The Creativity & Wellness Connection Ep 75

[00:00:00] VO Artist: Welcome to Your Creative Chord podcast, where host Jenny Lee Hodgins, author and educator shares unique insights dedicated to empowering your creative flow and inspired living. Through solo reflections and dialogues with creators and wellness experts, Jenny Lee shares holistic wisdom influenced by her Buddhist practice alongside poetic insights and practical strategies for living authentically.

[00:00:28] VO Artist: This podcast helps you overcome challenges and unlock your full creative potential.

[00:00:43] Jenny Leigh: Hi everyone, and welcome to our Special Creativity Panel Event on the topic of The Creativity and Wellness Connection. I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:53] Jenny Leigh: I'm Jenny Leigh Hodgins. I'm host of today's event and the founder of this Creative Flow and Inspired Living Facebook group, and I'm really glad you are here to help us kick off this new creative community with such an inspiring collaborative event. Today's discussion centers on how creativity and wellness support and influence each other and how you can tap into both to nurture your wellbeing and creative energy.

[00:01:18] Jenny Leigh: As your host and mc, I will guide our panelists through a series of key questions and we'll go around the panel and hear a variety of perspectives, each offering valuable insight from their experience. Next I'm going to introduce our panelists, and I will also post the links so that you can connect with each one of these panelists directly and learn more about their work. So our focus is on authentic connection contribution and meaningful value around the topic of creativity and wellness. So thank you for honoring that intention.

[00:01:53] Jenny Leigh: Before I introduce everybody, I wanted just to read this quote from my mentor in life, Daisaku Ikeda. He says, "I hope you'll always have the spirit to learn with a lively curiosity and interest. When leaders are enthusiastic to keep on learning and growing, they inspire others. New ideas emerge and spread fresh energy to advance surges forth.

[00:02:19] Jenny Leigh: Instead of pretending to know all the answers, assuming an air of wisdom, let us always strive for greater understanding and insight into all manner of things so that we can continue learning together and spur one another to grow. This is the kind of spirit I want you to cherish." That really struck me and that's my hope going into this conversation that we're gonna learn from each other.

[00:02:43] Jenny Leigh: First, Kathy Tarochione she's a digital artist whose journey beautifully embodies the intersection of creativity and wellness through adversity.

[00:02:53] Jenny Leigh: At 78, Kathy creates AI generated artwork that celebrates mature women and their companion animals, challenging stereotypes and inspiring others to embrace creativity at any stage of life. After a dire health prognosis and ongoing challenges like COPD and congestive heart failure, Kathy chose creativity and a positive mindset over despair.

[00:03:20] Jenny Leigh: Kathy's living proof that creative flow can emerge from life's hardest moments, and that it can fuel inspired living for both artist and audience.

[00:03:30] Jenny Leigh: Courtney Bell is a visual storyteller and passionate advocate for the arts based in northern Kentucky Cincinnati area. Through her primary medium of photography, Courtney captures the vibrant work of local artists, musicians, and performers, using her lens not just to document, but to uplift and connect creative communities.

[00:03:51] Jenny Leigh: Courtney believes that art and photography. Can inspire positive change and bring people together. Her creative work reflects a deep love for culture, music, and collaboration values that echo our focus on creative flow and inspired living. 

[00:04:08] Jenny Leigh: Next, is Beverly Glaser, a psychotherapist ICF certified coach and International Alcohol and drug counselor with a background in fine art and theater.

[00:04:19] Jenny Leigh: She's worked as an art consultant to indigenous communities and has used creative tools like journaling, meditation, art, and hypnosis in her practice. Over the years, Beverly helps women, especially those 50 and beyond, break through self-imposed barriers, rediscover curiosity and compassion, and navigate life's challenges with greater purpose and fulfillment.

[00:04:42] Jenny Leigh: She believes creativity fuels growth and is key to reinvention. 

[00:04:46] Jenny Leigh: Next, we have Wendee Leigh, a designer and artist and coach with a deep focus on individual creativity. As a second generation art educator, Wendee helps creative introverts leverage their values, strengths and energy rhythms to direct meaningful change in their projects, careers and communities.

[00:05:09] Jenny Leigh: Wendee's career spans design, engineering and education with a strong emphasis on guiding others to bring their ideas to life. Through low stakes art activities and reflection, she fosters creativity and personal growth. For almost 20 years, she's helped creative professionals articulate their intuitive processes, enabling them to cultivate authentic practices, overcome challenges, aligned with their core values.

[00:05:39] Jenny Leigh: Next we have Wonderful Morrison, rebel spirit and storyteller who helps purpose-driven women, turn life's toughest moments into fuel for something greater. Through wonderful's own experiences with heartbreak, loss and self-discovery, she has learned that transformation isn't always neat, it's raw, messy, and wildly liberating.

[00:06:02] Jenny Leigh: She believes creativity is a powerful force for healing and self-expression, guiding women to embrace their authentic selves and channel their experiences through art and deep reflection. 

[00:06:15] Jenny Leigh: Lastly we have Sarah Carlton Green, and she's a New York City based fine artist and creativity coach who believes in the powerful connection between creativity and wellness.

[00:06:27] Jenny Leigh: With two decades of experience, Sarah's background includes classical training in drawing, painting, and sculpture. While working as a professional artist and educator, Sarah faced her own struggles with creativity and mental health, observing the same challenges in many other artists who can relate, right?

[00:06:46] Jenny Leigh: This led her to explore the intersection of creativity and wellbeing, working with a creativity coach to enhance her own practice. Inspired by this experience, Sarah became a coach herself, aiming to help others navigate burnout and unlock their creative potential. 

[00:07:05] Jenny Leigh: Okay, so I'm Jenny Leigh Hodgins.

[00:07:07] Jenny Leigh: As a creative empowerment coach , I help individuals tap into their inherent creative voice, deal with that inner critic, and transform blocks into fuel for inspired living. Through my work as a music educator, performer, poet, writer, and coach, I've witnessed firsthand how creativity can impact lives, not just in the arts, but in all aspects of our lives.

[00:07:29] Jenny Leigh: From personal growth to career reinvention, to connecting with a much bigger purpose. I've personally experienced the challenges of burnout, I'm in that now, and self-doubt in my own creative life, and that's why I am so passionate about helping others navigate those same obstacles. I've learned how essential it is to cultivate creative flow,

[00:07:51] Jenny Leigh: to restore self-care, protect mental wellness, and inspire the expression of life in all its diversity. Today we're going to explore how creativity and wellness are connected, whether you're actively creating or you're looking to nurture or reconnect with your own creativity, there's a wealth of insights, to be gained from these panelists today and their experiences.

[00:08:14] Jenny Leigh: And before we begin again, I want to invite all of you, whether you consider yourself a creator or not, and spoiler alert, we are all creators, to question your own understanding of creativity. How do you define creativity and how accessible is that flow of creativity to you in your daily life? By asking ourselves and exploring how to tap into creative energy, we uncover our inherent connection to an unlimited source of creative energy that's always available to us.

[00:08:47] Jenny Leigh: This is what I call creative flow, the connection to that essence of who we are waiting to be felt and expressed. So let's get started. I'm excited. So Kathy, how did your health challenges transform your relationship with creativity? And what advice would you give to others facing similar obstacles who want to tap into their creative potential? 

[00:09:12] Kathy: For me, creativity is a magical gift. It starts with a blank sheet of paper, and then I'm always amazed at what I come up with and what has been given to me to be able to put on that paper.

[00:09:26] Kathy: So to me, the creativity starts with my thought, with my emotions, and then of course with what my feelings are. And because of that, it has carried me through a lot of my challenges. So my physical challenges are something that, I look at that this is what's coming to me and through me. The challenges never last with me.

[00:09:50] Kathy: They always go right through me. I don't look at it as though something's being done to me. It is actually being done for me. And then through me. So I look at my challenges as, status quo, bring it on love. I can deal with whatever comes my way and that is how I've survived my creativity is probably the most important thing to me because it balances me.

[00:10:17] Kathy: It gives me the opportunity to be grateful for what I've been given. Whether anybody else likes it or not, I like it. 

[00:10:25] Jenny Leigh: Courtney, how do you find inspiration and motivation when you're feeling you're in a rut?

[00:10:32] Courtney: One of my favorite things to do when I'm filling in a rut is actually to connect with other creatives, other artists. I love watching other people create, I love watching other creatives in their zone and their element, and that's one of the big things I like to do with my photography, is actually documenting that, showing them their magic spark.

[00:10:56] Courtney: And so, yeah, that's in a nutshell. 

[00:11:00] Jenny Leigh: Love that. Love that. So, Beverly, do you have an example of how art has helped your clients or creativity less broadly? 

[00:11:10] Beverley: Oh, yes. This is where creativity is the essence of really our humanity. It's really who we are. And it's the reason that I went from really the creative role as an actor and artist and into working with indigenous people up north.

[00:11:32] Beverley: I'm in Canada Art is their community. Art is their lifeline. Art is, their history, it's their culture, it's everything. And there are also a tremendous amount of social problems up there. And I wanted to do more. And so that's what led me to psychology and to study and to continue to grow.

[00:11:58] Beverley: And I'm constantly growing. One of my wonderful graduate school teachers said Psychology is both an art and a science, and anyone can do the science. And that is so true. So what I do is I help my clients way beyond the theory.

[00:12:21] Beverley: I literally got out of my PhD program, literally to do boots on the ground and work with addiction and work with real heavy issues. And art was a way of bringing people out. I've worked with people in witness protection. Seriously, people who will not talk to you, but when they draw, and they are not artists, but everybody understands color 

[00:12:47] Beverley: and like Kathy said, scribble and doodle. And it's amazing what comes out of you when you don't really care if anyone's watching. So I suggest to anybody when you're feeling that you're struggling, just doodle. Colors

[00:13:05] Beverley: come. Dance when no one's looking. Move your body. It's all part of expression. 

[00:13:12] Jenny Leigh: Lovely, thank you. What a great service to everybody and a reminder to us that any kind of creative expression is just uplifting to you and helpful.

[00:13:21] Jenny Leigh: Makes us better people too. Right? 

[00:13:24] Jenny Leigh: Wendee, can you tell us, how does being an introvert, and I'm really leaning in 'cause I'm an introvert, how does being an introvert factor into creativity and wellness? 

[00:13:37] Wendee: I think part of wellness is moderating your energy levels.

[00:13:40] Wendee: For me, being an introvert means I tend to like to work inwardly as opposed to putting energy outward. If I spend a lot of time putting my energy outward, I have to be aware of the consequences. Am I cranky? Do I need more sLeighp? Does this mean that I really just can't do any work for the rest of the day?

[00:14:03] Wendee: To honor energy level and social energy level as part of wellness, I think is how it factors into creativity. Creative professionals do have to put their work out into the world.

[00:14:16] Wendee: They do have to work in groups. And there's a fine balance of the work that you do to share, as well as the work that you do for yourself. Knowing that creative energy, um, factors into, um, is affected by the social energy that you're having to expend. So for me, that's kind of how it factors in.

[00:14:37] Wendee: I really have to think about the different kinds of energy I'm using, and knowing ways to take care of myself. 

[00:14:44] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. And really resonates with the burnout recovery process. 

[00:14:48] Jenny Leigh: How has creative expression played a role in your personal transformation and wellbeing? Wonderful. 

[00:14:55] Wonderful: When you first asked me to be on this, I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm not creative. I assume it's a drawing thing. But what's interesting is I am a trained martial artist with 30 years of that, and my physical body has been part of the transformational creative space, like what Beverly was talking about. But it just was too occupying of space when I wanna be stressed out, where the physical body, I was able to move in ways that I've been trained so long and it allowed me to connect to myself in a way that could only come from creativity. I was consumed with pain and suffering and hurt that if I didn't know how to physically release it, it allowed my body just naturally was like, this is how we let go, whether it's kicking 5,000 times. The physical pain reminds me of the emotional pain, it just really is a connection to soul to self.

[00:15:55] Wonderful: And that's how I found that. Oh, I do belong on a creative panel. 

[00:15:59] Jenny Leigh: Yes you DO. 

[00:16:00] Wonderful: So thank you. 

[00:16:02] Jenny Leigh: Yes. Wow. Perfect. My next question is to Sarah Carlton Green. 

[00:16:06] Jenny Leigh: Where does a person begin when experiencing burnout? 

[00:16:11] Sarah: Yeah. Thank you Jenny Leigh. I think that one thing that a lot of us fail to recognize, including myself for quite a long time, is that if what gets us into burnout in the first place is a gradual or repeated leaning in the direction of stress, then where we can begin if we're really paying attention, is by taking that opportunity to reorient ourselves in a more positive direction.

[00:16:39] Sarah: We can't fight fire with fire. We can't transform a negative situation from a negative head space. And so it's only when we shift to a more positively oriented approach that we can really affect both our creative output and our wellbeing. Let me be clear. We're not talking about toxic positivity.

[00:16:59] Sarah: We're not talking about denying reality. But I think what we're talking about here is a mindset which recognizes that there are circumstances which we may or may not be able to control, and then there's how we respond to the circumstances which we can always control. And so that's the really beautiful, empowering part.

[00:17:22] Sarah: I feel like we have a responsibility to ourselves as creatives. And I like, I really want us to hear that part a, a responsibility. We have an ability to respond to our circumstances in ways that are either going to support or erode our creativity and our wellbeing. And so even negative experiences can benefit us if we use them in a positive way.

[00:17:47] Sarah: So that's. You know, however you go about that, and, whatever action steps you take from there is up to, an individual's discretion. We all know best what's gonna suit our needs and our creative projects and endeavors and our personalities, but, I think that, working with someone like yourself or with a coach can certainly provide support in navigating, our own unique, experiences.

[00:18:16] Sarah: But no matter what it is that we end up doing, as long as we do it from a positive state of mind, we're gonna get through the burnout and we'll get far beyond it. And so that's my encouragement to everyone here. 

[00:18:29] Jenny Leigh: Very encouraging, and we will dive a little more deeply into the burnout. How do you know you're in burnout--

[00:18:35] Jenny Leigh: and some strategies and things later on in the discussion here. But thank you for that insight. Really good. I agree. We can't start making positive progress from a negative space. And that's where you have to recognize where you are in that responsibility to see where you are with your energies.

[00:18:50] Jenny Leigh: And I think it does start from there. So really resonates with, with how I think about it too.

[00:18:56] Jenny Leigh: And now let's shift into the event theme, which is, which we've kind of already touched on, especially Wonderful's comment there about the physical movement to tap into feeling better, the connection between creativity and wellness.

[00:19:09] Jenny Leigh: And we're gonna do this next part in a quicker round robin style. So . Short and sweet. So when I call your name, please share your answer to this question, okay. 

[00:19:19] Jenny Leigh: Here's an example. What does creativity mean to me is the question. Celebrating life and all phenomena, solving problems through expression, expanding my view with a fresh perspective, releasing my truth with joyful energy, even in suffering, being authentic, alive, free, communicating the awe of nature and spirit.

[00:19:44] Jenny Leigh: Kathy What does creativity mean to you? 

[00:19:47] Kathy: For me? Being home bound, being, on a 40 foot cannula, not being able to go out. I can't drive. I had a stroke. I'm on a walker. It's my lifeline. It's what I depend on to balance me to create that, harmony within.

[00:20:09] Kathy: And because I'm, very focused. My energy has to be at a level so that I don't make myself sick. It helps to ground me 

[00:20:19] Jenny Leigh: Beautiful.

[00:20:20] Jenny Leigh: Courtney, what does creativity mean to you? 

[00:20:24] Courtney: My gosh, your answer, your both of your answers pretty much like summed it up in a nutshell. For me, creativity is happiness, even if it comes from the darkest of dark places.

[00:20:36] Courtney: It's a therapy. It is a connection. It is a way to express myself and find others that resonate with that to expand my community. 

[00:20:47] Jenny Leigh: Beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah. Wendee, what does creativity mean to you? 

[00:20:53] Wendee: Creativity to me means giving life to an idea or a feeling. So it's expressing, expressing something through your body or by your body, like Wonderful was talking about.

[00:21:06] Wendee: Expressing through improvement, exploration, or curiosity. But it's really taking something that you're imagining and expressing it externally. 

[00:21:16] Jenny Leigh: Love it. Yes. Wonderful. What does creativity mean to you? 

[00:21:21] Wonderful: To me it means I'm aligned. I'm aligned with myself. It, and then I feel this flow, you know, like 

[00:21:30] Wonderful: white river rafting. They're like, don't try to swim when you fall off. Just flow with the river and we'll come get you. That's what creativity it, because it empowers me. It empowers me to be energetic and it really allows me to be self devoted. I think so many people struggle with discipline and commitment, but I don't think that's it.

[00:21:50] Wonderful: I think it's about self devotion and I think that devotion is rooted in creativity. That's what it means to me. 

[00:21:59] Jenny Leigh: My goodness. So well articulated. Sarah, what does creativity mean to you? 

[00:22:05] Sarah: Dr. Eric Maisel. A creativity coach, a prolific author, set up a definition of creativity that, really comes down to four different elements.

[00:22:14] Sarah: To me it's this specific way of relating to the self and relating to the world, which anybody who is creative, which is all of us, right? I mean, we all have this very specific way of going through life.

[00:22:28] Sarah: And so when you take that and you combine it with cultivation of a certain mental state, which is quieting the mind, but different from meditation where you're quieting the mind for the sake of emptying it, this is quieting the mind for the sake of hearing that small still voice of inspiration. You've got that component which allows for the generation of those ideas.

[00:22:51] Sarah: And then a really core component of creativity, which I think distinguishes it from imagination is exactly what Wendee said, which is the elaboration of those ideas, actually doing something with them. So, I feel like those four concepts really encapsulate what creativity means to me.

[00:23:09] Jenny Leigh: Well, if you guys aren't inspired yet, you must be asLeighp because this has been amazing so far. So this is awesome. Thank you all so much for these wonderful, comments.

[00:23:19] Jenny Leigh: So Beverly, please tell us what creativity means to you. 

[00:23:22] Beverley: For me, creativity is going deep, deep. It's deep within myself. It's knowing how to see, it's knowing what to see and how to interpret it so that I can have value.

[00:23:39] Beverley: It's slowing down so that I could do more. It's, for me, it is meditating, but not by meditating so that I can empty my mind, but, so I can see things with different perspectives. 

[00:23:55] Beverley: 'cause we're all creative, but when we are in this tunnel vision, what do we see? We hit that wall and we get that burnout. So for me, creativity is, like I said, everything's what I do immediately as soon as I wake up in the morning, I will meditate, I will do yoga. I will use that body like Wonderful said.

[00:24:20] Beverley: Creativity is all about that. It's all within us. 

[00:24:24] Jenny Leigh: Well, and that is a perfect segue into the next part of our, panel discussion. We're gonna talk about that theme of wellness and creativity. 

[00:24:33] Jenny Leigh: This has been extremely valuable for me so far. I just relate to everything. It's literally how I feel about everything. Everything out of your mouths is what I experience as a creator. So very, validating. Thank you.

[00:24:44] Jenny Leigh: So the first question, anybody can chime in. How do wellness practices impact creativity? 

[00:24:55] Jenny Leigh: Courtney, go ahead, 

[00:24:55] Courtney: So for me, like, not to make it like super dark or anything, but I discovered my creativity after, an extent in the hospital, where I actually was invited to art therapy twice a day, from the therapist because they realized how much it helped me and that I, I got, sorry, I got emotional for a second, but to me, creativity and wellness is one-to-one 

[00:25:22] Courtney: because even though I consider myself a creative, I have my side creative businesses, I still work a nine to five. I still work a very highly stressful nine to five. In clinical research. So you can only imagine how much weight that can come onto a person. I know that nine to five is helping people, but then that weighs, I'm such an empathic person that weighs so heavy on me as well.

[00:25:49] Courtney: So to me it's as soon as I can sign off of work and put something creative in my hands, whether it's my camera, whether it's a coloring book, whether it's actually exercising, because I think that's a huge, the body is a form of creative and expression, whether it's gardening outside in my yard, that's creative expression. 

[00:26:10] Jenny Leigh: Yes. And I think we can all relate to that. And Kathy, a hundred percent has something to say about that. Would you like to 

[00:26:16] Kathy: Oh, yeah. 

[00:26:17] Kathy: I sure do. As I alluded to earlier, creativity is my lifeline.

[00:26:22] Kathy: I have, COPD for almost 14 years now. I'm in, severe stages. I'm home bound in that, but my personality is such where I have a very, giving personality and I want to pay it forward and to serve. 

[00:26:37] Kathy: And the way I do that is to help build mental strength. Mental strength is the focus for me. Because it helps me understand about what is going on with my body. I know I have not taken the time until about five years ago when really things got really serious and I realized that I was making myself sick because of the thoughts and emotions that I would have.

[00:27:03] Kathy: And the only relief I would ever have is when I went on to do my artwork and I would get lost in it and it would be hours later. And then I'd realize, you know what I, I don't feel, I don't feel bad. So the connection took me a long time, took me a long time, ladies for it to finally gel. Like Wonderful

[00:27:21] Kathy: says that when that body isn't moving and you make it move in ways that you hadn't for a long time and you feel better about it, that works great. But the creativity side of it where I can give something to others based on what my feelings were. When I got introduced to AI Midjourney, I've created over 22,000 AI graphics so far.

[00:27:46] Kathy: Whatever has come in my mind, somehow got into my emotions, somehow got into my feelings, and then went onto that, that paper. And then I get, awed, I'm like, oh my God, I can't believe these graphics come out of me. And it's almost like a visual orgasm. It's something that I can really relate to. So I feel better about myself and I forget about what I'm going through and, it's just part of the deal. 

[00:28:15] Jenny Leigh: Very, well explained there and Wonderful, before I come back to you, I just wanna say, yeah, both Courtney and Kathy have expressed what often many people feel that wellness, even suffering illness, not just wellbeing, can be the catalyst for creative output.

[00:28:33] Wonderful: To me, creativity and wellness is the physical aspect of it, but I also think it's inspiring. So much of us is, is like, let's impact the world. I wanna contribute to the world. But when I hear every single one of you communicate what creativity is to you and what you've created from it, it inspires even people you don't think you're going to reach.

[00:28:57] Wonderful: Right? Like, I've gone to museums where I'm like, there's no way they knew how to shadow in 1479. But I'm so inspired by that moment in their life, in their time. I don't know what they were going through, but I can see and I can feel who they were as a person and it allows me to feel seen and it's been 200 years.

[00:29:21] Wonderful: I really think that the wellness it's so much more well-rounded. I think it's the core of human existence. It can only come from that space of creativity. And when we're not feeling well, it's stunted and we feel stuck. And then we need to be inspired by somebody else. This is what this panel is about. We are here to express our most authentic self, to inspire ourselves and each other and everyone else who might be watching.

[00:29:49] Wonderful: That's how I see it. 

[00:29:51] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. I did not pay her to say that. 

[00:29:53] Jenny Leigh: You guys really expressed, similar experiences that I've had. I also want to say, as a person who's been a creative and a professional musician for 25 years, I wasn't always in the state of mental wellness, and yet I had, a lot of, creativity come out, which is what Courtney and Kathy were saying, even when you're in the midst of suffering, you can still tap into and transform that and create value through the creative process.

[00:30:18] Jenny Leigh: Now we're gonna move into the topic of overcoming barriers to creativity. And the reason I segued like that is because there are many creators that don't practice wellness practices at all, especially, professional creators. We get so bogged down in a deadline or the rut of the, frenzied schedule that we forget, to do anything about wellness, like sLeighp, for example.

[00:30:40] Jenny Leigh: I wanna dive into that because I definitely, as a creator myself, experience when I am practicing wellness practices, like Sarah mentioned and Wendee mentioned, and you've all really mentioned it, I definitely feel like I'm coming from a better place and energy. So let's shift to that. What practices or mindset shifts help you or your clients overcome stress or burnout or creative blocks or even things like procrastination or perfectionism or anxiety?

[00:31:11] Jenny Leigh: What practices or mindset shifts help you or your clients overcome stress or burnout or creative blocks, including procrastination, perfectionism, or anxiety. 

[00:31:23] Jenny Leigh: Beverly, go ahead. 

[00:31:24] Beverley: I think I mentioned that, but I don't think I could mention it enough times that very often all you have to do is breathe. Breathe deeply. . Take that pause, stop, give yourself some grace. We're always on this fast track and it's telling you something.

[00:31:52] Beverley: You have to read your body. You can't always be stuck in your head. Your head will take you into some very dangerous places if you let it go there. So what you really have to do is stop, and it's the hardest thing for us, particularly women that are on this fast track, that have so much to do .

[00:32:14] Beverley: Instead of saying Do more, which we're all taught in school, it's always be the best, right? Well, what is the best? The best is what's the best for you. That's what the best is. So stop, breathe, give yourself some grace. If you're procrastinating, maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe you've been pushed too hard.

[00:32:41] Beverley: Maybe you just don't wanna do it. Anything that you wanna do, you will do it? Anything we want, we can get what we want, but we also have to say, maybe I'll do this later. Maybe it's not something I wanna do now.

[00:32:57] Beverley: Maybe I'm being pushed. So read yourself, understand yourself. Give yourself some grace. You don't have to do what you don't wanna do unless we're forced to. And then there are many different ways of skirting around that issue too. But the bottom line is allow yourself just to be, and you will move forward when you're ready.

[00:33:24] Beverley: But if you're pushing yourself. You're going to lose. 

[00:33:28] Jenny Leigh: Beverly hit some really good points there. 

[00:33:30] Jenny Leigh: Being in burnout recovery, you hit it spot on, and The thing is self-compassion. Take a moment. And see what do I need? And that in itself, it's not even a mindset shift really. It's just like Beverly just said, it's a pause.

[00:33:47] Jenny Leigh: And I think it's really important to pause and check in with yourself as a creator before you're on the journey of burnout. When you're in stressful situations, that really does help release your creative energy. Just pause and check in. What do I need?

[00:34:02] Jenny Leigh: Sometimes that just means more rest, not creative output. 

[00:34:07] Jenny Leigh: Hey, Jenny Leigh Hodgins here. I'm coming to you today to speak really openly about my own burnout recovery and where I am in the season of my life and the challenge of setting boundaries. I'm really leaning into self-compassion. I. And embracing stillness. Rest, distraction, fun play. To really honor that ebb part of the ebb and flow of creativity, this part of creativity, this part of treating myself with compassion, allowing myself things that nurture me.

 Stillness, quiet, play fun, looking out the window and watching the bunnies chase each other, winding down with my mom and doing quality things like playing cards or. Puzzling with her or taking her out in nature. These are all the kinds of things I include in my Creative Empowerment Coaching Program. I'm literally walking through my own version of Burnout Recovery, which is a big component of my program more broadly.

It's about nurturing creativity and enhancing it and navigating and transforming blocks of any sort. And the reason this is a big part of my program is because I'm living it. You know, I know what it feels like. As a creator, if you're feeling creatively stuck or burned out, and already for support to reignite your creativity, I invite you to explore my creative empowerment coaching program.

Visit YourCreativeChord.com/workwithme  to schedule a call and see if this program is the right fit for you. The link is in the show notes for more details. I look forward to helping you clear blockages and build a sustainable, empowered, creative, and inspired life.

[00:36:00] Wendee: Yeah, for me, I'm thinking about people that are artists or they're creating things that you see and they're doing it professionally. When they're feeling burnt out, and having a hard time with their creativity. I check in and say, am I making this because I have this expectation that I'm sharing it with other people or even on social media that I'm sharing it with other people.

[00:36:23] Wendee: Am I paralyzed by the blank white page because it has to be perfect? So one of the mind shifts that I really encourage is just do it for yourself. Don't share it. Know that it's going to be not perfect and just do it for the process of what you get doing it. Understanding that you don't always have to use your creativity for something 

[00:36:47] Wendee: that's seen. 

[00:36:48] Jenny Leigh: Thank you for saying that because even professional creatives, or even if you're not a professional creative, people just feel that pressure for some reason, that it has to be perfect or whatever.

[00:36:58] Jenny Leigh: And your advice there, Wendee, just do it from your own voice first. That's the best place it can come from, even if you have to do it for a living. But if you're tuning into your creative voice first, it's certainly gonna come from a more energetic, authentic, true place, which lands more with people anyway, 

[00:37:13] Jenny Leigh: Courtney. Go ahead. 

[00:37:15] Courtney: For me, when I'm experiencing burnout, like I already touched on it earlier, is watching other creatives create and not to say like, oh, I wanna see what they're doing and take it and make... it's seeing that magic is what sparks it for me.

[00:37:30] Courtney: I'm a big kinda, geeky nerd type of thing. I love reading a good book, on like a how to, I have creativity journals. Jenny, I have your book. I have, different things like, I'm just looking at my bookcase here. I have basic costume sewing, I have acrylic painting.

[00:37:49] Courtney: I have, the joys of photography. So I find other ways to like almost study creativity, in a way that it can bring that spark back into me when I'm feeling that burnt out. Because I just love a good book and that makes me happy. 

[00:38:09] Jenny Leigh: Yes. Perfect. You're such a voracious learner. And that is exactly how I started this.

[00:38:15] Jenny Leigh: It's when we have that open spirit to learn that can just blow away burnout and block because you're just open to other ideas and that does trigger something. I love that you guys shared that. Here's the next question. What's a powerful technique for pushing past creative resistance, especially when stuck in procrastination, low productivity or perfectionism. And you just gave us one. Courtney. Thank you for that. Does anybody else have a powerful technique for pushing past creative resistance? Whether you're low productivity or low energy for creative output, procrastination or perfectionism.

[00:38:53] Sarah: , I'll just jump in here. Specific to burnout, but I think this applies across the board. I think one thing that's really beneficial is that as creatives, it's really helpful to stop thinking that the answer to something like burnout or blockage lies in the forcing of our will or 

[00:39:13] Sarah: insisting on a certain outcome or thinking that we can somehow beat burnout by pushing ourselves even harder to get through it, right? Those things might work as short term solutions, but they're hardly sustainable for our wellbeing. So I think training ourselves to use a more positive mindset, while that might sound oversimplified and maybe trite, how often do we really do that, right?

[00:39:38] Sarah: What is it that we're usually doing if we're in a situation like burnout? We all know that in burnout, by definition, we've been overlooking our own needs, we're maybe lacking in some self-awareness. We might be angry at our circumstances or angry at ourselves for being in those situations.

[00:39:58] Sarah: We might have some guilt and some shame because of that, and we might be punishing ourselves and. Holding our noses to the grindstone or like suffering our way to the finish line. All of that is negatively oriented and it only compounds the issue. If I could offer a piece of advice relative to this question, it would be in reference to a quote that I heard and really loved.

[00:40:23] Sarah: And that is that "The first step to enlightenment is lightening up." And that's where we can begin. That's a really great tool. It's very easy to remember and I hope that's helpful. It certainly has been for me. 

[00:40:34] Jenny Leigh: Courtney,

[00:40:34] Courtney: I think a big thing is sometimes you do have to lighten up. It's not so serious, y'all. It's really not, you know? And it can be at times, but it's not always. And giving yourself that grace. A big thing for me personally is, meditating. I've come through many, hours of therapy, and I take what I learned in therapy, the journaling, the, understanding this is what's happening, but what are those links to why this is happening?

[00:41:08] Courtney: Meditating, journaling can kinda help bring that out. And understanding that linkage, giving yourself grace. Have I been pushing myself too hard? Do I feel an outside pressure? Is it financial pressure that I feel like I need to push, push, push, push, push.

[00:41:24] Courtney: Understanding there are circumstances that are gonna give you those stressors and. Allowing those stressors to happen in a way. Someone I think said it earlier about the whitewater rafting is like, ride that wave. Ride it, you know, sometimes you just have to ride it and doing that can transform your mind a little bit too.

[00:41:47] Courtney: And I think a lot of people are like, oh, starving artists, suffering artists. You don't have to be that. 

[00:41:54] Jenny Leigh: Well said lady. For me, as a very introverted, deep ruminating thinker, who is very driven and hardworking, for me, lightening up sometimes simply means self-compassion, just have some self-compassion for even in the moment. Just a little self-compassion takes that heaviness out and lightens me up a little bit and actually eases the burnout, because I'm just feeling better, 'cause I'm not beating myself up. 

[00:42:20] Jenny Leigh: These are really powerful, insights and strategies. I'm really enjoying this and getting so much value. I hope you guys are too. 

[00:42:26] Jenny Leigh: What strategies help manage the ego and inner critic when exploring or aiming for creative expression and, I just said one self-compassion there's one. But do you have any strategies yourself for when you're trying to be creative or when you're working with clients on managing that ego and the inner critic?

[00:42:45] Jenny Leigh: I have like a little simple formula and one of the first things I do, 'cause I've taught kids from age four and all the way up to adults age 90 for 30 years in different music, piano, chorus, singing, writing, yada, yada.

[00:42:59] Jenny Leigh: And I don't have any troubles with the ego or the inner critic with kids. They don't care about the inner critic or the ego. They're just flowing it. But adults have this trouble. And what I do is just say , you just have to get in the, process of letting go of your ego.

[00:43:16] Jenny Leigh: Just don't even listen to it. Just throw it out. If you have to imagine putting it in a bubble and just knock it out into the sky, this is not time for your ego. This is time for listening to your voice creatively with no judgment, and then just letting it go where it wants to go with your curiosity. There is no place for an ego in that process.

[00:43:38] Jenny Leigh: So first of all, just let it go. You know that. And if you have to visualize sending it out into the sky somewhere, get it out of your way. Beverly, did you want to add a strategy to manage the ego or the inner critic? 

[00:43:49] Beverley: You said it and it's pretty well tied together. There's that imposter syndrome also. That, maybe I'm really not as good as people think I am.

[00:44:00] Beverley: But people are gonna talk about you anyway. You can't win them all. You have to be in the right place for yourself. And if you are doing something for yourself authentically, it's a win-win.

[00:44:16] Beverley: Ego has nothing to do with it. People are gonna judge and oh yes they will. And you're gonna lose if you're gonna try to be liked by everyone, because you won't be liked by everyone. The higher up you go the more dangerous and the more risk you are taking. So what you do is just do it for yourself.

[00:44:38] Beverley: Don't think so much. And that's exactly what you said. The more we start thinking about what we can do better, what we should be doing, who people should like us, what I should wear, blah, blah, blah, go on and on. And women have a particular problem with that. Let it go And just do you. And back to that very simplistic, do you. Just be. We are all human.

[00:45:05] Beverley: Sometimes when you're burning out, it means I've just done too much. I need a break. And it's the same thing with the ego. Let it go. Give yourself a break. 

[00:45:18] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. Let's talk more about wellness habits that support creativity.

[00:45:23] Jenny Leigh: We're gonna focus on the signs of burnout, ways to recover and mindset strategies that help sustain our creative energy. The first question is, what are the signs of burnout for you?

[00:45:33] Jenny Leigh: For myself, an attitude of, negativity, an attitude of, I don't care. Like I just don't have the energy to care. And of course, exhaustion. So what are the signs of burnout for you? Wonderful. Go for it. 

[00:45:47] Wonderful: I really loved what Beverly said because in my twenties, there was this get thick skinned, and that, just not giving as much weight to what people think or their opinions and all that kind of stuff.

[00:46:00] Wonderful: What I've realized is in my burnout, because I'm action oriented, I'm very results driven, and my burnout is where I am doing too much. But for me, burnout is when I keep adding on to my list and I've really come to two places that has helped me tremendously because meditating is, is a lot of work for me 'cause I'm such a, hyper driven person that walking, going for a walk in nature, not in the concrete jungle, I gotta get into nature where it's more organic environment is very important.

[00:46:39] Wonderful: Or taking a nap. I don't care what time of the day it is, but if I could just shut my entire system down and actually take a nap, those two has been more helpful in that process. Because I always feel like I have to balance, ego and groundedness? So I'm always reaching for the stars, but I always gotta stay grounded reaching, oh my gosh, that right there is its own Olympic sport.

[00:47:06] Wonderful: I feel like for me that's what's been most helpful. 'cause I'm a very physical, kinesthetic, action oriented person and so, that's where I feel it fulfills my creativity. 

[00:47:17] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. And that is actually the very next question, ties in perfectly: when experiencing burnout, what creative practices or wellness habits help restore energy and boost rejuvenation?

[00:47:28] Jenny Leigh: You touched on taking a nap, taking a walk in nature, nature immersion is a big one for me. Kathy? 

[00:47:34] Kathy: I use a Pomo Dore. You can use it as a clock, from five minutes all the way up to 45 minutes. You set it and it stops you. And for me, I'm juggling 15,000 things at the same time.

[00:47:46] Kathy: And I get bored. And then when I get bored, I start to, I ache all over and it's like, oh gosh, do I really wanna do this? But with this, it forces me and when the alarm goes off, I get up, I walk around, and particularly because I'm home bound, and, have physical restraints or limitations is wonderful for me because it forces me to get up.

[00:48:09] Kathy: I take my dog out, I have some coffee and I wait 10 minutes in between each one. I just don't go around, walk around and come back again. It's worked wonders for me. So I would absolutely suggest that. 

[00:48:21] Jenny Leigh: That's a great tip. Thank you. Courtney,

[00:48:23] Courtney: The whole nature thing. A big thing for me is because, I grew up in, like technology. Technology, inundated technology, technology, and I, I almost feel bad for kids nowadays because they're born with a phone in their hand nowadays.

[00:48:36] Courtney: I'm not even a Gen X, but think about how, generation X was raised. We drank from the water hose, you got fed breakfast, you got kicked out, you got sent outside, and you came home. Either when literally for me, the dinner bell was rang or the lights came on.

[00:48:51] Courtney: Right. Disconnecting from the internet is great, don't get me wrong. The internet is great. I've been able to connect with so many different people, literally across the world and learn so much. But getting back to reality, the here and now, and being able to, like you said, go out in nature.

[00:49:13] Courtney: Walk out nature, take your hammock and go take a nap out there. And just be one, with you. Because when you turn all of that other stuff off, you have that time to either meditate or think about process. Give yourself that grace, you have that time. 

[00:49:29] Jenny Leigh: So bringing up those limitations of screens and embracing nature.

[00:49:33] Jenny Leigh: Wendee? 

[00:49:34] Wendee: When I was burnt out, I was surprised at how long it took to recover. So one of the things is to know that it takes a while to regain a sense of energy. For me, in addition to walking in nature, being in the pool and just sitting.

[00:49:51] Wendee: Or breathing, working, with daily stretching or yoga and trying to connect my breath more with my body. Also helps, just take care of myself and recover from burnout. 

[00:50:05] Jenny Leigh: That is perfectly, aligned with what I'm feeling. I think a lot of you are similar, that we're very driven, high energy, multitasking, productive people, and that describes a lot of creatives.

[00:50:17] Jenny Leigh: And for me it's even a challenge to focus on the fact that I'm breathing. Like that's one of the most basic mindful practices that you can do. Just be present for just a minute with your breathing. Just feel it in your body. Take a minute. And so one of the things I do, I love that tip from Kathy, time yourself and then get up and take a break.

[00:50:39] Jenny Leigh: That's really good. Do a little movement, and then, a cup of tea or something. Just a little 10 minute breather and all these nature immersion things are great. And for me, even just where I'm sitting, I see three bunny rabbits out my window running around, chasing themselves sometimes, and I'll just daydream and watch them goof off that little mental break.

[00:50:59] Jenny Leigh: Frequent things like that throughout, the workday, just moments of it, little moments of it. You don't need like an hour and a half in nature. Sometimes we don't have that time, right? But those short moments of capturing breaks really do help me. 

[00:51:13] Jenny Leigh: What mindset practices are helpful when dealing with burnout and recovery? Self-compassion is one I'm really practicing because I'm so driven. I think a lot of people in burnout, the reason we're in burnout is because we're driven. We don't know how to stop ourselves. So the mindset practice for me is use self-compassion.

[00:51:34] Jenny Leigh: What do I need? Looking at the bunnies sometimes that's all I need, just a few times a day. What mindset practices are helpful when dealing with burnout and recovery? 

[00:51:44] Kathy: I do a self check. I have to do that every day because I don't know what I'm gonna wake up to every morning.

[00:51:52] Kathy: With that self check, whatever it is, I accept it, honor it, and then move on to the next. And I have a little thing that I do every day. I stand up in front of the mirror. I put on 30 pounds with this illness because of Covid. I lost my hair. So this is a wig.

[00:52:08] Kathy: And I had a problem with myself. So I stand in front of the mirror, totally naked every morning, and I stand there until I laugh. And then I do one of these Ooh la la here I am. Here I am. Yay. And then I say, okay, let's get going. So I put my mindset into that. It's okay, whatever happens.

[00:52:29] Kathy: And again, come on in. It's okay. Bring it on, I can do it. So that's how I set my day up every single day. And I'm loving it. And it's just like I can go in the mirror and I can go, oh, and I love you too, honey. So that's it. 

[00:52:45] Jenny Leigh: And I love how you're honoring yourself. That's such a key. What a beautiful, description and, an example of doing that. Let's all strip down in the morning and look at ourselves in the mirror and laugh. 

[00:52:55] Kathy: Because it's not something you really wanna see. But once you take a look at it, you go, not so bad. You know, I can live with this. I can live with this. And it is what it is. I mean, you can't change it today.

[00:53:07] Kathy: So I went from not liking it to accepting it to now. I love it. It is who I am. 

[00:53:13] Jenny Leigh: Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. 

[00:53:15] Courtney: First of all, I'm adopting that practice. Thank you. Because I've actually kinda had the opposite thing where, I've recently lost 80 pounds and although I do feel better and look better with clothes on, when the clothes I come off, not quite so much.

[00:53:32] Courtney: So, to me it's knowing that I am in charge of my own happiness. I am not in charge of outside circumstances, but I am in charge of how I react to those circumstances. I am in charge of how I let those circumstances affect me. A big thing is, I'm just gonna go ahead and shout out the type of therapy I've gone through.

[00:54:00] Courtney: It's called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and it is, very much, controlling your own happiness. One thing we did in therapy every day was a self check was Rate Your Day. We rated our day, and there was like a couple different categories, and it was like one to five. Why are you rating it one to five?

[00:54:20] Courtney: For me it's that mindset of I'm in charge of my own happiness, even though I may not always feel that way. But knowing that I'm in charge and there's outside circumstances, but it's how I react and how I reign myself in from that.

[00:54:37] Jenny Leigh: That was beautiful. Beverly, go ahead. 

[00:54:40] Beverley: Yes. Something no one mentioned and I think it's extremely important and that's gratitude. No matter how low you are on the scale of the day, if you think of the things that could be worse or the things that you have or the gifts and blessings that you still have, it moves you forward.

[00:55:02] Beverley: We always have to remember a lot of people, and sometimes I suggest it is at the end of the day, give a gratitude list what went good, okay. Rather than what was bad. We often look at the negative. So what was good today? Even if it was a terrible day, find the good. You can move forward. 

[00:55:25] Jenny Leigh: Very, very good tip.

[00:55:26] Jenny Leigh: In my Buddhist practice, it's morning and evening. In the morning, of course, we're making determinations for the day and how we want the day to go. In the evening. It's a reflection on how the day went and appreciating those things that went well and what you accomplished because we do tend to, just biologically focus on the negative out of survival habits.

[00:55:46] Jenny Leigh: So that's a really good, tip for us to remember. Thank you, Beverly. 

[00:55:49] Wonderful: Yeah. I just wanted to throw in a one that I learned a few years ago. Have y'all heard of that? Ha. Prayer. Prayer. So I say, whenever I'm feeling that kind of kick of, oh my goodness, what's happening here?

[00:56:05] Wonderful: It's four sentences you just repeat. It's a mantra. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." The first few times I said it, I was like, sounds great. But as soon as I started doing it in front of a mirror and I stared at myself and I had to ask myself to forgive myself, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me.Thank you. I love you." It became an embodying part of saying it to myself in a way that, has changed my outcome every single time. 

[00:56:39] Jenny Leigh: That's great. All of these tips really great for the mindset shifts, and even though, research has, studied how the most successful professional creators function, it's not always, the case that we all practice solid wellness, routines or mindset shifts.

[00:56:57] Jenny Leigh: But I will say that as a creator and having taught and worked with many creators over the years, these positive tips that you all just chimed in with, definitely help. I think it was Sarah that said, when you're coming from a more positive energy, you can give a more positive output in your creativity.

[00:57:15] Jenny Leigh: So love that. Thank you all. This has been just really great.

[00:57:19] Jenny Leigh: I wanna also now shift to the topic of structuring for consistent creative process or creative flow or creative output.

[00:57:28] Jenny Leigh: One of the most important things for sustaining creative output is consistency, like supportive routines or tools or small daily practices. These kind of things help build momentum and they train our brains to stay open to inspiration and they keep our creative skills active. As a pianist, as a composer, as a writer, you gotta get your butt in the seat regularly, whether you're inspired or not.

[00:57:50] Jenny Leigh: And those tools and the things that I use and just getting there, it makes it easier to access creative ideas, especially when the load is overwhelming or busy or stressful. What helps me most is, like I mentioned, having a really simple structure, routine, some tools in place, regular habits that put me in the space open to my creative flow, whether that's my music studio or office or piano practice time or walking in nature, or my daily Buddhist prayer or some mantra or meditation or yoga.

[00:58:21] Jenny Leigh: I use specific tools. My keyboard notation, recording software, a laptop, my phone to create music or visual content from my nature photos and things. I never am waiting for inspiration. I think that's a key point when it comes to sustainable structuring for consistent creativity. When inspiration comes, it's really great.

[00:58:42] Jenny Leigh: It's exciting and it's energizing and it's fun, but it is not reliable. Instead, I welcome the creative muse by showing up regularly when no matter what I feel like, in some way. And that's what puts me where the creative muse can join me through, my words or music or photos or design or, social media stuff or whatever.

[00:59:02] Jenny Leigh: My question is what small consistent habits help, cultivate creativity even when you're uninspired or you're busy? Do you have any small, consistent habits that cultivate creativity? Sarah, go ahead. 

[00:59:19] Sarah: Jenny Leigh, I think, was it Tchaikovsky who said, I'm only inspired every fifth day, but if I don't put in the first four days, I'll never get there.

[00:59:29] Sarah: So that one has always served as a really helpful reminder to me, and if anyone is familiar with, the organization, Arts Anonymous, it's an acronym for artists recovering through the 12 Steps. They have a brilliant practice, they call it Five Alive, and it basically just involves dedicating five minutes a day to your craft, whatever it may be.

[00:59:51] Sarah: If you're not physically able to create, maybe you're traveling or have a health restriction or what have you, even if you're just dedicating five minutes of mindfulness to developing ideas or fostering your creativity in some way. That's really all it takes. So often you'll find that once you hit that five minute mark, maybe you've set a timer like Kathy does.

[01:00:14] Sarah: You've already built some momentum. Most likely you're not gonna shut it off right after five minutes, it's gonna kind of build. And even if it doesn't, that's okay too. That would be my suggestion. 

[01:00:26] Jenny Leigh: I love that. It tunes in perfectly or aligns with what I've always taught piano students that sometimes you can't be at the keyboard, so just use my five minute rule, just sit at the keyboard and look at your music or think about it.

[01:00:39] Jenny Leigh: That typically sucks 'em in and they wanna try it and then that five minutes goes to 10 or 15 minutes. But again, I stress it's not how much time you're spending there, it's just getting there and doing a little bit regularly as much as possible. Did anybody else have their hand up on that? 

[01:00:53] Jenny Leigh: Oh, Kathy, there you go. 

[01:00:57] Kathy: I do something that's probably very unusual, and you probably haven't heard of it, but about, 20 minutes before I go to bed, I make certain that it's dark in my room and I'm very spiritual, so I put on some, 5 28 Hertz music and, I like to lucid dream. So I first, put into perspective what happened during the day.

[01:01:21] Kathy: Not what didn't happen, but what did happen, what I did accomplish. I become very grateful that I was able to accomplish it. Then I take a trip visually where I'm flying. I visualize myself flying, and I picture myself actually doing what I wanna do tomorrow. And by the time I wake up in the morning, I'm prepared and ready, and I've got my tasks all together because I know what I need to get done.

[01:01:49] Kathy: If I don't do it, then I wake up in the morning and I go into a routine and I'm kind of all over the place and I don't have it together. But if I do my lucid dreaming where I'm physically there, still awake, and I love to fly, so that's why I pick flying. 

[01:02:05] Jenny Leigh: That is great. 

[01:02:06] Kathy: And that's what I do. 

[01:02:08] Jenny Leigh: I love that.

[01:02:08] Jenny Leigh: And it's very aligned with envisioning, which is a big practice for, creators. Envisioning what you want to create, envisioning yourself succeeding with that or being there. What a great segue into that. 

[01:02:20] Jenny Leigh: This is just wonderful. I just feel like you're my people and I wanna thank every single one of our panelists, for your thoughtful and beautiful insights on both creativity and wellness and how they connect. 

[01:02:32] Jenny Leigh: Let's finish with our final takeaways from the panelists. I'll start by sharing my thoughts as an example on this, and then I'm just gonna ask each one of you for your final tip or takeaway.

[01:02:43] Jenny Leigh: My best advice for nurturing the connection between creativity and wellness is to embrace self-compassion, especially when you're burnout or you feel uninspired. And it's really important as Kathy really exemplified in her mirror strategy to honor the stillness in the creative process, to pause and honor ourselves and honor where we are in the process and appreciate ourselves right as we are.

[01:03:11] Jenny Leigh: Especially in that percolation stage. Sometimes when you're burnout or uninspired, you have to realize that it's an ebb and flow and ideas are quietly forming beneath the surface. Your subconscious is always working for you, so you don't have to worry about missing it. Just allow your conscious mind a break and trust that your subconscious is gonna come up with the rest 'cause it's working on your behalf even when you don't know it.

[01:03:35] Jenny Leigh: And give yourself permission to pause, to rest, to absorb life to experience and enjoy nature and process and reflect and connect with your spirituality and the innovation of other people like Courtney does in her practice. Creativity never really needs to be forced. Sometimes the most nourishing thing you can do for your creative flow is to rest or be mindfully present in this moment, and trust that creative energy will return when you prioritize nurturing your own vitality, which is where I'm at in my burnout recovery, focusing on my vitality.

[01:04:13] Jenny Leigh: A good friend once told me years ago that music is always in my life, just trust it. When I do trust, it's amazing. My creative energy always rises up at the right time. Just listening to your voice, like many of you brought out in today's conversation.

[01:04:28] Jenny Leigh: Now for our panelists response! If you could leave the audience with one of your best tips or advice about nurturing the connection between creativity and wellness, what would it be?

[01:04:43] Jenny Leigh: And let's start with Kathy

[01:04:50] Kathy: For me, I'm going to address the, women that are around my age. It's okay if you're not feeling good. It's okay that you may have been diagnosed with something or you have a disease or whatever. That doesn't stop who you are and to be who you are. Move forward, sit very comfortably within your own skin, accept what has happened and know that this too shall pass and you can deal with it.

[01:05:17] Kathy: You're strong. You have the ability to be able to handle whatever comes your way. 

[01:05:24] Jenny Leigh: Thank you, Beverly.

[01:05:29] Beverley: You just lost your spark. And what happens there is if you're stuck, that's exactly where you should be. There's something going on and you have to read that and you have to allow that. Often that's the transition point to get you to another level.

[01:05:51] Beverley: So relax, allow it, and that's what personal growth is. It allows you to grow. Sometimes it's a little painful, but just allow it just move forward. You are okay. 

[01:06:08] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. Wendee. 

[01:06:12] Wendee: What an amazing experience. When I think about creativity and wellness, I think the takeaway is really to encourage people to think what this looks like for them, to understand how creativity and wellness are connected, how they use the process, what creativity looks like for them.

[01:06:33] Wendee: I would encourage people to do the reflection to listen to all of the words of wisdom and to spend time being still and reflecting: what does this mean to me? 

[01:06:45] Jenny Leigh: Thank you. Courtney.

[01:06:47] Courtney: I definitely agree. I get inspired a lot by music and musical lyrics. So, sometimes, just like the Beatles said, you just gotta let it be. Right? Also knowing that creativity can be everywhere and in a lot of different things.

[01:07:04] Courtney: It's not necessarily traditional art. It is, your body, it is your cooking. It is in the way that you treat people. You can be creative with that. Everyone is a creative, but it might look different. So I think that's a big thing. That's my big takeaway. 

[01:07:24] Jenny Leigh: I love that.

[01:07:26] Jenny Leigh: I want to take it away. Wonderful. Your turn. If you could leave the audience with one of your best tips or advice about nurturing the connection between creativity and wellness, what would it be? 

[01:07:38] Wonderful: There's this Joseph Campbell quote that says we must be willing to let go of the life planned as to have the life that is waiting for us.

[01:07:46] Wonderful: That to me encapsulates everything everybody has said. Like, I just wanna force my way to the life I want. Okay, good story, but not gonna happen. Right? And just being in the space of remembering that the life I have planned is not the life that's waiting for me. Then I find ways to integrate myself into that.

[01:08:08] Wonderful: What is this life? Beverly said it most beautifully in terms of if you're stuck, you actually belong there. You're actually supposed to be there. Like forcing it to not be is what's gonna cause a conundrum.

[01:08:27] Jenny Leigh: Very well stated. . Sarah? 

[01:08:28] Sarah: Ladies! Beautifully said. I really don't feel that there's much more that I could contribute to that. The points that Beverly made, I really wanna underscore those, Wendee also, just asking yourself, what does something mean to you?

[01:08:43] Sarah: We have to look at our definitions that we ascribe to certain things because everything out there is fundamentally neutral. Whether we experience it positively or negatively is up to the definitions that we're assigning to it. So my answer would be maybe a little paradoxical.

[01:09:00] Sarah: My answer on the one hand is gonna be that it takes a lot of honest self investigation to really align ourselves with our creativity and our wellness and understand what that connection means to us, what it looks like to us. But on the other hand, I feel like as creatives, especially those of us who are introverted, we do spend a lot of time self-focused.

[01:09:23] Sarah: One thing that has particularly helped me, whether it's in terms of my physical health or my creativity, whether it's artistic creativity or general creativity, honestly, is to get outside of myself and to do something for others. And I love, I think Beverly, it was your suggestion of having a gratitude journal.

[01:09:41] Sarah: One thing that has helped me tremendously is not just having a practice of gratitude and saying, what is it that I appreciate in every day? But then also to say, how am I contributing in every day? In what ways am I giving to others and getting outside of myself? 

[01:09:58] Jenny Leigh: I found that really helpful. That was my therapy for the day. Thank you, Sarah. 

[01:10:02] Jenny Leigh: Thank you all for joining us today, This has been a really incredibly rich conversation and we've explored the intersection of creativity and wellness and overlapped many points throughout this conversation, which I've benefited greatly from personally.

[01:10:16] Jenny Leigh: I wanna extend my sincere and deepest appreciation and gratitude as well to each one of you panelists, for your thoughtful insights and your valuable contributions, and for taking the time to be here and share that with us. 

[01:10:29] Jenny Leigh: I also will be posting all the links to each one of these individual panelists so that if you want to connect directly with any of these wonderful panelists, you'll know exactly how to find them.

[01:10:39] Jenny Leigh: Thank you so much everybody for being part of this experience. I really hope today's conversation has sparked new ideas, encouraged you, inspired you towards nurturing your creativity and your overall wellbeing, taking care of yourself.

[01:10:54] Jenny Leigh: Take care and I look forward to connecting to everybody very soon. Thank you all so much.

[01:10:59] VO Artist: Thank you for listening to Your Creative Chord podcast. If you found inspiration in today's episode, please leave a review and subscribe to the show. Your support helps spread the message of creativity and inspired living. Stay connected with Jenny Leigh and a vibrant community of creatives and curious minds.

[01:11:18] VO Artist: Visit YourCreativeChord.com for more resources. Remember, daily life is where your creative flow begins. Embrace the journey.