How to Stay Positive as a Creative Person - Part 1

When you're feeling great, and your outlook on life is positive, there's so much more you can do & experience.

In this week’s two part episode, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite ways to stay positive throughout your day as a creative person. You can listen here or keep reading below:

With a positive mindset, we feel better about ourselves and this leads us to enjoy our time more and also have more productive and fulfilling experiences in our work and creative projects.

 Sometimes we hear people say they just don’t feel super creative, and I think it’s normal to have days where you feel like you have nothing in your brain and nothing will ever be fun or creative again, however…

You have complete control over your creativity. What?? Wild right?

Showing up in a positive way is a choice you get to make every single day and every one of us has an inner creative self.

That means, you can choose to be in the creative process (even if it’s just in a small way) and have a positive outlook.

This is not always easy, and we’re certainly not saying you need to be fake just to be positive. 

What we’re saying is that positive thinking leads to better results and sometimes you need a little help on it, but it’s 100% possible to do every day.

We actually had too much to share in just one episode so we’ve broken our list of ideas and strategies for staying positive up into two parts. I’m really excited about sharing these because every single idea we’re sharing can be free or inexpensive and we’re also going to share some special mental health tips and also ways you can stay positive if you have physical limitations to your creative work.

Here are some of our favorite ways to stay positive as a creative person:

#1 Have a happy playlist.

Make a playlist of songs you love, or explore pre-made playlists on Youtube, Spotify, or Pandora to find a playlist that raises your energy level.

#2 Use Do not Disturb on your phone (alot).

I know we’ve mentioned this for productivity purposes to not check your notifications on your phone, especially emails and messages, but for some people seeing a notification pop up on their phone can 100% rip you out of a positive mood - and if you’re in the middle of something creative, this can really trip you up. I promise, those notifications will still be there when you get back. Just turn on "do not disturb" for 20 or 30 minutes. It might feel weird at first, but eventually, it brings you a sense of relaxation to feel disconnected from your phone.

#3 Choose your mantras.

A Mantra is a short sentence or phrase that when you say it or read it, it helps you internalize and remember your positive thoughts. You can search pinterest or google for mantras that speak to you, or you could write your own. We also created mantra card decks for artists and small business owners, and you can find these in our shop.

#4 Use the 5x5 rule.

I recently learned about this and I love it. This is a really good way to re-frame something you’re thinking about.

Here’s what 5x5 means: if it won’t matter in 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes worrying about something. So when something is holding you back like, “I don’t know if anyone will like this art piece I’m about to share online” or “I’m feeling anxious about investing in my business and spending money on this new printer or course,” ask yourself if it will really matter in 5 years.

Will you remember worrying about it? The answer is probably not.

#5 Make a Good Stuff List.

When you feel anxious or stressed and the last thing you feel like you can be is positive, make a good stuff list. Get out your favorite stationary and pen, or type a list in your phone. Just start listing out the good stuff you can see and feel in that moment like: having a cup of hot tea, puppy cuddles, the positive review a customer left you, the tree blowing in the wind outside your window, a comfy favorite sweater, the music you love, and the last thing that inspired you.

We know that sometimes life throws things your way that make it difficult to feel excited or motivated all the time, but feeling down or allowing yourself to stay in a negative mindset can really hold you back when it comes to creativity or running a handmade business.

We all know crafting and creating can make you feel better, but we hope you’ve enjoyed these other ways to adjust your thinking and have a positive mindset when you’re feeling maybe a little less joyful than usual.

Get Part 2 here, where we dive into more strategies and especially touch on ways you can stay positive when it comes to mental health, self care, or even physical limitations like injuries and health issues.

And just a quick PSA - if you're looking to make more sales on Etsy, we created this FREE Etsy Seller masterclass just for you.