Netflix and Create
“Be a voice - not an echo." - Albert Einstein
Everyone likes to indulge in some Netflix every once in a while. I watched two different specials that share enlivening insights about life and creativity. If you are looking for an enticing way to stoke your creative fire, if you’re feeling creatively dead, or if you simply want to know what to watch on Netflix – I invite you to continue reading.
What makes you feel most alive? How do you get into the flow of life?
People who have experienced the 'creative flow' can attest to how the act of creating something can pulse life back into their veins. Amen. Let's get that blood pumping.
First, let me encourage you to watch Brene Brown's Netflix special, The Call to Courage. It moved me to tears. If you are ever in a funk or feeling down about your life - please watch her special. Even if you're feeling great – it will make you feel like you can move mountains.
It takes courage to be creative.
Brown says, “You are going to fail if you're brave in your life. You can't take criticism and feedback from people who are not in the arena."
Preach it Brown! Naysayers be gone!
Putting yourself out there as a creative person is going to be scary because not everyone will like or appreciate your creation. You just have to tell yourself:
Who cares? It's my truth. Not everybody needs to like it.
My favorite quote from Brown:
"Belonging requires you to be who you are. Fitting in is you trying to be like someone else. You belong to yourself first."
My whole purpose for starting this blog and naming it 'Create or Conform' is to get the point across that we always have a choice in how we live our lives. Every day we are choosing to create magnificent, unique lives or we are choosing to conform to the expectations of others and imitate what has already been created.
I also watched a Netflix documentary titled The Creative Brain. This documentary boasts that what we create is unique because our life experiences are unique. If you are sitting there thinking your life isn't interesting enough to write about or create anything from,
THINK AGAIN.
You have had unique experiences that only YOU can write about. Your voice and your creation may just be what someone else needs to experience. Or maybe YOU just need to be the receiver of your own creation. That doesn't make it any less special. Use what’s around you to create something new.
The documentary also touches on how creativity (especially writing) dramatically transforms the lives of prisoners. Maybe you can relate this to your own life and creative struggle.
Aren’t we all prisoners of our own lives when we disallow the current of creativity to flow through us?
Don’t fall into that trap. Don’t imprison yourself. Unshackle the chains, grab the keys, and step out of your prison cell. We all do it do ourselves from time to time - myself included. No excuses this time.
Ask yourself:
What experiences are unique to me that I am willing to mold and mend and get messy with?
Life is messy and beautiful and sometimes downright dark. Don’t be afraid to step into the void of the creative process. It just might be what you need to move from pain to healing – or simply as an experience to discover more glee. (Yes, I did just use that word. Isn’t it fun?)
If this blog post wasn’t enough to hit the spot or turn on your creative nozzle, I strongly encourage you to do away with 'Netflix and Chill' this week. Instead, Netflix and CREATE after watching the aforementioned specials. Both specials emphasize that it’s much easier to sit back and be a critic rather than be a creator.
So stop sitting back and critiquing the work of others. Get your own creative juices flowing!
Find the courage to create this week. Don't conform.
The Call to Courage trailer
The Creative Brain trailer
