日本語は一番下にあります。

How did your first project go? If you didn't do it, take out a piece of paper and a pencil, or, if you have other things nearby, watercolors, pens, and other things. To start with, just put color on the page. REPEAT: JUST PUT SOMETHING ON THE PAGE.

I'll wait. 🙂

If you've done that, congratulate yourself. There are plenty of people who don't get that far. There are plenty of people who think, "I'd love to do X," and they never pick up the pencil. They never put the brush in the paint and really touch the paper. You have to take the first step.

"Well, yes, but it's not that easy. My problems can't be solved by drawing a squiggle on the paper!" You're right. And there could be something you're not seeing.

Taking the first step is how you solve the problem. Whatever the step is, it moves you from where you WERE to somewhere else. If that's the direction you want to go in, great. If not, reassess, and then take the next step.

Take a deep breath.

Now take that page with the watercolor, the squiggle or whatever you did and spend 5 minutes continuing.

"Continuing to... do what?"

Whatever comes to mind. Whatever comes out of your pencil or brush. Whatever you imagine. Remember that you"re not creating a finished Rembrandt here. You're just playing with some art supplies and a surface.

Relax and have fun.

You don't have to show this to anyone, so no one will judge your ability.

At the end of the 5 minutes, put down your pencil/brush/etc. Sit back and observe what just happened. Where were your thoughts? If you weren't interrupted by your phone pinging or the baby screaming, you might have noticed that you were so wrapped up in the colors and the fun of drawing that you changed the way you were thinking!

If only for 5 minutes you can change your thinking, you can change your life.

If you continually think about the problems, you're not giving your brain the space it needs to SOLVE the problems. Moving your awareness to something neutral - such as art - gives your brain a rest, rejuvenates it, and helps it to search for new ways of approaching things.

"Yes, but I don't have time to do this every day."

You're right.

And I'll show you how you can change that in the next post.