journaling for clarity
Sometimes as a multipassionate creative, it's hard to make sense of all the ideas you come up with.
Back in January 2021 I learned about Jeanne Oliver through Melody Ross. After pre-registering for Melody's course Soul Mosaic, I spent quite a while exploring Jeanne's site and started the course Salt + Light. It's still available (and it's free!), and so full of good, thought provoking, soul searching content. I highly recommend! The videos and downloadable devotional inspired me to journal out all the jumbled thoughts and ideas I've had. This helped me to finally feel organized and realize there is actually order and purpose in it.
Through journaling, I realized that my vision, to connect with and encourage women, is the core purpose for each of my pursuits.
I think this world puts too much pressure on people and it's so common to feel like you're not enough and too much all at the same time. I want to build people up, to help them realize their worth and potential so they can live the abundant lives they're meant for. I want to help people get out from under the heavy and horrible load of unworthiness.
I started journaling about all the things I love doing and how they're all connected to the same purpose. You can have multiple passions and still work to fulfill your calling; you're just using different means to get there.
It's kind of like having a destination that you want to get to.
You could take a car each time you go. Maybe you really love your car and enjoy the routine. You vary your experience by taking different passengers each time or by traveling alone. Sometimes you drink water on your drive while other times you switch it up with coffee or tea. Depending on your mood, you choose the music or podcast or enjoy the silence and scenery of the drive. You might even take different routes from time to time.
This is kind of like having a niche. It works really well for some people. They are focused on their purpose (destination) and really enjoy their niche (car), pouring their energy into all the ways they can make it the best experience possible each time.
But maybe you're not so committed to your car and you have a hankering to switch things up a bit more. Your focus is still on your purpose, but you enjoy exploring different ways of getting there. You like the car ride, but you also really like taking the train or ferry from time to time. When you're feeling really adventurous, you might even try a helicopter or hot air balloon or motorcycle. Whichever method of transportation you choose, you can still reach your destination. And it's the same for multipassionate creatives. Each mode of transportation or method you employ has exciting features and different people to interact with along the way.
What matters is to keep the focus on the purpose and to do it in a way that feels authentic and life giving to you.
Journaling really helps me sort it all out and realize that it actually does make sense. I can connect with and encourage women through art and handmade pieces that I create. I can also pursue that purpose through creating alongside them, creating space for them that feels safe to let their guard down. And I can connect and encourage through helping with digital and tech needs.
After journaling out all my thoughts, I added some Bible verses that relate to my purpose and scribbled out some findings from common threads in my journaling process. Then I thought about the things I do creatively (the brands, which all fall under the umbrella of my purpose) and wrote the focus of each one. This helped me see (because I need visuals) how it all works together and how it all actually makes sense. Maybe I'm not a such a scatter-brained freak after all (and neither are you)! We're just wired to be creatively diverse. Let's embrace it!
