I often feel limited by bipolar disorder. I have to worry about medications every day. I have to sleep eight plus hours a night. I shouldn’t drink. I need a job that gives me flexibility. I am constantly self-monitoring and self-modulating. And the list goes on…
In creative pursuits, we often impose constraints on ourselves. A great sonnet blooms out of a rigid structure. This newsletter was becoming difficult for me to wrap my brain around—too amorphous—so I realized I needed to reframe it by simply writing down a list of themes and then choosing one after another after another. The act of limiting myself to one topic at a time has—for the time being at least —freed me from paralyzing perfectionism and self doubt.
What if limitations aren’t actually limitations at all but instead crazy beautiful constraints for you and me? This astonishing TED Talk recently reminded me of what it means to refuse to define yourself by what you are not.
We all have freedom to reframe limitations as licenses to be a little more creative.
How can you choose creativity today?