Learn How To ‘Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears And Unleash Creativity.’

Many of us seem to be able to come up with all kinds of excuses to postpone or reduce our painting and creative time. You may have thought, “I’m not good enough to pursue my art. I don’t have the time. I’m too busy. I don’t know where to start. I shouldn’t spend the money. This is frivolous. I’m afraid that I can’t do it. It’s too hard. It’s selfish to take this time for myself. I’ll finish my chores first. People will laugh at my efforts.” So many excuses!

But these thoughts are just excuses. We don’t have to believe everything we hear or think. Thoughts and opinions are not necessarily the truth. We can say some pretty mean things to ourselves that, in effect, sabotage any scary efforts to improve or do something we might even enjoy. Don’t give up. According to Felicia Day in Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears And Unleash Creativity, we all have things we want to say, make, express. However, end results need not be our worry. “We don’t have to like anything we do here. It’s our human right to make something crappy and enjoy it!… We don’t have to be remarkable. We don’t have to dazzle anyone.” 

“Unleash” Watercolor Painting.

Day’s book is “designed to uncrack what we haven’t been able to get out of ourselves” and to encourage us to feel the joy and excitement of expressing ourselves. The book offers numerous fun and revealing exercises that will encourage you to be fearless, get to know yourself, and use your imagination. Day includes personal stories and some hard-won wisdom, while sharing her own quirkiness. You will learn unique, practical techniques to deal with your enemies of creativity, whether they be insecurity, anxiety, fear, procrastination, perfectionism, criticism, or jealousy. 

BE BORED.

One especially interesting point Day mentions is that to be creative, it pays to be bored – not entertained or distracted every moment of the day. We live in a world that gives us no chance to give our brains a break and not be busy, busy, busy. Being distracted, always following the crowd, or going through the day on autopilot gives the brain no room to rest, come up with new ideas, or discover our own dreams and priorities. 

FEEL.

Day encourages us to trust ourselves, to be more present, to notice our surroundings and feelings, to get out of our heads and listen to our own hearts. Emotions and feelings are necessary for creativity. They are not something to avoid. The more you feel your emotions, the more fuel there is available for your creativity. Making things, creating, painting can be one of the best ways to release feelings.

“My Weird” Watercolor Collage.

DREAM, AND COMMIT TO IT.

Dreams can increase our creativity. They suggest possibilities. What have you dreamed of doing that you haven’t accomplished yet? What inspires and excites you? What would you like to try? To help make your dreams happen, Day discusses practical ways to help you get more of what you want. Once you choose a goal, make sure you look forward to the process, the actual working toward the dream (not just the thought of the end result). You will need to put effort into achieving your dream, so make sure you enjoy the effort required. If you enjoy the process, the dream becomes concrete and actionable. “Success follows the grind you love. The daily action you don’t regret.”                             

To paraphrase Felicia Day in Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears And Unleash Creativity, no one can stop you from believing in yourself but you. Get out there and be yourself. Screw it. 

Read Day’s book and have some fun!

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