It Was Good

Try this:

Is there a creative project you’ve been working on for a while that you haven’t finished or shown anyone? Have you become paralysed in the process by thinking it ‘won’t be good enough’? Perhaps you haven’t started something creative for a while because you haven’t wanted to begin until you have the ‘perfect’ idea?  

It’s time to get unstuck ...

 Return to your creative project and look for the ‘good’ ideas rather than hold on to ‘perfect’.

If you still feel stuck, be brave and invite someone you trust to tell you what ‘good’ they see in your work. It might surprise you what they value. 

Go back and focus on the good things they saw. Might these aspects be the unexpected soul of your creative project? Keep creating with open hands. Let go of the things you were trying to force, and put the good things as the focus of your creativity. Maybe something even more beautiful than you first imagined will come from this!

 

Be inspired:

Meet Natt and Gabi, co-creators whose sense of fun has created not only connectedness with their café customers – but hope.

During the 2021 Greater Sydney lockdown, Natt and Gabi, managers of Common Groundz Community Café, in Sydney’s western suburbs, were feeling a bit jealous of those working at home wearing their pyjamas every day. “We found ourselves thinking, ‘Everyone else gets to wear PJs to work! That’s not fair! We want to, too!’,” Nat said. “So we said, ‘Next week, we’re wearing PJs to work!’” As Natt and Gabi donned their finest pyjamas to make coffees that week, they were surprised how much their customers loved it. Some even joined in and wore their pyjamas on their coffee run.

The response got Natt and Gabi thinking, and they decided they wouldn’t stop at pyjamas. “The shops were all shut, so we just started making themes from the fun clothes we had at home!” Natt said. Their creativity led to a dress-up-themed day each week – Tutu Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, Throw Back Thursday (’80s theme), and Formal Friday – to name a few. “Customers would walk in and just start laughing. It gave them something to look forward to each week,” Natt reflected. “Some came with their ’80s rock shirts on for Throw Back Thursday. On Formal Friday, one man wore a tie, and another joined in with a suit jacket over a t-shirt and jeans.” Nat and Gabi’s initiative has been an experiment in hope-making. They realised that by simply initiating a joyful moment for others to look forward to, they were able to give people hope in lockdown. “A lot of our customers didn’t necessarily see anyone else. We were able to be here for them to get a coffee and have a conversation in a COVID-safe way.