Ripe for Reinvention pt. 3
making my theme a reality.
Thank you for checking out the 4th Edition of The Ultimate Anti-Resolution Guide. You can still download this year’s PDF and set your 2024 intentions with me today.
The Anti-Resolution Guide is my answer to the conventional pressure and pitfalls of a new year; a safer place on paper to connect the dreaming with the doing.
What’s Next?
In my last post, I alluded to why I chose “cultivate and generate” as my guiding theme for the year.
I gained a lot by giving into the corporate cosplay last year, and I will continue to extract whatever stability I can. But I need to replenish my inner artist to keep the hustle a sustainable one.
I want to rediscover a version of creative identity that was once the center of my life.
To be clear, it’s not about returning to my glory days as an emerging artist. It’s about making space for what inspires the person I am today. Right here and right now.
Killing The Metaphor
“Cultivate,” often a stand-in for words like “develop” or “acquire,” is first and foremost a gardening term. The preparing of land for crops to grow.
For me specifically, it’s about returning to places that feed my curiosity.
Museums, parks, concerts, exhibitions, etc. are all the obvious choices.
But there are also airports and bookstores and cafes and the depths of my own imagination.
I forget, sometimes, that my mind is a gallery of its own.
It’s a great room of rooms filled with nascent ideas, distant memories, and future nostalgia.
Plenty to sift through and sort. Plenty to explore. Plenty to entertain myself if I just allow a sense of true quiet, and give my boredom a place to rest once in a while.
It takes discipline to get there, but when I remove from my ears and my eyes the constant messaging of branded content, internet celebrities, and meme pages, I can finally hear my own voice.
That’s the point. Hearing my own voice again. That’s how I plan on renewing my creative spirit.
Hearing my own voice is the only sustainable way to “generate” new work. I can’t help but write when my inner dialogue is active and authentic.
With some discipline and sustained focus I can make worthwhile reflections.
I can feel like a creator because I’m creating. (How profound.)
And feeling like a creator solidifies that once-elusive identity I’ve been dying to get back to.
Sounds like the start of a positive feedback loop. And I can’t wait to be all up in it.
Doing The Work
Here are some steps I’ve taken to make “cultivate and generate” a reality this year:
I made a 2024 first-thing-in-the-morning playlist, featuring cheeky affirmations and songs that put me in a good mood.
I soft launched my semi-annual media fast, deleting most social and streaming apps from my phone. Digital habits are pervasive, so when I found myself mindlessly scrolling through UberEats to fill the void, I deleted that one too.
I joined NeueHouse and Frieze 91, getting me out the door on a regular basis and back into the mix of art and design.
I’m still learning how to balance a commitment to consistency with my fondness for fluidity. That’s a dance I think I’ll be doing forever.
In any case, these few decisive actions have brought me a long way in the last 3 weeks.
A Vulnerable Moment
This playlist has absolutely no cred and no curation for the public. But in case you were curious, here’s what I’m waking up to each morning.
(I’ll move this back to private at the end of the month, so save what you like).
Final Thoughts
I’m happy to be writing again. It takes a lot out of me but gives back so much more. Appreciate you for reading.
Again,
Thank you for checking out this year’s edition of The Ultimate Anti-Resolution Guide. You can still download this year’s PDF for free.
With love,
JP