Re-imagining is a game-changer that impacts your creative career in a big way. Refresh your creative practices and revive your creative spirit by learning the art of re-imagining.
What has re-imagining got to do with my creative career?
It’s easy for some creatives to get stuck in stale routines and old ways of thinking. It takes courage to think differently or open up to new experiences. A major setback can also be a catalyst to force into changing how you do everything. You might be wondering how re-imagining differs from perspective? Perspective is looking at things from different angles, whereas, re-imagining is completely changing the lens you look through. Re-imagining requires you to go deep into your creative infrastructures and re-program them in order to create a different outcome. You get to choose which frame you look through and you decide if it’s a problem, an opportunity, an obstacle, a challenge or an adventure.
Re-imagining requires a clear runway for your creative mind to take off
Most successful creatives have a well-organized physical workspace. But because it’s behind the scenes, you rarely see this side. Re-imagining demands that your house is in order first. Creative people don’t need chaos to be able to produce their work. In fact, it often disempowers them and I wrote a book about that here. Re-imagining needs the physical and mental space for new approaches and ideas to be captured. Your surroundings affect your creative work. Picture a cluttered workspace. Picture a clean and organised workspace. Which one do you think will best support your new creative ideas?
Ways creatives can re-imagine
- Daydreaming – Instantly re-imagine by letting your mind drift away without restrictions or pressure.
- Shake things up – Get abstract and question everything. Try new techniques you’re curious about.
- New toys – Buy a new effects pedal, a computer program or work with new materials.
- Flashes of intuition – A creative idea pops into your head. If you haven’t done this before, follow it!
- Mentoring – Seek the insight of experienced creatives whose work is completely different from yours.
- Strategizing – How can you market yourself more creatively? Or stand out from the crowd with clients?
- Break all the rules – Truly creative and awe-inspiring innovation often comes through breaking rules and pushing boundaries. Make your own rules, break them and then turn them upside down.
It takes courage to re-imagine your creative career
Re-imagining is about taking out a window and building a high powered telescope, or maybe a kaleidoscope. Or, even eliminating the visual aspect altogether and creating an audial and sensory experience. Did you know that some classical Indian musicians regularly take one month out a year to visit their ‘guru” or teacher and work on their artistry? Allow your inner creator the freedom to explore and indulge in some lateral thinking. Connect with your artistic path and your true creative potential. There might be lots of pressure on you to produce commercially successful work. Maybe the changes you make won’t be rewarded immediately by the public or your peers. But, it’s well worth taking the risk to re-imagine your creative career if it rejuvenates you and gives your work a new found depth.
If you want to explore ways to refresh and reimagine your creative career, then check out my website. You’ll find articles, my latest book and information about my coaching service to help you with your creative career here at www.sheilachandracoaching.com