Last week I interviewed Arlene of Spirit Essence Art and she told us about the 100 in 100 challenge that she's participating in. It was a great interview, and if you missed make sure you go back and read it! I realize that some thing like that may be a bit overwhelming for many of us though, so this week I want to talk a little about some smaller challenge options :) Well, one in specific, I'll have more for you next week!
The Personal Challenge
That's right, this challenge is for you, from you. Why? Because YOU know yourself best. You know where you want to grow, you know what you want to learn, you know what you struggle with, and most importantly, you know best what you can reasonably accomplish! Let me share a story with you...
Just over a year ago I was looking at my shop and my jewelry and evaluating where I was at. It was the middle of the Christmas season and I knew that sales were likely to dry up after the new year. Which in turn meant I wouldn't be able to go shopping for new supplies as often! At that point in time I was making a few bead woven items here and there, but the majority of what was going on-line was my other forms of jewelry. The main reason for that was that I was still SUPER slow at bead weaving.
I decided that I needed to focus more on my bead weaving. Not only does it cost less to purchase the supplies since I use mainly seed beads; it also takes up lots of my time! It's also something I really wanted tog get better at.
So I challenged myself. I wanted to get at least one bead woven item done a week. At first that was HARD to do! Then I noticed, as I got more consistent in the time spent, I was getting faster. It also became more of a part of my routine. If I don't spend time with a needle and thread in my hands every day I feel a little lost!
Since then I've come a long way. It's not uncommon for me to produce 2 or 3 bead woven items in a week, especially if I'm not doing much else that week, and I've learned a lot of new styles! I no longer stick to a strict challenge, because I don't need to. It's now just a part of my life.
So what should you do when setting up a personal challenge/goal for yourself? Here's some things to think about as you get started:
1. What are you dissatisfied with in your art work?
2. What can you realistically do to change that?
3. What challenges are you likely to face in trying to accomplish this goal?
Now, having thought that through, set yourself a SMALL goal. You don't have to shoot for the stars! You can, I won't stop you, but remember it's much easier to start small and then add on. So maybe you want to do a painting every day like Arlene is. You can also start out by saying, "I'd like to do a painting every day, and that would be awesome if I achieve that, but lets start by saying I have to finish 3 a week, and go from there." Starting small and building on it is much easier :)
Not the type that stays motivated on your own well? Don't worry - I have more ideas for challenging yourself! Stick around and we'll talk about it next week.
