What inspires you?
Summer seems to have arrived - finally - and last weekend I was fortunate enough to visit the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London. I love this exhibition and rarely miss it. The thing I like about it so much, apart from the wide variety of art, is the fact that there's an open submission. Ordinary people can submit their art and, if they’re selected, have it displayed alongside professional and world-famous artists. The BBC do a great documentary every year following the process for three of these hopeful artists and I love hearing their stories.
The open submission appeals to me so much because I think that having a hobby or interest that lights us up, that we are passionate about is so important to a rich, full life. We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be world-class. We don’t have to earn any money from it. We just have to throw ourselves into it with enthusiasm and enjoy it! For me it’s creative writing and choral singing. For someone else it might be learning to ride, painting, marathon running, cycling, climbing, drawing, playing in a band, baking, learning circus skills, ballroom dancing, tap dancing … the list is literally endless.
We encourage children to have hobbies, to join groups and societies. We expect their lives to be about more than just study and home, but as adults it’s too easy to fall into the trap of expecting our work and our home life to supply everything we need – to completely fulfil us. That puts an awful lot of pressure on our relationships and our careers. It’s only natural that even in the best jobs or relationships there are ups and downs. Other interests make us more rounded, give us something else to think about when things go wrong, a relationship ends, we face redundancy or retirement. The loss still hurts and will take time to recover from but having something else in our lives that gives us joy and that provides a sense of satisfaction can help us be more resilient when times are hard.
When I work with a client we always look at her life holistically. Even if the main focus of the coaching ends up being her work or health, we ensure that all the parts that make up a rounded life have been looked at so that the client gains clarity about what she wants in each area and how she’s moving towards that. Taking a holistic look at life can show up what’s working and what isn’t and can stop the neglect of an area getting any worse.
Playing, having fun, being creative, pursuing a hobby just because you enjoy it is essential to a rich, fulfilling life. Seeing the wonderful works displayed at the Summer Exhibition inspired me to make more time for my creative writing – to prioritise it. What are you doing that lights you up, that inspires you? I’d love to hear.
