Two months ago, I embarked on a challenge that not only helped me finish writing and illustrating my storybook, but actually ended up re-shaping my creativity and my headspace. I spent 30 days without social media, and it CHANGED. THE. GAME. You can watch my video about it here!
One of the areas I’ve seen a huge difference in is in my need for stimulation… or, I suppose, my lack of a need for stimulation.
It used to be that I couldn’t sit down to paint or draw without a podcast or a movie playing in the background. I needed a dialogue to listen to, or I couldn’t sit still to work. Over time, I began listening instead to instrumental music, training my body and mind not to need words. I felt myself growing calmer, able to sit for longer periods of time and truly zone into my work.
Last week, we chatted about how I’ve been spending an afternoon or two each week at my church painting props and games for our fall festival. We currently don’t have wi-fi in that wing of the church, so I don’t even have access to any instrumental music. Over the past month, I’ve spent HOURS and HOURS alone with my paints, brushes, and thoughts. At first, I thought I’d be bored…
But I wasn’t. I simply zoned in and explored my creativity without anything to distract me. Without needing anything other than my love for creativity to keep me there.
After spending a month without social media, daily living with less stimulation (and growing in the discipline to live without it), I’ve found myself craving the quiet more. Although there are still times when I put on some Studio Ghibli music or a Hilda soundtrack while I work, there are many times where I simply want to focus on my creativity with no background noise (other than little Annie Jane quietly snoring on her chair.) I find myself focusing better and truly feeling more peaceful. I don’t feel that urge to get a quick dopamine hit from Instagram or need a YouTube video to keep me grounded in the moment. (Because honestly, that isn’t true grounding…)
But I won’t lie, getting to this point hasn’t been easy. For the longest time I truly believed that my mind was just a loud place that needed an outside source to quiet it down. (And it didn’t quiet it down; it simply drowned it out.) I believed I was just a fidgety person who couldn’t sit still and focus for more than an hour or two. It took so much time and effort to let go of those beliefs and retrain my body and mind to work without excess stimulation. But I can say with 100000% certainty that it was WORTH IT. I’ve felt so much more joyful about my creative practice, more focused in it, and more peaceful and content overall than I have in a very long time.