Ever feel like there's more to life than just the daily grind? Here at The Everyday Creative, we talk about all things creativity. Whether it's through art, problem-solving, or thinking outside the box, being creative is a way of being. So, it's important for us to identify goals around the creative process, creative practice, and creative ways of being.

Let's dive into what it means to be a Creative. We're here to show you how to bring that mindset into every part of your life. It's much more than just doing creative things. If you develop creative skills and mindset, you can start setting goals to create a life you love.

We are creating our lives whether or not we are consciously aware of it, which is why we need to examine the layers of our experience to have a greater understanding of how we are creating it.  This will allow us to be more intentional about our creative energy and create the life we WANT to live.

Goals are the tools we use to direct our attention. As Robert Greene says, "Begin with the end in mind." For the purposes of our exploration, our goal is to become a Creative.

Begin with your WHY, which is the most powerful agent for change. This is the level of purpose which resides beyond the self. It’s your mission and the connection with something greater.

Identifying your why can help to manage motivation and be a guiding light when things get hard.
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​Our first goal is to determine why we want to be Creative. We need to get clear about our reason for doing this in the first place. This will drive action and help to maintain motivation when we're feeling less than our best.
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​Here are some examples to help you find your why:

Identity is your sense of self. It is who you believe yourself to be. It includes your self-image, the labels you give yourself and your roles. 
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​At a young age we begin to tell ourselves stories about our limitations and abilities. In this case, we might say things like, "I’m not creative, I can’t draw, I don’t have talent." These limiting beliefs lower our confidence and self-efficacy, damage trust in ourselves, and are ultimately disempowering.

The creative process can help to heal these wounds and take your power back. It is important to implement the skills of creativity throughout your life to become limitless in your impact and potential.

So what does it mean to be a Creative? Here are the key principles of a Creative.

A Creative:

This may seem like a lot or feel like you are far away from this reality... right now. But that's okay. Because this is the ultimate goal, we need to be aware of what we are striving for.

Values and beliefs guide our decisions, actions, and judgments. They reflect what is important to us and influence how we interact with the world. Our values and beliefs are often rooted in cultural, social, and personal experiences, and they serve as a foundation for setting goals and making choices.
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Because of the impact of your values and beliefs on the lower levels in the logical hierarchy, it's important to understand yours - understand what's going on in your mind. Beliefs are what we understand to be our reality and truth. 

​Ask yourself:
​- What do I believe about the world?
​- What do I believe about other people?
​- What do I believe about myself?
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​At the level of Values and Beliefs, our goal is to update our beliefs about creativity. We want to challenge negative beliefs and replace them with something more helpful.

Creatives have these beliefs because it ties back to values. As Creatives, we value physical, mental, and spiritual health. We see the importance of prioritizing our own needs in order to create a better life for ourselves and everyone around us.
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​We want to have a more fulfilling life. We want to feel happy and have control over our lives. We want to be free.
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​To learn more about finding your personal values, we encourage you to listen to Episode 32: Finding Your Personal Values and download the free workbook as a guide. You can access it by clicking the button below.

Once you find your values, the next step is to set goals. Our goals are often based on our values. To reverse engineer your goals, we will begin to adopt the beliefs that support the change we want to see. 

This is the technical know-how, knowledge, and the abilities we currently have. We can grow in this area to build a foundation to accomplish our goals. 
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​The skills and capabilities of a Creative are wide and varied. They not only include the technical skills of our chosen creative practice, but also incorporates soft skills like emotional intelligence, intuition, problem-solving abilities, and self-confidence.
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​As a Creative, there are many goals we can set to improve our skills and capabilities:

Our behaviors are what we do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis - our observable actions or our reactions to something or someone.

Ask yourself, "How do I spend my time day to day?" Dig a little deeper and reflect on the behaviors that are in response to what someone else does or says. Get detailed and try not to be judgemental about these behaviors. We are just getting curious. Once you spend a few days compiling your behavior inventory, you'll have a good sense of what you are doing.
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​This is the point where we'll take a close look at our maladaptive behaviors. These are the actions that don't help us in the long run. Rather, they are quick fixes that make us feel better in the moment but don't actually help over time.
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​Think of things like procrastinating, avoiding responsibilities, or reacting with anger when stressed. These behaviors might give temporary relief or distraction, but they often create more problems, like increased stress or missed opportunities.

Maladaptive behaviors can often be traced back to unresolved anger, depressive symptoms, addiction, phobias, or anxiety. Awareness of these behaviors allows us to understand what we are doing with our time. For examples, anxiety may lead to binge-watching Netflix while simultaneously scrolling on social media. The key is recognizing these patterns and finding healthier ways to cope with challenges.

It's important to note that not all behaviors are those that we choose. They are habits that occur at an unconscious level. Recognizing them is part of the process and helps us to develop our awareness of what is going on in our lives.

We are not going to focus on taking away behaviors that are not serving us, but rather turn our attention to adding one or two new behaviors related to our ultimate goal of becoming a Creative. Set an intention to prioritize these behaviors each day or through the week. The amount of time and frequency you set for these will depend on your specific situation and what the actual behavior is.

Below are a few examples of behaviors you can consider adding. You will see these behaviors reflected in other logical levels - especially the skills and capabilities level.

At the base of the Logical Levels we have our environment. This level includes everything external to us - or physical location, the people around us, our material goods.
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​When it comes to making change in our lives, this level is the most difficult to change. Ironically, residing at this level are the most obvious signs that change is needed because it is the easiest to see. Usually they show up in the things we complain about. Some of these statements may sound familiar:
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​"The house is a mess!"
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​"My kids left their toys out... AGAIN!"
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​"My commute to work sucks!"
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​As we develop goal at this level, it may be helpful to look at all of the things related to our environment and consider what we might do about it? What could we do about it?

Environment can be divided into our physical environment and our social environment. Because our environment includes the people around us, we need to consider our goals as individual (those we can accomplish alone) and collective (those that involve other people). The people in our environment can either affect our goals or be affected by the goals we set.
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​Physical Environment
​To discover goals in your physical environment, note what you don't like about your surroundings. What do you complain about? What do you admire in the environment of others? What causes friction in your daily life? 
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​Then ask what you can do about it. The answers to these questions will shape our goals in this category. Below are some examples to jumpstart your thinking:
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​Individual Goals

Collective Goals

Social Environment
​Our social environment includes our family, friends, community, and coworkers. It's no secret that relationships are complicated. There are many things to consider when thinking about our relationships with our parents, partners, children and friends and getting them involved with our goals. Here are a few ideas for steps we can take to get the ball rolling:

Complicated relationship dynamics are beyond the conversation here. If you are in a relationship that is toxic, abusive or in anyway unsafe for you, the advice above may not be appropriate. We recommend seeking personalized, professional help to navigate your specific situation.
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​You can find resources for professionals in your area through Psychology Today, American Art Therapy Association, or through your insurance carrier.
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​With that said, our relationships can make or break us and we've learned (the hard way) that it is incredibly important to reflect on our thoughts and feelings related to the people we invite and allow into our lives.
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​It is not about blaming or judging the people in our lives but rather to understand how we need to show up for ourselves. What is it that you need? None of these things are bad per se but if you repeatedly sacrifice yourself for others your needs are being neglected.

Get in touch with signs you may be neglecting yourself by taking time to reflect on interactions and situations with people in your life. How did it make you feel? What are the benefits? How important is this person to you? What are the consequences for not spending time with this person?

Like the other levels, your answers to these questions will guide the goals you set. Here are a few examples of goals for your social environment:

If you would like to get clear about your goals, we recommending accessing our free Creative Self guide. It will walk your through all the levels so you can begin to live creatively.
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​Once in alignment, you will feel more energetic, more confident, feel more at ease, and create a life you love. Click on the button below to get your guide now!

During this show segment, we introduce four ways to interact with the information presented: A question to answer, a quest to complete, an aspect of creativity we've noticed this week, and a quote to ponder.

What is one goal you have set for yourself?

Complete the Creative Self Guide (click the button above for access to the guide) and set a goal in each level of your life to align with your Creative Self.

Befriending Your Future Self is an exercise within the Creative Self Guide. Research supports visualization as a powerful manifestation technique that can help to align internally with your goals. This visualization will help you to imagine what you and your life could be like in the future should you choose to take these steps. There is a creative component which invites you to identify an object that best represents your future self, higher self, or Creative Self.

Evie has used this concept in many different ways in her work with clients and she has gone through guide and has identified her self object as the moon. She believes her role here on earth to reflect light back on those she works with, to direct the light from the sun (which is a metaphor for the truth or our Source), and show people the power of their value. Like the moon, she values balance, going with the flow, calm and giving, but also has phases. There are times when she needs to adjust based on her needs but always gives what she can. The moon doesn’t feel bad about the times it doesn’t shine as bright because it's the moon and that’s just what it does. 

Pretty deep, huh?

"Make two people proud: Your 8-year-old self and your 80-year-old self."
​- David Perrell

Unconscious Agile: Logical Levels