What REALLY goes on in there? (hint: fangs are involved)

Tell me if you can relate:

Erin set out to create something the other day. She decided to draw with pastels, had great fun making a fabulous sketch, and was starting to flesh it out, when all of a sudden a gremlin reared its head.

“You’ll never pull that off!” snarled the gremlin.

Uh, oh…

If the “You’ll Never Pull That Off” Gremlin has ever shown its fangs to you, you’ll know how defeating that can feel.

Because maybe the gremlin is right; maybe you can’t pull that off.

That was exactly the case for Erin: she set out to draw something “realistic,” but she knew that her “realistic drawing” chops weren’t up to the task she had envisioned.

Without an understanding of how to manage the “You’ll Never Pull That Off” Gremlin, she might have quit right then.

Thankfully, Erin has learned some badass ninja gremlin-training techniques!

Instead of letting the gremlin shut her down…

Or trying to shut the gremlin up…

Erin practiced her Super Ninja Gremlin-Trainer skills, and said, very coolly and calmly:

“Ugh, hell yeah, Gremlin, you are right. BUT… what if I stop trying to produce something that looks realistic, and instead just let the creative energy take me in the direction it wants to go?”

While the gremlin was scratching its head (calm logic tends to confuse gremlins), she drew herself up straight and added, “‘Cause I can do that and you can’t stop me!”

And off she went, letting the Creative Stream pull her along.

She asked herself what elements of her drawing felt most important, exaggerating them with swishes and swirls, allowing her picture to become less “realistic,” and more representative of what she was seeing and feeling.

In the end, she was much more pleased and contented with her product, as well as the process!

Meanwhile, the gremlin shriveled up and went crawling in a crack in the wall.

The Moral

The moral of this story (which Erin posted in the Creative Ignition Club clubhouse and has given permission for me to share with you) is that instead of chasing her gremlin away, or letting it cow her into putting down her pastels and going home, she used it to help her move away from what felt wrong, toward what felt really right.

THIS is exactly the kind of thing we practice inside the Creative Ignition Club:

• taming our gremlins (or whatever you choose to call the voice of self-doubt/self-criticism)

and

• bringing them to heel, so that they work for us, rather than against us

We also help each other brainstorm, share our challenges and successes, post our artwork, cheer each other on in our efforts to clear out clutter (physical, mental, digital), and generally have fun. 🙂

Stories like Erin’s abound inside the clubhouse. It’s a lively group, incredibly friendly and supportive — exactly what I was hoping to create when I envisioned building it.

If that sounds like a community you’d like to be a part of, I invite you to join today — I only invite in new members when I launch a new course, so it’s the last time the doors will be open for awhile.

Membership includes a lot more than just the community, too. You get:

Monthly Jam Sessions – Hang out on the phone/in a virtual room with me and other club members every month, get your questions answered, share your wins and challenges.

Creative Ignition Kit – $37 value – The tools you need to get you doing your creative thing every day for a month.

Gremlin Training Lab – $37 value – Learn ninja gremlin-training techniques, like Erin used (Currently only available to club members)

Playshop-In-A-Box – $37 value – Learn all the secret techniques I use to make my ArtSpark artworks.

Members-Only Pricing – Discounts on virtually everything I offer, from 1:1 coachsulting to live retreats.

Exclusive Access to New Courses – As I create new stuff, I’ll add it to the clubhouse for you!

Plus, of course, the private members-only clubhouse (aka, online forum) and chat room, so you can connect and share with the friendliest bunch of creatives you’ll find anywhere.

Let’s make 2013 the year when you finally bring your creative spirit out to play.

Click here to learn more about Creative Ignition Club membership.

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!