Feeling Bored? A Simple, 3-Step Formula To Boost Your Midlife Creativity And Make Things Interesting Again

Episode 48 | (00:00):
Hey there, friend, are you feeling a little bored, a little blah, a little meh. Well today, you're going to learn about a simple, 3-step formula that's going to boost your midlife creativity and make things interesting again. How cool does that sound? Are you ready to find out what it is? Are you ready? I know, I'm so excited. I can't wait to tell you what it is. Let's go. Let's dive in!

(00:59):
Hey there, Easy Ager. I wanted to start today's show by reading you a review from Apple Podcasts. It's a 5-star review from Rimashed and this person says, "I love this podcast. Michelle is so easy to listen to and when I leave the podcast, I'm not given a bunch of to-do list things that overwhelm me...

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"Instead, she breaks it down and makes it so easy to be able to just take one thing and apply it. I leave the podcast feeling positive and excited for my future."

(01:31):
Oh my goodness, that makes me so happy. I mean, this person obviously "gets it." She doesn't want to feel overwhelmed when she's done with the podcast. She just wants something simple and easy.

(01:43)
Reading these Apple Podcast reviews makes my heart go pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Oh my goodness, this is so exciting. So if you're liking the content that you're hearing on this show, I would really appreciate it if you would go to Apple Podcasts and leave me a 5-star rating and review.

(01:58)
If you're not quite sure how to do that, just go to TheEasyAgingShow.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, and I give you full instructions on how to do it, all right?

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And at this moment, I'm simply going to say, "Thank you in advance for doing that. I really appreciate it." :)

(02:13):
Okay, so today we are talking about one of my favorite topics in the whole world, midlife creativity. Whoo-hoo! Yeah! Yes, I get so excited over this topic. And why is that Michelle? Why do you feel that midlife creativity is especially important now as we're hitting our 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and beyond. Why is it important?

(02:37):
Because it arouses our curiosity about ourselves and about the world around us.

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Now I know I've said this before, but the reason life is so interesting and so exciting when we're young is because it's all new. We've never lived life before, right? So everything that comes into our lives is exciting. Our curiosity is through the roof. We just want to know more. We just say, "Oh my goodness, what's that? Oh, let me learn more about this. Oh, let's go that direction. That looks interesting."

(03:07):
We are constantly being amazed by something different that we've never experienced before, because it's all new because we've never done it before. But by the time we reach midlife, things may not be as shiny and new as they were. We fall into the routine of life, into the mundane, into the basic daily things that we do.

(03:29):
So how do we get out of this rut? My answer: by allowing midlife creativity to take the lead in your life. You know, living a creative life really isn't that hard. Once you get going with this and you start getting more ideas, I think the hardest part of living a creative life is just narrowing down what you want to do next.

(03:51):
There are so many opportunities in front of you. You're going to start seeing them. They're all around. You'll see them all the time, and it makes life so much more interesting.

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So how do you start? Very good question. Well, the simplest way to do this is to just explore and experiment. If something intrigues you, try it. Pretty simple, right?

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And honestly, I am a very strong believer that being intrigued by something is a sign that you could actually be gifted to do it. You could actually have the skill sets to do this thing that intrigues you. Because that intrigue you experience is generally just your authentic self calling you back home.

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Maybe you did it when you were younger and then life happened and you wandered away from it. Or maybe you were interested in it and you didn't get a chance to do it when you were younger.

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I also believe that if you are good at something, it's for one of two reasons. Number one, you have an innate talent for it and it comes easily to you. Or number two, you have a little talent and a lot of passion and commitment.

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Take singing, for instance. I am absolutely in awe of vocalists. I don't care what genre of music it is,  singers inspire me and they intrigue me. So with this intrigue, I said, "You know what? I'm going to explore the whole singing thing. To see if I'm good at it, to see if I enjoy it."

(05:11):
Have I taken classes? Yes, I have. Did I enjoy them? Yes, I did. Do I sing? Yes, I do. Badly, thank you very much. Even after patient instruction from some very loving and compassionate teachers, I can carry a tune. I can hold my own. I'm not horrible but let me tell you, I'm never going to be amazing at this.

(05:37):
Number one, I do not have the innate talent. I was not gifted with that when I was born. But number two, I also do not have the commitment to train just so I can belt out a great song in a musical or an aria or whatever it is. So I decided that I am going to be quite content just to listen and to enjoy and to be inspired by these awesome, amazing singers.

(06:01):
Acting, however, is a different story. I became intrigued with the stage when I was four years old. I knew, I absolutely knew in the depths of my heart that I would be an actor after seeing a mesmerizing performance of "Rapunzel." Yeah, that was the one. That was the big turning point for me when I was four years old.

(06:21):
Fortunately, in this case, I was blessed with a little talent and an awful lot of passion so I could move this idea into action. Now I've been performing for quite a while. I mean, it has to be like 30 something years. Good heavens, I'd have to go back and figure it out.

(06:36):
But I went from stage acting to voice acting to on-camera work. And then I moved into improv acting. Just like in "Whose Line Is It Anyway," that was what I used to do and it was so much fun.

(06:48):
Recently I realized I missed that part of me. I missed that creative part of me. I missed the zaniness and the silliness. I missed seeing opportunities pretty much everywhere I looked. I mean, things made me laugh, things made me think, and I felt like I was firing on all cylinders when I was doing improv.

(07:05):
So I decided: "All right, I've been too serious for too long. It's time to get back to my roots." I started taking some classes of late and oh my gosh, y'all, I am loving it. I've actually had these moments when I feel like my spirit just goes, "Ah, I've come home again. This is good. I am where I'm supposed to be."

(07:27):
And that's what creativity can bring out in you too. I mean, that's my most recent creative realization but what about you? All of this gets down to getting clarity on what intrigues you, what is going to help you live a more creative life.

(07:42):
To help you get started, I'm going to give you a simple-to-remember three-step formula called ART, A-R-T. Oh my goodness, how clever is that?

(07:52):
First of all, A. Ask... What intrigues you? Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, and get a timer for two minutes. Your timer on your phone or your kitchen timer, whatever it is. At the top of your page, you're going to write, "What intrigues me?"

(08:09):
For two minutes, you are going to write, as quickly as you can, all the things that intrigue you. Do not worry about whether you're going to be any good at it or think, "I tried that before and it was bad." Don't even go there. This is not about any of that. This is just getting things out of your head and onto paper, all right?

(08:28):
So write as fast as you can for two minutes straight. Once it's on the paper, you can start narrowing your list to the activities that really get you jazzed, that really get you excited when you think about doing them or trying them.

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R stands for Research. Do you know someone who's already doing what you want to do? Just invite them for coffee to ask questions, to find out how they got started, to get their advice on things. And more than likely, these are the people that are going to know what is going on in your community and in this particular area, whether it's writing or painting or sculpting or whatever.

(09:04):
Ask them, "What would you recommend if you were just getting started," or "Hey, do you know any beginning groups I could get involved with?" The reality is, if they're involved in this area of your community, they more than likely have friends teaching classes or they may be teaching classes themselves. And that would be perfect, right?

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These people could not only be a wealth of information for you, they may turn into one of your biggest supporters as you step out onto this new path of creativity. So that's the R.

(09:30):
The T stands for Take. Take a class. You know, classes abound for creative endeavors like sculpting and voice acting and guitar and tap dancing or whatever you want.

(09:43):
Classes are the perfect place to begin your exploration because they offer a safe learning environment. I mean, if you're in a beginner class and you're just starting, remember: everybody else is a beginner and they're just getting started too.

(09:56):
So see if there are any community education or senior education classes in your area. Sometimes these are held at colleges or at community rec centers and those types of places.

(10:06):
You can also check your local library for classes. My library always has a ton of things going on. There could be a free class that's perfect for you. Maybe beginning sketching or painting or something like that.

(10:17):
Living a creative life is going to help you get clarity and learn new things about yourself. You are going to get out of your rut. You're going to get out of your comfort zone just a little bit and experience that exciting / scary feeling. And that's probably exactly what you need to spice up midlife.

(10:36):
Getting clarity is imperative if you want to rediscover your purpose after the kids are gone or after you've retired. And clarity is the cornerstone of rediscovering your identity if you've been on autopilot for a while, which we all have a tendency to do now and then.

(10:53):
So shake things up, get started as soon as you can and start to ART. A, ask yourself, "What intrigues me?" and do that two-minute exercise. R, research people in your area who are doing what you want to do and ask them questions. And T, take a class to put yourself in a safe learning environment and see what makes your heart sing.

(11:15):
All right, that's it for today. I do hope you take a moment this week and start living a more creative life just by taking a small little baby step out.

(11:25):
And if you are not already an Easy Aging® Insider, go to TheEasyAgingShow.com and sign up right now. I'll see you in the next episode and until then, peace, love and blessings to you and yours. Take care. Bye-bye!