***Creative? Create Your Life Instead of Living As Its Creation

Have you ever thought life would be different for you today if you had a different childhood? Have you ever held thoughts such as:

"My Mother never really cared about who I was."
"My Father told me that I'd never amount to anything."
"People won't like me if I don't agree with the crowd."
"If only I didn't come from such a dysfunctional family."

These are only some of the comments I have heard from people who are stuck or struggling in any creative endeavor. The underlying theme is "I'm not (good, smart, talented, rich, worthy, respected, whatever) enough. Heck, I used to make similar laments about my lot in life. Experiences of my past governed how I thought about myself and what was possible for my future. Then one day the truth hit me and rocked my world:

Life does not shape me. I shape my life. I am the creator not the creation of my experience.

How you look at, how things make you feel, depends on you not the things. Whatever anyone said to you, good or bad, or whatever you witnessed in your childhood were mere events. What you had those statements and actions mean about you, however, was entirely your own doing; your creation. You formed a valid interpretation through your young lens, your limited context, of your circumstance. This interpretation became a fundamental belief that you relied upon as you authored your life as you know it.

If the belief works for you, that's great! For example, if you have an integral belief "If I deliberately and intentionally pursue what I love to do success will find me" chances are you are experiencing a fulfilling life immersed in your passionate pursuits. It is when the belief holds you back, stops you from expressing your full potential that you have to re-examine the interpretation that formulated your belief.

Let's say you examine your innermost feelings and thoughts and realize that deep down inside you believe, "I am not good enough. I will never amount to anything." This belief doesn't feel good. Beliefs shape your emotions. All emotions are valid Good emotions work for you. Bad emotions do not work for you. If you discover a belief that doesn't feel good take some time to examine the belief.

In your examination recall the earlier events that lead to the conclusion "I am not talented enough." That conclusion was only one way to interpret the event. There are others. How else could those incidents be viewed? One possible interpretation is that the person saying or doing the thing was just having a bad hair day. Perhaps he was repeating his own misguided belief. There are any number of other possible interpretations that your adult mind can come up with that are just as valid.

Challenge the belief. Look for events in your life then and now when you were absolutely good enough to take on a challenge and master it. Let's start with the simple fact that you learned how to walk and talk. You fell on your butt more than a few times and misspoke but that didn't stop you from pursuing your goal. With each stumble and misused word you learned something. That little nugget of wisdom eventually created the experience of naturally and easily walking and talking. You can even do both at the same time! Find more such examples. There are plenty to notice if you just look.

This is how you deliberately create a new perspective, a new lens through which to view yourself and your possibilities. You now realize people, events and things did not shape your life. You did based on the meanings, the interpretations, the beliefs, you took on for yourself as you experiences what you heard and saw. One thing is for sure. You are a masterful creator. You created all of your life experiences to this moment and you will create your experiences in the future. Express your full creative potential by becoming the hero, the Wizard, of your opportunity instead of the victim of your circumstance.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates