In the beginning, I paused every few months and wrote about what I’d learned so far about creating art, and about myself. Just 1 post shy of 300 posts I decided to reflect again. Here is what I’ve learned on my creative journey:

1. There are ups and downs in a creative practice. Stick with it through the down times, an up time is coming, and you never know how high you’ll climb.
2. Practice does make (almost) perfect.
3. Accountability motivates you to get stuff done.
4. You can retrain yourself to embrace better work habits.
5. There is character and style to the “imperfect.”
6. Share what you create, don’t create to share.
7. Those beautiful Instagram posts only tell a sliver of a story. Don’t fall into comparing yourself.
8. Interviews with other creatives tell much more of the story, and can be very real, and very inspiring. I love listening to podcasts.
9. It takes time and work to develop your style.
10. Capture the moments when you feel inspired – snap a photo or jot down a note, for later.
11. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike or a plan to form, sit down and start creating, and things will start to unfold.

My other “lessons learned” posts:

• Six months into my creative resolution
• At one year

What have you learned on your journey?