5 Keys to Creating with an Abundant Mindset
Having an abundant mindset is a big deal, especially when it comes to creativity and the artistic process. Why? Because abundant thinking can have a tremendous impact on all the ways we create. Let’s start with what having an abundance mindset is not. An abundance mindset is not simply the act of “putting out positivity into the universe and waiting.” There’s a lot more involved in creating an abundant mindset than that, and no one ever got anywhere just by sitting and waiting; you’ve gotta move, right?
The goal with any abundant mindset practice is to analyze our thinking processes. Abundance isn’t just thinking about how much you have; it’s how you direct your mind to view what you have. Noticing how you think is the most significant and usually the first step in moving into an abundant mindset. The next is often understanding our go-to thinking process, which is most likely scarcity. It’s the familiar adage; the bad things are easier to remember. Most of us don’t realize it, but our default mindset we tend to create from is scarcity.
For example, are you looking for the one good idea or open to any idea that could eventually create a spark? Do you often feel like you don’t have enough time to create the kind of art you want? What happens when you don’t believe you have enough time, creativity, talent, etc... you create even less of where you focus your fears. When you say to yourself, I don’t have enough time to make the art I want to make; your brain only registers—I don’t have enough time. Scarcity creates a process of desperation that puts too much responsibility on the outcome of your work. Scarcity thinking damages your ability to create with confidence in your work; as a result, we create what we think we will create.
Scarcity thinking also makes us take fewer risks. When you are trying so hard to use your time wisely or not waste paint or make the perfect piece, you aren’t tapping into your inner voice because you are coming from a place of fear. After all, what if taking risks by pushing yourself doesn’t work? Focusing on getting it right will make you miss all the intuitive exploration to help your art grow. You end up creating more lack and scarcity when you think you don’t have enough.
Abundant thinking allows you to be more authentic in your work; it gives you the space to think and believe in your art. It gives you the freedom to decide based on your vision rather than your fear. If you approach your work from a place of abundance, you’ll be open to expressing yourself more effectively because you’re allowing yourself to go deeper.
After two years, thousands (that’s not hyperbole) of journaling pages, and hundreds of hours spent working through my creative process, I’ve concluded what I think are the most critical factors in setting the stage for creating with an abundant mindset.
01. Consistency
At the beginning of my journey, I quickly realized one of the most effective ways to support an abundant mindset was showing up consistently in my creative practice. What consistency does is create a habit. The benefit of a habit is the patterns it develops in our thinking; it enables your brain to activate your thinking into creating mode more effectively. The goal with any creative practice should always be to push you out of your comfort zone, and taking away any barriers to getting there quicker will help your skills grow more effectively.
02. Asking the questions
Artists are naturally curious people; we are comfortable being that annoying two-year-old who constantly asks why. But it can feel hard to trust our vision for our art, so we must be open to questioning and experimenting with our work to build those intuitive muscles. We must allow time for curiosity and exploration without worrying that we will “get it wrong.” Even if the inquiry leads to an unexpected result, getting comfortable with asking questions and exploring makes us trust the experimentation. It won’t set us back but, it will push us into new creative territories. Asking questions is how our skills grow.
03. Persistence
Persistence is probably the most crucial aspect of creating an abundant mindset—the ability to keep showing up in an abundant mindset, even when all those scarcity thoughts linger, is vital. Let’s be honest for a second; those limiting thoughts will always be there in some form because our cultural conditioning around creative ability and the value of art has made those beliefs feel normal and even resourceful. But just like all the negative limiting thoughts that are always out there, the positive open thoughts are there too; we just need to choose which ones we want to focus on and be persistent in our commitment to embracing those instead.
04. Learning from Failure
Failure might be the most challenging aspect of creative abundance thinking for most of us to embrace. Failure gets a bad rap because we see it as a result rather than a positive part of any growth process. We are very averse to risk; we are much more likely not to do things we feel will not turn out well because we don’t want to fail. But what if we looked at failure as an essential part of our growth as artists? Every artist who has reached success has had to deal with a hefty amount of failure. But what makes the difference between those successful artists and others is that they don’t view failure as a bad thing but rather a necessary part of getting to the best art they can create. If you look at your approach as more of an experimentation, you can view failures as just one experiment that taught you how to proceed.
05. Bravery
Ahh, the most underrated component of abundant thinking is bravery. Like failure, but on the other end of the spectrum, bravery requires you to push your skills into territories you’ve never imagined before. For example, looking at a good but not great piece of work and deciding to make a big, bold move can feel harder than it seems. But when you are creating from a place of abundance, you are confident that you will find the exact path you need to complete any piece, no matter the path. When you think abundantly, you start to trust that your voice, i.e., your style, will just be there when you need it because it will. You will have more fun, confidence, and trust in your inner voice and skills; your skills will grow faster because you are taking more risks.
Challenge yourself
My challenge for you, ask yourself, are you working from scarcity or abundance? Think about it this way, are your feelings closed or open? Do your thoughts feel expansive or contracted? Are you looking for one good idea over being open to all the ideas from your intuitive response? Being open to your intuition doesn’t mean that every idea is a good idea, but it is worthy of exploration because it can lead you to ideas that can and will work better. They are only the idea you choose to explore, not right or wrong. Slow down and consider what you like, take your time developing confidence in your intuitive choices. The ripple effect of this kind of thinking will spill over in all areas of your life if you learn to adopt it in your creative practice and vice versa.
