Tag: motivation

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Reflection Self-development

Writer’s block and how I overcame it

A small sketchbook is laid on a patch of grass. On the sketchbook, there is a fineliner drawing of two female characters and an explosion of small flowers. One character seems to be judging the other. This artwork is for my piece on writer's block.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted to this blog, so I thought I’d give some updates and reflect on the last few months.

Uh-oh! I got writer’s block!

I should have seen writer’s block coming when I graduated from my Arts degree last year. But I thought I could bypass it since I was able to publish my large Lin-Manuel Miranda post shortly after my graduation. But, nevertheless, the writer’s block caught up with me the moment I posted it! 

Writer’s block, like any other kind of art block, is a tricky beast for creatives to overcome. Many websites define ‘art block’ as a period in which an artist struggles to create due to a lack of motivation or ideas.

I’m not sure if other creatives feel the same way, but writer’s block and art block feel very similar to periods of procrastination or ‘laziness’ for me.

There are lots of articles and videos by other creatives that provide excellent advice for overcoming artistic and writer’s block. But I thought I’d contribute to the conversation by sharing what worked best for me.

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Creator Corner Media Analysis and Reviews Movies Musicals

Lin-Manuel Miranda: not throwing away his shot

Digital black and white drawing of Lin-Manuel Miranda with a green and blue background

You might have heard the name ‘Lin-Manuel Miranda’ a lot recently. He is considered one of the biggest musical theatre legends of the early twenty-first century. For instance, his successful musicals In the Heights (2005) and Hamilton (2015) brought contemporary hip-hop and rap to Broadway. But he is also proving to be a rising star in Hollywood. He has a lot of song writing involvement in animated films such as Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021). Furthermore, he recently made his critically acclaimed directorial debut with tick, tick…BOOM! (2021).

I’ve wanted to examine the works of creators I admire for a little while now. So, when I watched Encanto and the In the Heights film adaptation late last year, I knew that Lin-Manuel Miranda would be fantastic to write about!

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Reflection Self-development

The candle in the closet

Following on from my previous post, I want to write more about the benefits of living in the moment. In 2020, the year of appreciating what we had, I came across a TED Talk that changed my perspective on life.

This TED Talk was ‘Change Your Closet, Change Your Life’, presented by Gillian Dunn. While I’ve already referenced a few TED Talks in previous blog posts, I believe Gillian’s is the one that left the biggest impression on me so far.

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Reflection Self-development

Why women should take more risks

I recently watched Reshma Saujani’s TED talk, ‘Teach girls bravery, not perfection‘. It got me thinking about my own journey with becoming more confident and believing in myself and my abilities. So, in honour of International Women’s Day, I’d like to encourage girls and women to take more risks in life. Evidence suggests that we prevent ourselves from pursuing our dreams, which is something we should change.

This post centres around statistics and discussions surrounding cisgender women’s experiences. However, I hope that all of my readers get some excitement and inspiration out of this post!

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Reflection Self-development

It’s okay to be average

When I was younger, I wanted to grow up to be someone amazing. Someone who made a meaningful contribution to the world. I equated being an ‘average’ person to being a failure. This mindset led me down a path of perfectionism that was completely unsustainable.

With the increase of internet memes about gifted child syndrome and burnout, I’ve realised that I’m not alone in my struggle with the pressure to be extraordinary. This mindset is not limited to the classroom and the office. In fact, most aspects of life seem to encourage competition and comparison.

In this post, I defend being average and explain why we shouldn’t give in to the pressure to be impressive.

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Journaling Self-development

Knowing yourself

Through brain-shaped hole, there is a woman floating through soft pink. orange, purple and blue clouds

In my last blog post, I mentioned that ‘knowing yourself’ can help you live a passively active lifestyle. A passively active mindset enables you to live a productive and meaningful life on your own terms. It encourages you to be responsible but also ensures that you’re enjoying your life. In this post, I’ll give you some simple questions to ask yourself to help you begin your journey to discovering who you are and where you fit in the universe.

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Journaling Self-development

Audio journaling- what I’ve learnt

An abstract digital drawing representing the creative process of audio journaling.

The beginning of 2020 sparked a desire in me to get my life together. I was 19 years old, had a comfortable job, and was about to start my second year of university. However, I was dissatisfied with the person I was- lost, stagnant, and lacking confidence in my ability to progress. So, I turned to audio journaling for grounding and guidance. I recorded my first entry on March 14th, 2020, completely oblivious to the direction the world was heading in.

It’s been over 260 days of lockdown and over 700 hours of ranting, rambling, and raving to myself. I’ve recorded well over 600 entries!

Now, I can successfully say that audio journaling allowed me to survive and even enjoy two years of uncertainty.

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