Inner Critic Hall of Fame: Miss Originality

    

Miss Originality Doll 

Name: Miss Originality

Wanted For: Being possessive, judgmental, snide, and suspicious, not to mention her obsession that everything be utterly original. And have I mentioned her aversion to repetition or routine?

M.O: Shutting down any idea sparked from someone else. Hoarding ideas, resources, time, and space. Demanding novelty at all costs..."You've made that for dinner before...you can't make it again!"

Classic Lines: 

"Copycat!"

"That's been done before."

"That's wasn't really your idea..."

"Save your best for when you've made it big!"

"Repeating yourself is pathetic--unless you're a toddler or a drooling old geezer"

Evil Plan: Never copy anyone or anything!! Keep anyone from stealing my few, precious original ideas--even if it means locking them away in a tower forever!

Miss Originality is the most recent arrival in the illustrious posse of my Inner Critics. She showed up while I was teaching my last session of Your Creative Life. I was coaching a student through naming and taming her Inner Critic before making an Inner Critic "voodoo doll". During our work, I heard a screechy preachy little Inner Critic voice in my own head. 

I choose not to listen at that time, but I stayed after class and started building my own voodoo doll. Choosing from all the supplies laid out for the workshop, my creation came to life. Miss Originality arrived in her bony skeletal splendor. I hadn't even thought about why I was drawn to making her a skeleton, but upon reflection it made perfect sense.

She's starving because she rejects anything that isn't utterly original and therefore takes in nothing. Feeding only on herself, she is skin and bones!  Once I could hold her and understand her fear, I had so much compassion for her that I actually embraced the doll! Through this exercise I exposed one of the unconscious beliefs that was running my life.

BELIEF: Inspiration from others doesn't count as original. 

This belief was very isolating and acknowledging it very freeing. She still shows up surprisingly and frequently through my day. The difference now, is that she doesn't run my life from the shadows anymore. I acknowledge and validate her fears (You're really worried. You think that if I publish this great blog post, I'll be wasted it because I can never use it in a book). And then I go on with my day and post anyway! 

Want to name and tame your Inner Critic? 

Come do it with Captain Creative in person at my Your Creative Life Class. Click HERE.

Big Bad Inner Critic? If you've got a really ornery Inner Critic, I'd love to help you in person--I specialize in exorcising Inner Critics for coaching clients. Contact me for private Inner Critic wrangling. 

Sample Inner Critic Profile From My Workbook. 

ITALIAN TINY CREATIVE ACT SCAVENGER HUNT!

I will be going on my yearly trip to Italy soon, and I'm feeling FUN. Follow my blog mycreativelifespark.blogspot.com and keep an eye out for my first Italian Tiny Creative Act Post. The first person to comment on that post gets a special Italian surprise mailed to them when I get back! Yes Snail Mail! When you post to the blog also email the post to me at katherine@creativelifespark.com.  Yeah!

Guerrilla Journaling

Don’t think you have to always be alone or at home when you journal. As you are out and about this summer--whether its around the corner or around the world--take your journal with you! Throw your stuff in a bag and you can take your journal practice anywhere. I recommend having a dedicated journal bag with all your stuff for spontaneous outings.

I've always loved "guerrilla" sketching--drawing people out in public places without them even knowing it.You can do this in a coffee shop, on a park bench, and even at the movies. (Yes! You can draw the people in the row in front of you, do quick gestures of film characters, or just make inspired doodles. This works especially well with animated movies.)



Guerrilla Journaling: People to sketch are all around you!



I even took my journal to my own group coaching meeting the other night. (my turn to get coached, not be the coach). I had plenty of time while each person talked to sketch them.

Since everyone sat relatively still for a while I had time to get more details of fabric and faces than I usually can in a guerrilla sketch.

I love words as much as pictures--and combining the two the best of all. So I just added important words from the conversation that resonated with me right into the drawing as they came up.

Where do you like to do guerrilla journaling? What are the delights and pitfalls you have found? Share your experiences in a comment below.

Journal Cover: Florentine Paper Travel Journal

Normally I like hard cover journals, but when I travel I like soft covers because they are lighter -- like this moleskine. I made this cover at one of my Creative Sparks Gathering in 2009. I was teaching people about collage and started using my journal as an example.  I choose a pile of Italian papers (because this was to be my Italian Journal). On their own each paper was too strong. I wanted to find a way to add them to the collage without any one pattern taking over the journal. I just started tearing the papers and sticking them on. I like tearing as a collage technique because it's spontaneous, freeing, and my inner toddler loves the sound of ripping paper! Later while traveling in Italy, I cut out the windows. 

This summer while you are traveling (or dreaming of traveling), how can you bring that feeling of ease, fun, and adventure into your journal? Your cover is a great place to start and showcase your intention! 

Check out my Journal Juice Gallery for Ideas.