The Old is New Again Mixed Media
"If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. " Mary Engelbreit Artist To create our best work, we must first believe we can. Optimism becomes table stakes for imagining what might be possible, creating excitement, and motivating people to feel something about our creations. It’s how we think bigger, push boundaries, and move forward to create new things.
Feeling positive is a powerful mindset. When we consciously choose to introduce a positive thought into our minds, our bodies respond instinctively. It has been proven that positive thinking can reduce stress, improve our immunity, and it makes us more resilient in the face of adversity.
Life has its ups and downs, they are part of the normal fluctuations that we all experience. But we need to keep our focus toward the positive, and help ourselves move in the direction of the things we want in life and in our desire to create. More than anything, positive thinking is about setting intention and being open to possibility.
If you were not born with that positive “the glass is half full “attitude, how do you create that outlook? We start by asking ourselves, what magnifies my spirit? We think about the people, ideas, and things that magnify life and lift us up. We need to find them, hold on to them, and use them to build a positive attitude toward what we do and how we live. For me that is nature.
We need to use our imagination to see if what is, can be made better or created differently. Because our imagination fuels innovation and creativity. It helps us identify opportunities both in our daily life and our creative life.
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein
We all must accept that life will unfold the way it’s meant to. Embrace every experience, even the ones that don’t go our way, as an opportunity for growth. I know it is easier said than done, but those who study inner peace will note that it’s not ignoring problems that defines peace of mind, so much as the awareness and acceptance of them. Everything that happens or that we see gives us the opportunity to ask how I can make this better? Creating is taking what we know and making something different.
No matter how epic our misfortune or our failure at something we do or create, it’s ultimately a blip in what will be a long body of work filled with highs and lows along the way. We need to take a deep breath and be present in the moment. Then look for the opportunity that is presenting itself.
Optimism opens the mind to curiosity and creativity, both of which are necessary for innovation to occur. It strengthens us to try again rather than give up. It allows us to keep our goals and dreams in play so we can act on our motivation to keep working toward our goal.
“Choose the positive. You have a choice. You are the master of your attitude. Choose the positive, the constructive.” Bruce Lee