As the year reaches its midpoint, it's a perfect time for creative individuals to pause and reflect on their goals and intentions. This period of reflection is crucial for assessing progress, reigniting passion, and ensuring that one's creative journey remains aligned with personal aspirations. Here’s why mid-year reflection is essential for creative growth and how you can effectively incorporate it into your routine.

Why Reflect Mid-Year?

1. Evaluate Progress: Mid-year is an ideal checkpoint to evaluate the progress made towards your creative goals. Are you on track? Have you met any significant milestones? Reflecting helps you see how far you've come and identify areas that may need more attention or a different approach.
2. Reignite Passion: The initial enthusiasm that accompanies the setting of new goals can wane over time. Mid-year reflection allows you to reconnect with the passion and excitement that drove you to set those goals in the first place. This rekindling of motivation can inspire a renewed commitment to your creative pursuits.
3. Adjust and Adapt: Life is unpredictable, and circumstances can change. What seemed like a feasible goal at the beginning of the year may now require adjustment. Reflecting mid-year provides an opportunity to adapt your plans to better suit your current situation, ensuring that your goals remain realistic and attainable.
4. Celebrate Achievements: Taking the time to reflect allows you to celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Acknowledging your achievements boosts confidence and morale, making it easier to tackle the remaining challenges with a positive mindset.
5. Clarify Intentions: Over time, your creative intentions might evolve. Mid-year reflection helps you reassess your intentions and ensure they still align with your values and aspirations. This clarity can guide you in making more informed decisions about your creative projects moving forward.

​Mid-year reflection on your creative goals and intentions is a powerful practice that can significantly enhance your creative journey. It provides a moment to pause, evaluate, and adjust, ensuring that you remain aligned with your aspirations and continue to grow. By taking the time to reflect, you nurture your creativity, reignite your passion, and set yourself up for a successful second half of the year. So, embrace this opportunity for reflection and watch your creative endeavors flourish.

Image: Me at a local gallery in March 2022, where both of my artworks sold.l

​In 2022, I had one of my best years yet regarding reaching my creative goals.  In one year, I was able to reach some creative milestones that I never was able to otherwise.  I realize that this year was a bit unusual but then I realize that because I took time to actually set my creative goals instead of leaving everything to the wind, I was able to make and exceed my goals with my creative life this year. 

This year I am able to celebrate that:

• My work was featured in four group art exhibitions (two juried), one of which two of my artworks sold, and two of my artworks was used to promote the exhibitions by the host;
• Four of my poems were officially published in a anthology featuring women poets  (which officially be launched in 2023);
• My art has been published in a local art center's 2023 calendar featuring the art of other members.
• I completed my first draft of my book for midlife creatives. 

How did I do it?

There were a few things I did early in 2022 that helped me establish and stay focused on my goals.  Here's a few of them:

1. Established "My Why":  I established what my "why" would be for my creativity in 2022.  This was the basis for all I did creatively in 2022.
2. Visualization:  I envisioned how I wanted to show up as a creative in 2022.   I thought about what I wanted to accomplish and how I wanted to feel as a result.
3. Intentions:  After I visualized what I wanted, I set intentions.  I used those intentions to create a mandala vision board to visually represent what I wanted to accomplish.
4. Set Goals:  Based on what I wanted to achieve, I set goals based on due dates for submission dates for my art or poetry.  I worked hard to reach these goals and was able to make all submission dates on time.  
5. Prioritize My Creative Life:  I made time as a appropriate to make my creativity a priority when it made sense to.
6. Micro-Movements:  I set tasks and steps to reach my goals in small steps without overwhelming myself.  If there was no progress, I didn't punish myself.  I allowed myself space to enable my muse to inspire and direct me to what I needed to do when I needed to do it. 
7. Support:  I had colleagues that helped me stay accountable to my goals.  Whether it was individuals or a creative community, I had reminders that helped me as guideposts along the way.

​Let Me Show You How You Can Do It

Did your schedule prevent you from reaching your creative goals this year?
Do you have the urge to start pursuing your creativity but been holding back due to fear?
Not sure how to make your creative goals happen in 2023?

No matter how creative or "un-creative" you consider yourself to be, there's always room for inspiration and improvement.

If you are an artist, writer, author, creative, maker and 2022 left you a little exhausted and uninspired, join me for a fun and engaging workshop where we will:

Get clear on your creative "whys"
Cover a few tips and practices to "spark" your creativity
Help you find time and ways to get your creative practice in during the day or week.
Develop a strategic plan to get you going creatively for 2023

​This workshop will be offered on January 8th.  Register by January 7th to be able to receive all materials.  Materials including a workbook will be sent out prior to the event. We will gather on Zoom and a link will be sent within 24 hours of the workshop. 

EXTRA BONUS: You have the option to meet with me for one-to-one coaching for the new year as well!
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Join me by clicking the button below and let's get going on making some wonderful creative dreams a reality in 2023!