4 Intentions You Must Set for 2022 to Attract Your Best Creative Life
Let go of resistance on your creative journey by hooking into your vision of who you want to be as a creative. As 2022 nears, this is your chance to set your intention for who you want to be creatively. Even if what you want feels far out of reach, it’s important to know that you have what it takes to make the journey and seize your desire.
This article talks about the top 4 things you must do now, before 2022 begins, to prepare for the creative life of your dreams.
HOW TO ATTRACT YOUR BEST CREATIVE LIFE IN 2022
I’m thinking there’s a lot about 2021 that you are more than happy to leave behind as we round the corner to 2022.
More than anything, 2021 taught us a lot about ourselves, our roles in society, how we show up, and whether we’re living by our values or not. 2021 shone a light on the “shadow side” of things, and it wasn’t pretty. But it was life-changing.
As we get ready to step into 2022, we have a beautiful opportunity to sit with our newfound knowledge and make a conscious decision about what exactly will we do next. We can choose to not take action on changes that could be made, or we can be intentional about how we show up in 2022.
Below are my top four intentions you should focus on to help you step into 2022 with confidence, joy, and rumbling creativity.
INTENTION #1: FOCUS ON YOUR INNER POWER
You have control over how you can handle anything that’s thrown at you. I’m not saying you have control over the outcome. I’m saying you have control over your journey. This is a critical distinction.
Lots of times when something unexpected and not-so-wonderful comes our way, we often react with negativity. This is totally normal, but it puts you at a disadvantage. When we’re feeling a lower-vibe emotion (discouragement, anger, guilt, resentment, annoyance, etc), then we have a harder time negotiating our steps in a positive, hopeful manner.
All is not lost if this happens. Really, it’s a matter of catching yourself once you find yourself in a lower-vibe state and then climbing your way toward a better-feeling emotion.
My go-to method in situations like these is reciting affirmations until I can make that mindset shift from negative to positive. Meditation is another helpful method, especially if you’re able to find a quiet place where you can’t be interrupted.
Affirmations and meditation are tools we can use to help us come back to our inner power. Once you make the decision to shift from a low-vibe state to a higher-vibe state you are in control over your journey. That one decision, which takes .00000001 seconds to make, is pivotal enough to change your entire day.
Practice this shift several times every day, even when you’re not faced with a not-so-wonderful situation, and you’ll find it’s easier and easier to do. Our internal thoughts and belief system are actually more powerful than any external situation. Even when we’re faced with challenges such as a worldwide pandemic or racial injustices, we can stay true to our creative dreams as long as we focus more on feeling good about who we are as creatives and focus less on the perceived obstacles and blocks.
INTENTION #2: STAND BY BELIEFS THAT SERVE YOU
What beliefs are you standing by? This is a pretty broad subject. We can have beliefs about climate change, our neighborhood, our parents, the political system, money, creativity, exercise, drugs, education—you name it.
As someone who believes in the Law of Attraction (you attract what you believe to be true), I believe that our beliefs are the key to whether we’re living the life we want or not. You may or may not agree and that’s okay! (You don’t have to believe in LOA to understand whether your beliefs are working for or against you.) Maybe you’re not quite clear on your beliefs, and that’s okay too. I strongly encourage you, though, to get that clarity because this will be a game-changer.
Limiting Beliefs versus Thriving Beliefs
When we know exactly what we want in life, there is a belief attached to that desire. It’s either a limiting belief—one that puts up resistance on your journey, or it could be a thriving belief—one that encourages you to keep going no matter what.
Often, we don’t even realize we believe something about our desire because that belief usually roots at some time in childhood. The belief becomes part of our overall state of being that we are so accustomed to we don’t even think of it (like breathing or moving our bodies on the brain’s command) until we purposely bring our awareness to it.
You can change your beliefs at any time you choose. Isn’t that cool? This goes back to Intention #1—focus on your inner power. In other words, you aren’t stuck with any belief that doesn’t serve you. Once you make the decision to believe something that will help you thrive, you’re immediately on that new path. The hard work happens from that point forward—staying on that path.
Hard work but not impossible. This new belief can strengthen over time with practice. A belief is just thoughts you think over and over and over. So you have to change your thoughts. Every day, all day, is your opportunity to stay true to this new belief by working on different thoughts.
If you’re accustomed to thinking “I’m a terrible painter” then that is what you believe. When you believe you’re a terrible painter, then how do you think your journey will go for you? Again, I’m not talking about the outcome—I’m talking about your daily journey. You probably don’t get pumped to paint. You probably worry about criticism. Maybe you don’t even show your paintings to anyone because you believe you’re so terrible.
However, if you started training yourself to think that you’re a wonderful painter, just imagine your journey then. You’d be excited to paint every day. You wouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes because you’re wonderful enough to fix them, or just to take them in stride. You’d grow your community because you’d want to share your paintings with others with the belief that you’re a wonderful painter and people will enjoy your work.
Decide now what you want to believe about yourself as a creative. What do you want to believe about your creative journey? Then ask yourself what kinds of thoughts do you think about all of this—do they align with what you want to believe about yourself? If these thoughts are holding you back, take this time before 2021 arrives to re-create your thoughts so that you can build a thriving belief system.
INTENTION #3: BUILD A COMMUNITY THAT MATCHES YOUR BELIEFS
Outside sources have a big impact on what we think about ourselves. If your core of power is strong and unyielding, then you will have an easier time deflecting negative energy that could come from family, friends, career circle, strangers, etc. But if your core of power isn’t yet defined, you are vulnerable to low-vibe energies that aren’t even yours to begin with.
We all know someone who triggers us in an unsupportive way. How do you currently handle that situation? There is no right or wrong way exactly, but you do want to be sure you’re handling the negativity in a manner that aligns with what you want to believe about yourself.
For example, if you currently believe that you’re a terrible painter and then your cousin makes a crummy comment about your art, you may respond with a thought, “Well, she’s right. That painting sucks.” This response only allows more of the outside negativity to influence your self-belief. You will end up listening to more people like your cousin because that is what you believe about yourself.
Building a community that matches a more positive belief system will actually help you stay true to the creative journey you want to pursue. Negative Nellies might still come around, but rather than letting them get you down, use them as an opportunity to strengthen your core of power and to practice your newfound positive beliefs.
INTENTION #4: SET GOALS FOR YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY
There are two main groups of creatives: Visionary and Wanderer.
The Visionary group consists of any creative who has a clear desire they want to seize. This could be something like making an album or being interviewed by Oprah. I would say most creatives fall into this category, but there are many creative people who create simply because they love the feel of the craft. The Wanderers. If they finish the book in their heads, that’s cool, but not a driving force. If they start in on a painting then decide they want to learn how to sculpt instead, all good. The process of creating is what moves them to create and they find total and complete satisfaction in the mere act.
No matter if you’re a Visionary or a Wanderer or somewhere in between, you set goals in one way or another. Try not to look at the word “goals” as an end-all and be-all for your creative journey. Rather, look at it as a growth point. When you set a goal, you are inviting the opportunity for growth.
2021 offered us a chance to understand ourselves on so many different levels. It also gave us a chance to see life in general (the world) from a different perspective. What about your creative journey have you wanted to accomplish but haven’t been able to? Why were you struggling? Do you see a way through that darkness and toward a new beam of light? What would you like to change for 2022 and how will you go about it?
Do you want to have more self-love?
Do you want to strengthen your core of power?
Do you want to shift your mindset?
Do you want to rework your inner landscape?
Do you want to rewrite your belief system?
To become more creative or more productive, to become more happy or more confident, to become more clear or more focused—they all require an understanding of who you want to be as a creative and what you’re willing to do to make it all happen.
A great first step is to write down all your goals for 2022—write them ALL down. Nothing is too big, too small, or too inconsequential. Next, think about what you’d like to release, surrender, let go. Much of this may have been revealed in 2021, although it’s very possible you were aware of some of your shadows long before 2021 (looking at you, 2020) but you weren’t sure what to do about them. Write it all down.
This is your growth point, creative! Your 2022 goals can be more easily attained when you understand how you were limiting or blocking yourself in the past. No blame—we all do it. But if you want a change, and you’re ready for a change, right now is a great time to kick things into gear so you can begin living your best creative life.