Ep 39: The Grateful Creator's Mindset
Transform Your Creative Process (Part 1 of 4)
SUMMARY
Discover how gratitude can revolutionize your creative process in this first installment of our four-part series. Host Dustin Pead reveals three essential mindset shifts that can transform creative blocks into breakthrough moments. Perfect for artists, designers, and creative professionals looking to enhance their creative practice through the power of grateful thinking.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
⚡️ A positive mindset isn't just motivational fluff—it's about creating new neural pathways that override creative self-doubt and limitations.
⚡️ Transforming perceived obstacles into opportunities can revolutionize how creatives approach challenging projects and client work.
⚡️ Present-moment awareness in creativity allows artists to focus on current blessings and capabilities rather than future anxieties.
NOTABLE QUOTES
💬 "As we change our perspective, we increase our creativity, raising our art to a whole new level." - Dustin Pead
💬 "You have to take control of your mindset. You have to take it back from the lies that you may have believed, from any scar tissue that may be in there." - Dustin Pead
💬 "It's an amazing gift that you have to be able to create today. So use it. Use the gift with gratitude." - Dustin Pead
EPISODE RESOURCES
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TRANSCRIPT
Creating with Gratitude Part 1: Mindset is Key
Welcome back to the Creativity Made Easy podcast. I'm your host Dustin Pead, creative coach and consultant, and I cannot wait to get into this today. We are going to take a leap and start a four-part series over the next four weeks on creating with gratitude and how, when we change our perspective, we increase our creativity, raising our art to a whole new level.
Introduction
I'm so glad that you're with us today as we start this brand new series. I've been creating series of messages and packaging them together for almost 20 years in the church world, and today we're going to dive into "Creating with Gratitude." You can follow along with everything I'm putting out on social media - Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube - all of that at Dustin Pead (P-E-A-D). You can also find all of our blog materials and free resources at dustinpead.com.
Creating with Gratitude
I know it might seem a bit cheesy - we're in Thanksgiving month now, November, with pumpkins everywhere and everyone talking about Friendsgiving. It's an exciting time of year, and Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. We're going to spend the next four weeks talking about creating with gratitude because I believe it's super important. As we change our perspective, we can increase our creativity.
Three Essential Mindset Shifts
1. Keep a Positive Attitude
I know you're thinking, "That's easier said than done." We're all artists, all super emotional beings. We all tend to see the glass as half empty, but I'm telling you, if you put in just a little effort to having a positive attitude, it will change the way you create things.
Resist the urge to just "keep it real" or "just being honest." We need your true self, but there comes a point where you have to take control of your mindset. You have to take it back from:
The lies you may have believed
Any scar tissue that may be there
The neurological pathways that say you're not good enough
Thoughts that say it's too overwhelming or too hard
You have to start carving out new neurological pathways with positive attitude and thinking. This isn't some new concept - we've seen throughout history that a positive attitude can change your world.
2. See Opportunities, Not Obstacles
There's going to be many things that come up against you and many roadblocks. Writer's block is a real thing - we're going to stare at the blank page and not know what to put on there. We're going to receive a project from a client and think, "Wow, I can't believe I said yes to this. I have no idea what I'm doing."
That's not an obstacle - that's an opportunity. You now have the chance to:
Explore new territory
Learn new things
Go boldly where you haven't gone before
It's a small mental shift, but it makes all the difference.
3. Stay Present
It's difficult not to worry about tomorrow, especially when you're venturing out on your own. You worry about:
What client work will come
Paying the bills
Sustaining your business
How long you can keep it up
But if you can stay present, you can create with gratitude and make amazing things. Sometimes you need someone in your life to snap their fingers and say, "Hey, come back. I know you're worrying about tomorrow. Come back to us right here."
Self-Reflection Questions
Which of these three things resonated with you the most today?
Do you need to change your attitude?
Do you need to see obstacles as opportunities?
Do you struggle with staying present?
It's an amazing gift that you have to be able to create today. So use it. Use the gift with gratitude. I think in this mindset shift that we can all make together, we can create some beautiful things.
Next Week
We're going to continue this four-part series on creating with gratitude. We'll talk about something I call "creative fuel days." It's going to be amazing, and I cannot wait to share it with you.
Visit dustinpead.com to learn more and connect with Dustin.