Inspiration: “Wake up! I have an amazing idea for a song!”
Procrastination: “WTF? I’m tired, leave me alone.”
Inspiration: “I think it could be really good and I’m excited about it RIGHT NOW!”
Procrastination: “Tell me about it later. It’s too early to write a song. We need sleep.”
Inspiration: “Yeah but if we go back to sleep, I may not remember the idea when we wake up again.”
Procrastination: “If it’s any good and worth pursuing, you’ll remember it.”

And that’s when I remembered something a friend of mine told me recently that has been making a huge difference in my creative process. His advice was: when a good idea strikes, the key is to use that initial burst of inspiration to take the idea as far as you can then and there, before the wave of creativity dissipates.

Sounds simple enough, but anyone who’s ever tried to take an idea from start to finish, let alone be consistently creative and productive, knows it’s one of the hardest things to do.

Let’s face it, we all have good ideas, great ones even. But ideas come and go. If we don’t do something about them, if we don’t AT LEAST write them down, leave ourselves a message or record a voice memo, they disappear and often don’t return. Or we’ll let an idea slide only to later discover someone else has made that product, told that story, written that song, etc. These experiences can be frustrating and discouraging – unless we choose to use them as reminders to go for it the next time, rather than allowing them to take the wind out of our sails and intensify the resistance that kept us from creating in the first place.

And how does that resistance show up? Well, Procrastination is definitely one of my leading creative buzz kills. There’s also Perfectionism, Over-Analysis, Fear of Failure, and Addiction, to name a few. For a really good read on all the various ways that Resistance to creative expression and any soul-expanding endeavor shows up, check out The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

And let’s be very clear about one thing: bringing our ideas to life IS soul-expanding, and it’s a big part of why we’re here. Creating is one of the greatest joys of the human experience and one of the ways in which the Divine within each and every one of us gets to be expressed. It’s also one of the most powerful sources of connection between us and our highest selves, and with one another. If you’ve experienced the thrill of riding a creative wave and making it to having something that even resembles a complete work, then you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve ever heard a song, been told a story, seen a picture, gone to a performance or watched a movie that moved you in some way, that spoke to your heart, and that stirred something in your soul, then you know what I’m talking about.

And what’s amazing is that we all have that potential and each and every one of us has our own one-of-a-kind flavor to offer. We could all stand in front of the same sunset, appreciate its beauty and feel our connection to life and to each other. Yet the moment we go to write about it, take a photo of it, paint it, describe it, no two expressions would be alike. You have your one and only voice, writing style, artistic angle, taste buds, eye for fashion, etc. and it comes to life when you take an idea and EXPRESS it!

There are tens of thousands of songs about love, but no one else has written the one that I got up to write this morning.

Yup, I did it. I let inspiration win for a change and it felt damn good. And if I had gone back to sleep, that song would have never happened. If I let myself be discouraged by the million and one reasons I could come up with not to create and take chances, I’d be miserable and unfulfilled from denying my dreams and my potential. And if I lived my life that way and made the same choice over and over again, I would miss out on one of the greatest gifts of being alive and die with my soul full of great ideas that never came to light.

So what great idea have you been putting off? How would you feel at the end of your life if you let all your ideas slip away instead of seizing the moment to bring forth what you were born to create? Are you willing to roll up your sleeves, dig in and let Inspiration win?

Much love,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (May 19th, 2013)

As an artist, I find the premise behind these kinds of shows fascinating. The idea of turning something as precious and sacred as music into a competition runs counter to my innate understanding of what creative expression is all about…and yet I find myself strangely drawn in because I believe there is something special to be learned from these shows.

Despite the over-dramatization of every unfolding on the shows, they provide us an opportunity to witness growth. They allow us to see people at various stages on their creative and spiritual paths come face to face with their most deeply desired opportunity, and along with it, their deepest demons.

In the midst of all the sensationalizing of the simple, yet profound act of singing, one Uni-versal truth continually re-surfaces: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Believe in yourself and you can make a believer out of anyone. Believe in yourself and what could have been an average performance has the potential to be transcendent and undeniable.

And there it is. For me, the reason I keep coming back to these shows is to witness this truth being on display time and time again. It appears in the behind the scenes interviews, in the performances, in the feedback from the judges and in the contestants’ demeanor at all these various stages. And it’s also evidenced in the striking contrast between seeing the often shy or uncertain hopefuls that walk in on day one to the auditions and the confident finalists that emerge as the seasons progress.

And there’s no doubt that having the mentoring and encouragement of the superstar coaches plays a part. Of course, the mere experience of performing to a large live audience and on a broadcast that reaches millions has something to do with it. And yet all of these things serve the same end, which is giving these artists, these HUMAN beings an opportunity to believe in themselves in a way that they never have. And at the same time, all the lights and Hollywood-ism create the illusion that all those factors are what make or break the artists and the truth is that the defining variable is actually whether or not that moment comes when they begin to believe in themselves.

And when it happens, when those moments occur, you can see and feel the difference. It shows up in the twinkle in their eyes, in their posture, their movement, their sound bytes and of course, their performances. The more they believe, the better they become.  And the better they become, the more they believe.

My only wish is that we all find this belief within ourselves and that we realize that it’s not going to come from anyone else telling us we can or we are worthy or we are enough. We’ve all heard those truisms a thousand times, and just in case you need to hear it a thousand and one times, I’ll remind you:

You are enough. You are worthy. There is no one else like you and no one else’s success diminishes the possibility of yours. You can be, do and have anything you set your sights upon.

But YOU have to believe in you. Deep down in your heart and soul, YOU have to know who you are and what you’re capable of for yourself. No one can do it for you and once you have that belief, no one can ever take it away from you.

What if your belief in yourself is the difference between being average and being undeniable? What will it take for you to choose to believe that you can do anything, that you are enough, and that you are worthy once and for all?

Much love,
Chris

Published by The Daily Love (May 12th, 2013)

When I first heard this line in Almost Famous (which has since become one of my favorite flicks), I related to it instantly. Coupled with the title, the idea of being on the path toward the realization of a grand vision or lifelong dream and not quite being there yet is universal and something we can all connect with.

If we really think about it, although there may be one defining moment that we aspire to or one specific destination that we’re moving toward, a dream coming true is really more of a gradual process than a discrete moment in time.

When I think about my own dreams from this perspective, the impact is profound. It takes me from a place of longing and yearning for that one moment to a place of really being able to dwell fully in and honor this moment right now. That interplay is inevitable and ongoing. When we are working toward a lofty goal or creating something monumental, it’s natural and very easy to be so focused on the outcome that we forget to enjoy each little step along the way.

The experience of making a puzzle comes to mind. We begin with the picture on the box, which is what pulls us into making the particular puzzle at hand. This is like the vision that we have or the dream we are living into. But the reality is that the majority of time spent having the “puzzle-making experience” is in putting it together one piece at a time. The enjoyment of this process, as much as if not more than the actual completion of the puzzle, is essential. Otherwise, all of the time spent getting there would, in many senses, be wasted or lost time spent “getting somewhere” but not really being present, not really honoring each step or finding fulfillment in the experience.

Where the path to our dreams and our lifelong quest for fulfillment are concerned, this principle is of paramount importance.

If we are only in it for that moment when the journey is complete, that single moment when we arrive at that so-called final destination, then all of the days and hours and minutes we spend getting there become robbed of their inherent value and enjoyment.

To live this way is to miss the point of life, which is to live fully here and now and to honor the only moment we can ever be sure we have: this present one right now.

A small shift in our perspective can completely transform this dynamic.

The truth is that it doesn’t even matter if we actually ever get to the realization of the vision or if the dream comes true. I know that sounds crazy, but try it on and see how it feels. Don’t get me wrong, it would definitely be nice to “make it” and to complete the journey, BUT if that big shiny end destination is giving meaning to what we are doing RIGHT NOW, if it’s giving us a reason to play full out and to dig deep today, then it’s serving its purpose. In other words, if we can use our dreams as fuel rather than as an end, then they can truly lift us up and enrich our whole life experience rather than one elusive moment at the end of the winding road. When we can use the beautiful and inspiring picture on the box to drive us and color our experience of finding and carefully placing each piece of the puzzle in its place, then we are truly living the dream.

This is what “it’s all happening” means. It means that your dream is coming true whether you are one step out of the gate or one step from the finish line. It means that the dream is an experience that unfolds piece by piece, and that each piece is as essential as the very last one. It means that as long as you are on your way toward the life of your dreams, you’ve already made it!

Your dream is coming true. Enjoy every step. It’s all happening!

Much love,

Chris

Published by Positively Positive (May 9th, 2013)

By definition, setting out to learn a new skill or to put a new teaching into practice in life or in any craft requires us to first acknowledge that we don’t know how to do something or be a certain way. For many of us, this alone can be very discouraging and can trigger negative thinking and the inner voice of self-doubt.

In these technologically advanced times we live in, this tendency has been magnified. We want everything RIGHT NOW! We want the fast track to the promised land of greatness, the shortcut to mastery. We want the biggest result with the least amount of effort. This need to have it now, to get there ASAP, coupled with our resistance to the process cuts us off from the experience of learning and makes mastery impossible to attain.

I’ve discovered this tendency in myself recently when it comes to my craft. I’ve been playing guitar, singing and writing songs for over ten years and music is my greatest passion in life. When it comes to guitar playing, I’ve been at a plateau with my level of ability for several years and I’ve always seen guitar as my “white whale” – the thing that challenges me most. Determined to take my playing to the next level, I started taking lessons recently after being a mostly self-taught player for all these years.

I’ve taken a lesson here or there in the past but I’ve never gone in fully and committed to moving through my limitations and working my weaknesses. The first thing that I came up against is my impatience. I noticed that as soon as I see something I want to be able to do, I get excited about the possibility of being able to do it, quickly followed by extreme frustration at the realization that I can’t do it yet and that it’s gonna take a long time to learn.

This is the pattern that has kept me stuck and at a plateau for years. Every time I discover the edge of my ability and set out to expand my skill set, to grow as a player, I would get very quickly frustrated and lose my focus and will to stay the course. Enter the plethora of distractions that I would turn to in those moments to distract myself from the frustration: pick up the Iphone, “maybe I’ll work on something else”, I’m kinda hungry”, “I’m a little tired, maybe I’ll take a nap”, “I’ll get back at it later or tomorrow”, and on and on.

For the past few weeks, for the first time in a loooooong time, I’ve come to the edge of my ability and stayed with the learning process in the face of frustration, impatience and doubt. I’ve spent hours learning to play a twelve second piece of music that I’ve loved for years and that I never had the will or focus to learn. After avoiding it like the plague for the entirety of my path as a musician, I’ve finally decided to suck it up and learn music theory because I know it will enhance my playing and songwriting exponentially. I’ve been working on the same Beatles song for over two weeks and I’m just now getting to a point where I can really play it and sing it without having to think about what I’m doing. And the truth is, it feels sooooo good to honor my craft, to humbly return to a task over and over again and to revere the practice and the process as much as the outcome. The irony is, I’m growing and expanding faster than I ever did with my impatient approach and I’m investing in myself as an artist in a way that’s enriching my experience of music and creating deeper levels of fulfillment.

The same thing applies to how we live life.

It’s humbling to look at what you can’t do or don’t have and come face to face with what it will take to get from where you are to where you want to go. In order to do this and remain empowered, we must begin with total acceptance of where we are now.

As we come up against our limitations and become aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings, it’s essential to celebrate this awareness – which makes growth and new action in the direction of expansion possible – rather than allowing it to frustrate us or discourage us. Most importantly, we must remind ourselves that learning how to do anything new takes time. Learning how to do anything well takes a long time. And true mastery takes a lifetime.

So whether it’s in the practice of a particular craft, the pursuit of a big dream, the creation of something grand, or in the integration of a particular spiritual teaching or way of living, if you want to be a master and truly own your outcome, patience and surrender to the process are the only way. Once this mentality is adopted, it creates space for us begin with acceptance of where we are now and to truly enjoy every step of the process, with less concern about “getting there” or how long it’s taking.

There are no shortcuts to mastery.  Start from where you are here and now. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

Much love,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (May 5th, 2013)

Oh Toronto, how I’ve missed you! It’s been waaaaay too long since my last hometown show and I’m pumped to announce that I’m BACK and I’ve got a special show coming your way! <insert hi-5 here>

I’ll be playing at my favorite TO spot, The Drake Hotel, with my soul sista Amanda Mabro, on May 22nd. By then, the sun will be out in full force and the Toronto we all love will be ALIVE & kickin’!

Click HERE for advance tickets.

I’ve been in a fierce creative head space of late and you can count on hearing some new tunes on the 22nd! I’ll be joined on stage by my bros Ben Rollo on drums & Brian MacMillan on guitar.

To get your tickets for May 22nd at The Drake Hotel, click HERE.

Or that I just had a life-changing insight but… I’m gonna keep it to myself.

Or that there’s a form of expression that absolutely lights me up but… I’m going to hide it in the closet and never use it.

You’d say that’s just plain CRAZY, right?!!

But we do this. All of us do it. A lot.

I know I do. I hold back. I rationalize. I hide. I procrastinate. I doubt. Until I nearly IMPLODE from having this once luminescent, now radioactive, decaying truth or offering all bottled up inside me.

On a recent episode of Super Soul Sunday, Dr. Brene Brown and Oprah had an in depth chat about fear and shame. One of the biggest revelations from their discussion was Dr. Brown’s statement that “unused creativity is not benign. It gets metastasized as rage, judgment and shame.”

Does that sound a bit drastic?

I believe it. And I’ve experienced it first hand both within myself and in my relationships. It’s that feeling of having something you know you need to express but despite that growing yearning, you keep it sealed in tight and it eats away at you.

There’s no question that fear and shame are a huge part of what cause us to keep within that which is meant to be expressed – fear of being judged, fear of not being good enough, fear of intimacy. And the shame that comes along with each of those fears being realized, or the shame of showing our true colors and letting people see who we really are.

Ever been in a situation where there’s something in your heart you need to express to another? And the more you keep it in, the worse it gets, right? When this happens, the tension becomes palpable and the unspoken truth has the potential to become toxic as time passes, both in how it affects the dynamic of the relationship outwardly and in how we feel internally. This toxicity can manifest as a feeling of being disconnected, frustration, irritation, anger or rage.

The same thing happens to us individually where our creative expression is concerned. If deep down in your heart, you love to sing and you never use your voice, it will speak louder in your subconscious, questioning your sense of self. If you love to write stories or poetry and you never put ink on the page, you’re going to feel that unused talent scratching away at you within.

Thoughts, emotions, and creativity are all forms of energy. Energy is meant to keep moving and when we stop its flow and keep it stuck, it intensifies. If we keep this up and keep it in for too long, that stale energy can wreak havoc spiritually, mentally and emotionally. And this stress definitely takes its toll on our bodies.

And as scary as it can be, the simple solution is often to just speak some truth, share ourselves, our thoughts, our emotions and our gifts, openly and authentically. The act of expressing our truth and releasing it has the power to set us free and completely shift a situation, including how we feel about ourselves. Especially when we are coming from our hearts and there is a loving intention behind our expression, only good can come of it.

Have you been talking yourself out of speaking your truth, telling your story, and sharing your gifts? Are you willing to express yourself and trust that what’s in your heart will set you free?

Much love,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (April 28th, 2013)

We all know how daunting those moments can be and in many instances, the desired outcome always seems to be far out of reach. We begin writing and before we can even finish our first attempt at our first sentence, our ruthless inner critic is killing any semblance of a creative buzz with negative feedback. We begin to move our brush and put paint to the canvas and within a few strokes, we’re already over-analyzing our choices and second-guessing ourselves. We play or sing a few notes and decide it doesn’t sound great or if it does, that it must be something we’ve already heard before.

Like clockwork, every time we step up to create, we cut off our own legs with criticism and self-doubt. And so we’re doomed to fail before we’re even a few steps out of the gate.

Why does this happen?

The truth is that creating can be scary. And rightly so – the creative process has remained a mystery for as long as humans have endeavored to make art and to pull from thin air that which previously did not exist. As such, the blank page, the empty canvas, the camera, the stage, the podium, the room full of people – all represent the vast unknown and our brave attempts to venture there naturally stir up our inner worlds from the butterflies in our chests to the demons in our minds.

Thanks to the work of amazing artists and teachers such as Julia Cameron and Steven Pressfield, the psychology of self expression and what it takes to be creatively liberated and vibrant have been illuminated. Both Cameron and Pressfield have shed considerable light on the path to becoming a self-loving, vibrant artist and a true pro.

As an artist and songwriter with a passion for personal growth, since I began playing music, I have been extremely interested in the creative process. Given that I got in the music game later on in my life, I decided right away that I was going to study the art of making art, while also practicing my crafts to give myself a creative advantage. The Artist’s Way and Turning Pro were life changing for me and their teachings are indispensable to anyone on the creative path.

But there’s more…

After ten years of living and breathing creativity and self-expression, I recently discovered something that has been BLOWING MY MIND! Literally.

It was last summer and I’d just re-discovered my love of playing frisbee. Within a few weeks of picking up a new shiny disc, I was hooked and I couldn’t get enough. Luckily, one of my closest friends in Toronto and partners in musical crime, Brian MacMillan, was also a frisbee fan and so we’d have regular sessions of tossing the fris back and forth and then jamming on musical ideas. I began to notice that after a good frisbee session, our creative juices seemed to flow with ease.

Interesting…

Not long after that, I got tickets to see a music documentary about one of my biggest early musical influences and favorite artists of all time, Bob Marley. I’d seen lots of footage of Bob’s life and career, but there was one tidbit in the film that I’d never viewed before. It was mentioned that Bob used to LOVE playing soccer and that he’d often go “lively up himself” with an intense game of footy before heading into the studio to write.

Very interesting…

At this point, I started to put the pieces together and then a few months later, the insight that had been brewing completely crystallized. I was at Marie Forleo’s amazing RHH Live event and I heard my broheim, Josh Pais, give a talk on creative invincibility. Josh is a badass actor and teaches a rad course on the subject called Committed Impulse.

Josh explained that oftentimes, the reason we freeze when we set out to express ourselves is because we’re “trying” to create something of epic proportions and we’re approaching our task in a very “heady” way. “Whenever you step up and put your ass on the line,” he explained, “the default voice in your head is always going to tell you something along the lines of ‘YOU SUCK!’” Josh also shared some of his most effective practical tools for remaining present in order to short-circuit this mental sabotage that is so common.

And that’s when it all hit me like a ton of bricks:

The key to creative freedom is to get OUT of our heads! It sounds so obvious and simple, but I got it on a whole other level in that moment and it’s been a game changer ever since. That’s why Bob used to play soccer before writing. That’s what was happening to Brian and me after our Frisbee sessions. When I play Frisbee, I get lost in it. I’m in my body and the movement gets my creative juices stirring. More importantly, I’m present and out of my head, which makes it possible for me to create from my heart and soul.

BINGO!!!

It didn’t take long before the list of examples attesting to this grew substantially. I found out Mozart was obsessed with billiards and would often compose on the billiard table, rolling the balls in geometric patterns while working. Jack Johnson and Eddie Vedder surf before crafting their songs. Michael Franti does yoga. Katy Perry gets in the flow by spinning and working out. There’s no coincidence here and the same pattern can be seen in the countless painters, playwrights and authors who listen to music and get a little groove going before they make art, or dancers who get their creative ju ju up by watching films and live theater.

True art, the kind that touches and moves people, the kind that is transcendent and that lasts a lifetime, comes from the heart and soul, not the mind. To experience infinite creativity and unbounded self-expression, to bring forth something magical and authentic, the simple secret is to get out of your head and into your body, into this moment, where you are most connected to your heart and your soul.

What’s an activity you can use to get out of your head and give your creativity a boost? What’s your secret weapon gonna be?

May the force be with you,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (April 21st, 2013)

I’m so glad you’re here. I closed my eyes last night and was whisked away to a place deep in my imagination’s nooks and I discovered a secret so magical, a kernel of wisdom so precious, a revelation so powerful that I had to share it with you.

And even though my body was still and resting in my bed, even though my experience did not happen in the world of physical reality, in my heart I know it was real and I have not an inkling of doubt that what I saw and heard was true. And even though this was my dream, I am certain that it was not just for me or about me, but that its meaning applies equally to you, my kindred soul.

Here’s what I learned:

Each and every one of us was born for a reason. We were created to dream big, to create freely, to express fully, to love wholeheartedly and to live passionately. For each of us, this purpose’s expression in the world will look different but at its core, the essence is the same. That is, we are all connected by our relationship to one and another and to the Divine forces that gave us life, that beat our hearts and allow us to breathe, and that nudge us towards our highest potential from deep within our souls.

Yes, that nudging is real. And yes, the vision you see in your mind’s eye is not just an idea or a figment of your imagination, it is a preview of what’s to come. Within each of us, there is a seed and it yearns to grow, to sprout up and out into the world and to blossom fully so that its magnificence can radiate forth in gratitude to the heavens and to ignite the sparks of inspiration within all that experience it.

And so, the ultimate reason each of us are born is to discover that seed within us, to nurture it and water it with love, with kindness, with passion, with persistence and most of all, with faith. With faith that the yearning we feel within us is indeed a higher calling. With faith that we are indeed worthy of growing to our full potential and being a light in this world. With faith that the sun will shine on us and the rain will fall on us to provide us all that we need to grow, to rise up and to realize the true purpose for which we were created, the one that is contained within that little seed. With faith at every step that even though we are not there yet, that our path is unfolding in perfect timing and that we are just where we are meant to be.

That, my dear dreamer, is what is real, true and certain. And this world we live in and this reality we believe to be the truth are full of falsehoods and illusions. The beliefs that we have experienced that cause us to doubt ourselves, to limit our potential, to question our dreams and our abilities – those are all lies that keep us from experiencing the fullness of the life, the being, the creation, the existence we dream of.

It’s time to wake up into the reality you have dreamed of for so long and to recognize who you really are and what this life is truly about. It’s time to honor the seed within you and to live to bring forth the masterpiece that you were made to create. You are the masterpiece. You are worthy and you matter. You are one-of-a-kind.

Water that seed and let your love grow. Nurture your vision and let your light shine. Listen to the truth within you and speak it out loud.

You were born for a reason. Your dreams are real.

Much love,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (April 14th, 2013)

Some of them are little mini dreams and some of them are big shiny ones.

I want to talk about those. The ones that require patience, persistence and that take a lifetime to realize. The dreams that movies are made about and that give rise to those magical moments that affirm our own path when we see someone else finally “make it”.

Often times when the path to our dreams feels like it’s going uphill and not getting any easier, we tend to conclude that because it isn’t easy, we’re barking up the wrong tree. And though there may be a very small number of instances where that’s true, it’s the exception, not the rule.

That being said, there’s no question that bringing the big shiny dreams to life takes A LOT of effort, it means consistently showing up and taking action in the face of challenges, obstacles and even failures. All that falling down and getting up again requires some heavy lifting mentally, emotionally and spiritually. And physically for that matter, because to have the necessary energy to make our dreams a reality requires a high level of attention to our bodies as well.

So to say that “if it’s this difficult to realize my dream, it’s not meant to be” is straight up false logic.

BUT… what often happens is that somewhere along the path of doing what we love and moving in the direction of our majestic vision, the very thing that once brought us joy, that was once the source of our bliss, starts to feel like work. And that’s not how it’s meant to be. So we end up with masses of people who love singing but who aren’t singing, who aspire to write but who aren’t writing, fitness nuts who aren’t working out, painters who don’t paint, and on and on it goes.

Why is this happening?

Well, there’s a few reasons. Perfectionism: definitely a prime suspect. Procrastination: also a culprit. But those two P’s in a pod are a subject for another investigation. What we’re talking about here is WHY the very thing we love doing, that we are born to do, that we dream of doing ends up feeling like work and becomes so heavy-laden that we end up not even doing it.

This conflict between our inner desire and outer experience can be simply understood and best explained in relation to PLEASURE and PAIN. As human beings, we are wired to move TOWARDS experiences, situations, and people that will bring us PLEASURE and AWAY from experiences, situations and people that will cause us PAIN.

Tony Robbins teaches that we can use this wiring to leverage past and future experiences of pleasure and pain to create breakthroughs and lasting changes. A simple example is smoking. If a smoker becomes present enough to the amount of pain they will experience if they continue indulging in their addiction or the amount of pleasure they will experience when they are FREE of it, they can generate the necessary motivation to pull the plug on their smoking and step into a new lifestyle.

I completely agree with this model of what it takes to change and break through old patterns and limiting beliefs.

When it comes to dream catching and especially creative expression, there is one refinement I would add: if the primary motivation for taking action is the avoidance of pain, it will not be sustainable and will significantly diminish the enjoyment of the experience of bringing that dream or creation to life. This is because most of the time, the pain we’re avoiding is the pain of some limiting belief coming true, which then causes that belief and the need to “fix it” to be present in our every action and at every step of our journey. i.e. Major buzz kill. Some common examples are the the pain of being a failure; the pain of not being worthy of love, or the pain of realizing that we’re not good enough.

Question for you: what do you think would be more a powerful, sustainable and joy-inducing motivating mindset?
a) If I resolve to play my guitar, sing and write every day because I’m desperately determined to avoid the pain of not being enough, OR
b) if I make the same resolution to experience the fruits of my creative efforts, to be fully expressed creatively and to inspire others?

Hmmm…No-brainer right?

Seen in this light, it’s immediately apparent why moving away from pain as a motivator is not ideal fuel for our creative fire or for the pursuit of our dreams and why it’s not sustainable. Especially given the underlying assumptions that a lot of our pain-avoidance carries (e.g. I’m not good enough, I can’t, It’s too late). It’s no wonder it feels like work when we approach our dreams and creative outlets from this mindset!

What dream have you been approaching with the avoidance of pain as your primary motivator? Can you come up with some pleasure-oriented motivating factors to fuel your action instead?

Share your insights in the comments below so we can all benefit from each other’s perspectives!

Much love,

CA

Published by The Daily Love (April 7th, 2013)

This often plays out in a “needing to know how it’s gonna go” at every step of the way, which you and I both know can be a great stumbling block and can often keep us from taking any action at all.

This week, I have been humbled on more than one occasion by very clear reminders that my need to be in control, my plan, and my will are not the ultimate determining factors of how it’s all going to unfold. This has forced me (and I’m thankful for the lesson) to practice letting go a little and leaving space for Co-Creation.

When we hold on to our own vision so tight and are so hell-bent on our way being THE only way, we cut ourselves off from the flow of synchronicity, from the help of invisible hands and from the possibility of Co-Creation with the Divine.

In the spirit of this new practice, I decided to record this week’s vlog with no real idea of what I was going to say or how I was going to say it. This brought up a lot of my fears and insecurities about looking bad, not being in control, and having no clue how it was going to go. I had to be really disciplined to keep myself from sneakily planning my ideas and organizing my thoughts but I managed to do it. Here’s what happened…

And…I survived! And the truth is, I actually really enjoyed the experience. I had a sense of aliveness, a thrill and excitement that was only possible in the space of not knowing how it was going to go. And not having it all figured out really forced me to be present, to listen and be open, and to really speak from my heart.

At the end of the day, isn’t that what we really want most? To be fully present to the magic of each moment, to feel our aliveness and the excitement of each experience? To live, breathe, speak and act from our hearts?

So I invite you to explore this practice in your life this week. Where you can let go and leave room for co-creation? Where can you take a leap and trust that you will be caught?

Let’s use the space below to share what we’re taking on and support each other as we let go and see what happens.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Much love,

Chris

Published by The Daily Love (March 17th, 2013)