, my how, and my results of this journey in creating a better, happier, healthier version of me.

Thank you for stopping by and spending some of your precious time and energy to read my post today. I appreciate you and wish you kind and simple moments. Until next week…. Live an inspired life!