1186: Throwing glitter at the messy middle
Often, the messy middle sounds better than it feels. So today we're flipping it on its head, and taking another look!
Episode transcript:
So this week on the Daily Pep, we're diving into all things creativity and creative process with the caveat that creativity doesn't just look like getting your paints out. Now yesterday, we started about talking about the beginning of the project. And today, I wanna lend some time to the messy middle. So I think it is a place that we're all familiar with. We start off with the excitement. We start off with all the plans, and the enthusiasm is there. And somewhere around the middle, we forget why we're doing it, and it just feels like a slog. Now we're gonna dive into the why more tomorrow.
But for today, we're really gonna focus on putting more joy in the messy middle. I don't know about you, but the messy middle always sounds a bit more interesting than it actually feels, and it can feel like wading through sludge. But I think rather than forcing ourselves to do the same old thing, maybe it is time that we start upcycling and we start throwing glitter at it. The messy middle is often where we can't necessarily see all the massive progress that we have made. We can only focus on how far we've yet to go, and we forget that process is a huge part of it. And a bit like we rebranded starting things yesterday. Maybe it's actually taking comfort in the messy middle in the fact that you don't have the same fears as you did when you started. You don't have the same fears as you do when you end a project.
What if you could actually start to really enjoy it? What if you start to recognize your own rhythms? And what can you do to enjoy the process of doing? That could look like creating new rituals. It could look like documenting the process in a really fun way, and it could also look like doing some side quests so going down some completely unrelated rabbit holes and letting your brain work its magic. The messy middle can often feel really sticky but the fact is you are doing the work. You are putting the time and the effort in. And it is sometimes really shit that when we most need patience, we have the least of it. Like I was saying a minute ago, there is this opportunity that presents itself in the middle where the starting fear isn't there and the finishing fear isn't quite there either. So maybe this is about trying new things. It's about running experiments, and it is giving yourself some of that newness that really spurred the project on to begin with.
So this is some food for thought for you if you're in the messy middle and also a shitload of empathy because it can feel really hard. It can feel like a lot of work, and it can feel like you're doing everything for nothing. But trust your own process. Trust that you are making waves whether you feel like it or not and keep going. Autumn is the time of the year where I run my annual creative harvest workshop where we really dive into the creative seeds you planted this year and what you're harvesting, and it can be an absolute confidence boost. So I'm running the workshop next Tuesday. I'd love to see you there if it feels good for you. You can find out more about it by going to therebelrousers.com/creativeharvestworkshop, and I've put that link in the chat.
And it's not only a lot of fun, it's really strategic. It will help you feel a lot less alone, and it will also be a really helpful tool to use to plan and make decisions on your projects. So that's happening next Tuesday. I'd love to see you there if you fancy it. But if you take one thing only from this episode, it's that keep going, dig in, find the patience from somewhere, and know that you are further along than you think.
Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io
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A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.
Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.
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