Anne Kreamer points out in It’s Always Personal: Navigating Emotion in the New Workplace the greatest things in life that bring us to happiness “are the things we chose to do.” It is by recognizing our own power to choose which helps navigating how we control and choose to live our own life.
As we navigate the day-to-day in life we attempt to build our emotional intelligence in order to move forward to accelerate our creative path. It important to recognize that sometimes people will not always get along and many of us speak in different languages of communication. At the end of the day how you treat people and how you are treated affects the balance of how we feel in the workplace or at home.
It is by bottling up our emotions and not asking the right questions which can lead us to more stress in our lives and stifle creativity. The bottom line is we have the power to choose how we want to live instead of depleting our happiness quota. The most important tool is to recognize your own emotions and then move forward learning how to navigate the source of the conflict which may be bringing you down.
Anne Kreamer sums it up perfectly with the advice given to her from Anne Sweeney, the President of Disney/ABC TV on managing creative people “I think emotion is critical to the creation of content. I love people who unabashedly tap into their inner lives, because the people who dig deepest in their personal stories come up with the best things.” It is those things which propel us to be better and create for the joy of happiness.
Just as many bloggers share their inner lives they are at their best because they are able to tap into their emotions and dig deep coming up with thought-provoking posts. The best way for creative types to seek this happiness is to step outside of their surroundings and tap into the environment around them. It is by taking the time to go on a hike with your children, or a photo walk in a city which can lead to inspiration and new ideas leading to greater happiness.
What helps to fill your happiness quota? Is it breaking free from the routine and tapping into your creativity?
Excellent post! Whether it’s blogging or anything in life, the more emotion and passion you put into it, the better the results : )
So true! The more passion the more powerful the outcome will be!
Hmmm. I have a bizarre relationship with my creativity, I think. I don’t tend to get a rush of inspiration from new surroundings or new experiences, or at least not directly. Life with kids requires a certain degree of creative thinking, nevermind the emotional intelligence
But when I’m waiting for a story to find me, it almost always comes out of a glimpse of something completely banal, and well inside my daily routine. Like a neighbour walking across the street. The sound her boots make, or the thump of her bag on her hip. Stuff I’ve heard I-don’t-even-know-how-many times before. Maybe that’s like your photo-walk, except without the camera 
Interesting! So is it more of the distant sounds that strike you with the idea? The small things when we pay attention to detail really does make a difference in our creative flow.
More distant sounds? Maybe. Sometimes it’s something I see or taste too, though, like a piece I just wrote that grew out of a commercial about coffee creamer that I’d probably seen but not actually paid any attention to dozens of times. I don’t know how to explain it, really. Just all of a sudden something clicks.
It’s funny how it all clicks and how something can inspire our senses from a sound to a commercial. It’s neat!
This is so true for me, Darcie. When I get out of my office, it is rejuvenating. Some of my best work comes from wandering around.
You have to take a step back from the desk! Sometimes it is also the worst place to procrastinate just getting a chance to step outside and inhaling the fresh air can make the difference in the outcome of the day.
Doing my own thing makes me happy. Not cow-towing to others… Not blindly agreeing with their ideas of what I should say, do or think. Talking to people makes me happy, having ideas to write about come from those conversations and drawing more people into the conversation.
Getting out and talking to people can make a complete difference and I agree you have to live your life to the fullest!
Interesting question. I don’t know that I have an answer. I have spurts of creativity, but I’ve never figured out what starts them. Sometimes it is thoughts that arise while I’m doing something routine. Other times it’s the novelty of a situation. All I know is that I’m glad that I have that creative gene. It makes life fun.
It does make life fun! I was just trying to find humor in my situation and struck me when I started to bake the sweet potato fries. It’s funny how things happen like that
While I’m doing it, my writing feels like a lighthouse, sturdy and impenetrable. The hard part for me is not losing heart when the demands of life stand between me and my sanctuary.
The demands of life are one of the most tricky to navigate especially when all you want to do is get back into that sanctuary.
Yes, that’s exactly it. It explains the “writer’s high” – that powerful rush of endorphins that occurs when you tap into your creative side and churn out a big ol’ dose of prose. It’s exhilarating!
Give me a shot of it! WOuld you? I am in desperate need of it!
This was a really nice, rewarding and reflective read. I’m glad you have that creative gene as well. Tapping into your inner life is often both startling and rewarding
Thank you! It has its moments!
great post! writing definitely helps fill my happiness quota – and it is so important to express your feelings – at home and at work.
Thank you, Hilary! It really does help to fill the happiness quota! I look forward to reading your new book
Its not having a schedule, being free to just sit back and relax for even 30 minutes.
I could go for that right now! Just kick up my feet and relax!
You are so right. Stepping as far outside the circle as we can stretches the boundaries that confine us. Through that process we grow. The trick, I suppose, is not to stretch it too far. I seem to recall quite a few scrapes, bruises and bloody noses obtained this way :>) What odds, they all healed…
Luckily, we always heal but my nose is still a little crooked