E129 - Where's your horse?
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Speaker: [00:00:00] うん。 Hello.
okay
Hello, my friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. I am so glad you are here to discuss [00:01:00] creative wellness and how your creative wellness can make you happier and healthier in heart, mind, body, and soul. Today, we are going to start our discussion with a really super odd question.
So I'm gonna ask it, and then I want you to hang on with me while I explain why I asked you this. So here's the question: Do you know where your horse is? Now, before you start looking out your window to see if maybe there's a horse out there, or you totally tuned me out because you're like, "What the heck, Beth?
I don't have a horse. I live in the city," I'm not talking about a four-legged animal in a stable. Although if you have one of those, please say hello to them for me. I absolutely love horses. But today, I'm not talking about a real horse. No, I'm talking about a proverbial horse, and it's a metaphor, [00:02:00] and in this metaphor, the horse equals you.
You are the horse in this scenario. So any time I mention the word horse, think of yourself. Now, have you heard the saying, "Don't put the cart before the horse"? In this story, like I said, the horse is you, and the cart, that's your project. That's your creation.
That's your goal. That's your dream. That is whatever you've gotten up today to do. So where is your horse? Are you in front of your cart, or are you behind your cart?
Now, in the past when I've asked this question, "Do you know where your horse is?" inside my workshops and my masterminds to the creatives who come to chat with me, there's always been this long pause as folks think to themselves, "Oh, what does she mean by horse?" And then they think, once they find out what I mean, they [00:03:00] say, "Ho- holy cow."
There's so many animal references in this episode. But holy cow, where in the heck is my freaking horse? And then I'll hear someone laugh because they've just realized they either have absolutely no idea, or I start getting answers like, "My horse is buried somewhere under 17 open browser tabs. My horse has fallen down every AI rabbit hole I have run into lately.
honestly, Beth, my horse is standing in the middle of a field surrounded by 43 half-finished projects, and the horse is completely frozen." Or, "My horse is running wild. I have no idea where it's going or how to control them." And we all laugh because metaphors are great, and they make life funny, and it makes life feel lighter.
But we also laugh because
realizing where our horse is can be sometimes a little painful. [00:04:00] It can be eye-opening, and it makes us think about some hard stuff. So today we're gonna talk about where your horse is, and more importantly, how to get control of your beautiful equestrian self and position yourself in the driver's seat.
Um, I'm mixing my metaphors here, but it's my podcast, I get to.
At any rate, let's find your horse and put it where it can work most efficiently.
Okay, let's set this scene so it's a little bit more understandable about this horse and cart idea, so if you are or you are not a horse fan, you're gonna understand that this metaphor isn't vague.
So you, you have a cart, and the cart is your project. It's your creative work, your business, your big idea, whatever it is you're trying to make happen and move forward in the world. And you, [00:05:00] you are the horse. The horse equals the creative, right? That's you. and you are creative whether you're someone who is making actual art
or you're someone whose creativity is being put into spreadsheets or blueprints or whatever your job or career or goal or dream is. Whatever you do, if you're gonna do it well, you have to be creative. So my friend, the horse equals the creative, and that is you. You're the one who is pulling the cart, taking it safely to its destination.
and in this scenario, the horse, you, is the one with the vision, the energy, the direction to pull the cart successfully to where it needs to go. Now, ask any engineer, a horse and a cart, it will work best if the horse is [00:06:00] in front and the cart is behind.
When the horse is in the front, it can see the road ahead. The horse makes choices about the direction, the horse sets the pace, and the horse steers around potholes, and detours, and such. And think about it, when you're in control, that's a pretty good feeling. And when you are in front of your work, when you are leading it and making the choices, deciding on the pace and the place, there is clarity that comes with that.
You, it gives you a sense of purpose. You know where you're going, and the cart follows. You deliver the project with a, um, "I meant to do that" sense of feeling. But here's what happens to so many creatives. The cart ends up in front of the horse, and you're suddenly not in charge, and you can't see where you're going as well.
The pace is [00:07:00] determined by how many corrections you need to make because you can't steer, and you can't see where you're going. And because you can't make choices clearly, you tend to overthink a lot.
Maybe the demands of the project, the deadlines, the client, the expectations, judgments from others, got so big that they started pushing you, and then pushed around you,
And at this point, no one knows who's driving the cart. Every decision feels harder than it should, and you're working so much harder than you need to.
so back to my question for you today, where is your horse? Are you leading your creative work, or is your creative work dragging you? Hmm? Let's talk about how to take control of your horse and your cart and the direction these two [00:08:00] things are going.
So I want to bring up something that we've talked about before on the podcast, something that seems deceptively simple, and that is thinking about what you're thinking about. Now, we can geek out and call this, um, your meta awareness, but basically thinking about what you're thinking about, well, that's the ability to step back before you create a single thing and take a look at the space inside your head.
What is actually going on in there right now? What ideas are swirling about? What are you chasing? What is taking up space that maybe doesn't need to have that amount of space? And here is the thing, most of us skip this step, and mostly it's because we don't even know that this is a step we're skipping.
And instead of thinking about what we're thinking about, We go straight from, [00:09:00] "Here's a project I have to do," to full speed ahead. We open our laptops, and we start a new doc, and we just get going. We start scrolling and searching for inspiration, and suddenly we have 47 ideas, no direction.
And while it seems we've been busy and we truly feel like we've done a thing, we've actually not done very much. And many of us get our proverbial cart stuck, spinning our wheels in this state of constant research and scrolling. Sound familiar? This is where I have another metaphor to share with you, and today
we're going to consider it the opposite of how you've heard it your whole creative life. And that metaphor is think outside the box. Now, I've been out of college for a long time, and it seems that that has been a catchphrase for almost every creative project that has been handed to me.
In order to have better ideas, think outside the box, [00:10:00] as in get out there, expand your thinking, let your imagination run wild. There are no limits to what you can choose to do. And in theory, well, this makes total sense. I mean, brainstorming is real, and it is valuable. But here's what folks rarely talk about.
When you're always outside the box, when every idea is equally possible at all times, and your options are limitless and available in every direction, that's actually not freedom That is fog, that is mud, that is overwhelm, that is decision paralysis, that is shiny object syndrome. And there's actual science behind this kind of paralysis.
Researchers have studied what happens to people, especially people who are in a creative mode, and remember, that's everyone in this room. [00:11:00] When creatives are given too many choices with no structure, it doesn't go well. People freeze.
They get overwhelmed. Instead of feeling satisfied and excited with all the choices that they have in front of them, they feel less satisfied. They get a kind of buyer's remorse feeling with each direction they choose because, well, they're not sure if they've chosen the right one. And enter shiny object syndrome, right?
Barry Schwartz literally wrote a book called The Paradox of Choice, and the research here is clear: unlimited options produce anxiety, not creativity. And in today's world, whoa, this has gotten so much harder. Because now, in addition to all our own ideas, we have the internet, [00:12:00] we have AI tools handing us 17 more ideas
We have YouTube showing us one more related video. we have every company and every store telling us other customers have also bought/researched/watched/listened to all of these other ideas. The choices we have to make are endless, and we hop down one rabbit hole and come up for air an hour later wondering how we got where we are and what we were originally trying to do.
And when this is happening, you're not driving. You're not even kind of steering. The cart is very much in front of your horse. So what do we do? We build a beautiful box that becomes your cart that you, the gorgeous Thoroughbred horse that you are, is magnificently pulling to your [00:13:00] chosen cart destination.
So let's talk about the box cart that you need to build. Here is the framework that I want you to sit with today. When you are outside of the proverbial box, think outside the box, and you have no limits, no structure, no direction, your creativity doesn't actually thrive,
even though you think it should. Because you're a wild and free creative being, and you believe that you are happiest when you are running free-spirited to every dream you have ever dreamed, right?
Now, here's what really happens. Your ideas, they spin. Your mind chases multiple shiny objects. Maybe this, maybe that, maybe this.
and you start 17 projects and have goals to finish them, but when? Someday. And here's the thing, when you create a [00:14:00] well-defined, beautiful space in which to run free inside the space that you've set up... Let's think of, um, let's think of it as your cart.
I mean, think of the cart Cinderella took to the ball. I mean, that was gorgeous. It was a pretty nice space to feel creative in, right? Don't you think?
And then inside this beautiful cart that you have created, that you feel inspired to be inside, you get to work being super creative, and this will make you amazing.
My friend Liz Wilcox said it beautifully in her interview in Create Today, episode 128. she called it staying inside the box, but bouncing around inside it. So she loves to create her box, work inside it, but bounce around in there with a bunch of ideas, and I love that image. You're not caged, you're not restricted, you're [00:15:00] nestled, and you're organized in the best possible way.
And inside your box or your cart, use your favorite metaphor, my friend, you are completely free to do what you want, and rest assured, research backs this up.
studies on creativity found that too many constraints are stifling, but too few, you are spinning your wheels, you go nowhere. The sweet spot, the place where creatives can do their best work, is in a well-defined space with room to move. That is why I want you to build your own cart that your horse will be in front of.
So build your cart, but build it with room to dance, and that's not science, that's Beth's advice. But researchers have found that purposely providing constraints acts as what they call inspiration triggers.
The limits that [00:16:00] you are given, those limits They become, ah, friction that you have to figure out. And think about it, you can't light a match without a little friction, and you want to set something on fire, right? But you cannot light a match without a little friction.
So the constraints you build in your box, that's your friction. The edges in your cart provide the structure to keep you from falling out and to keep you concentrating, but the space provides room to think, to move, to dance
I have a really great example to show you how being constrained makes you more creative. Dr. Seuss and his amazing book, Green Eggs and Ham, I mean, that is just a treasure for children's literature.
Well, his editor made Dr. Seuss a bet, $50, that he couldn't [00:17:00] write an entertaining children's book using only 50 words or fewer. I mean, talk about building a box, right? That's a pretty small box. His editor thought, "This is gonna be an easy way for me to make a little money." But Dr. Seuss took on this bet, and he wrote Green Eggs and Ham using exactly 50 words, and he won the bet.
And that little wager of 50 words, constraints of 50 words, produced one of the best-selling children's books of all time. And that is what a constraint can do. It can produce brilliance because of the friction, because of the limitations,
So the cart or your box, how, well, whatever metaphor you wanna use, that's your friction. That's your parameters. It's not your enemy. And it becomes, a map of how you're going to get from A [00:18:00] to destination. Or even better, your box is your creative brief
let's take a moment to listen to a word from our sponsor, and as usual, that would be me. If today's conversation is making you think, "I need to learn more about using my creativity as a tool to help me think about what I'm thinking about," let's talk about how you can learn more about your creative wellness.
First and foremost, come and join my email list. That is where I share regular encouragement and creative ideas to help you use your creativity as an indispensable tool in your life for your health, your happiness, and your success.
And if you're ready to meet with me in person, come and join me [00:19:00] inside the Create Today membership. Here, you're going to mingle with a community of creatives who understand exactly what you are going through, and you'll explore my unique framework to help you make changes in your life that will help you move forward with your inspiration, your goals, and your success.
And if you need something that l- looks specifically at your creative life, your challenges, and your goals in a personal way, that is what my one-to-one coaching is for. We'll take everything we talk about on the podcast, in my membership, and we look to see how it applies uniquely to your creative needs.
So choose what's right for your needs today. Go to www.bdi-create.today, and you'll find all the links you need to create today with me in the show notes[00:20:00]
Okay, let's talk about how to actually build your beautiful cart. So here's the part where we're gonna roll up our sleeves and we're gonna do stuff. I have six steps for you to use as well, like we mentioned early, uh, use as your creative brief. The steps in this creative brief will help you understand what you need to do in order to build your cart or your box.
And a creative brief is important to have, even if you're the only person who will ever see it. These steps work for team leaders, for solopreneurs, for entrepreneurs, for any sort of freelance or creative work, and I'm talking creative work from spreadsheets to blueprints to illustration.
So let's get to it. This is how you put your horse back in front of your cart and then give it somewhere to go. So step one: [00:21:00] define the one outcome. This is your what. Just one outcome, not three, not a list of goals. One ending goal. What is this project actually supposed to do? Write it in a single sentence.
If you cannot do that yet, you're not ready to start work, and that's okay. This is a useful bit of information to know about how you're going to pull your cart to its destination. So sit with this thought of one sentence, one goal, until that one clear direction becomes apparent.
Step number two: set your audience boundary, and this is your who. Who is this for? And the answer is not everyone who might be interested.
You want one type [00:22:00] of person, a reader, a listener, a customer, and name that person. Give them a name. When every creative decision gets filtered through, "What would Samantha think?
Will they connect with my idea, with this direction?" When you can picture your person and understand that single audience better, the fog starts to lift and the direction becomes clear. Number three,
plan your schedule backwards. So you're going to start at your deadline. You're gonna start at the end point. What exactly is the goal, and then when is it due? And then work your way back to this very day. So what has to happen the day before your deadline, the week before your deadline, two weeks before, a month before?
And think about all those blocks of time and what [00:23:00] needs to be accomplished, and break it down into little pieces. So this is not about pressure. I mean, you don't want to be thinking, "Oh my gosh, I have so much to do." This is not about pressure. In fact, it's a way to release some of the pressure. It's about making the path visible and understandable and, most importantly, doable.
So when creatives freeze, it's often because the path from here to done looks like one giant leap. So when you're doing backwards planning, that turns that leap into steps, and easy steps, baby steps, and that opens the door to more creativity. It also will let you know if what you're planning is doable.
Step number four,
Give yourself a deadline that has teeth. See, this is the friction. This is the sides of your box, the parameters that keep you [00:24:00] organized. A soft deadline is, "This year I will write my book," or, "This month I will finish my website."
That's not a deadline, that's a suggestion. And my friend, it should come as no surprise that creative brains, especially ones that love shiny objects, well, they'll ignore a suggestion, no matter the good intentions that are tacked onto it. And science tells us that the right amount of deadline pressure creates that all-important creative flow.
Remember, we cannot light a match without having something to strike against it. Build those parameters. Tell yourself you have a deadline. Make a goal that has some teeth.
So like I said, science tells us that the right amount of deadline pressure creates that all important creative flow. That's that beautiful, engaged, time flies state of being where [00:25:00] your best work happens. And the key here is the friction. So don't supply so much pressure that you can't breathe, okay? But introduce enough that you know this is real, it is important, and it is something to pay attention to.
Step number five: write your one-page creative brief. So we've been talking about a creative brief, and now we're actually going to have something tangible that you can hold and stay accountable to. Even if you're the only one that is ever going to see it, make it. Get some structure you could stay accountable to.
Create a document with a name, your purpose, one sentence, your audience, one person, a tone, the deliverable, what's the goal, and the deadline, and that's your friction.
This is the physical version, this creative brief, this page that you're holding, [00:26:00] it's the physical version of everything we've been talking about with our metaphor. This is your beautiful cart that your horse will be pulling.
and here is the real magic. When you write something down, it becomes real. It becomes a commitment you make to yourself and to your work, and it also is your permission slip that says, "This is a priority. I am important. My work is important, and I'm going to make time for it."
So step number six, keep a tomorrow list for all those shiny objects. 'Cause let's be honest, just because you've built a box or a cart, and you're going to be working inside that cart with those parameters and the friction, those, uh, new ideas are not going to stop coming.
Those bright and shiny things will [00:27:00] keep popping up in your path. Your brain is supposed to generate ideas, and it will.
You can't turn that off entirely, nor do you want to. And that is the delicious part about being a creative is that ideas keep happening. But here's what's important:
When something new pops up that's not part of your current plan, your current creative brief, you're going to put it into your tomorrow list.
We're gonna take these cool ideas and we're gonna put them into a corral that we're just going to, um, close the gate on. So it's our tomorrow corral, our tomorrow list. We're gonna honor it, but we're gonna park it inside that corral, and we're gonna give it a little wave
and we're gonna say, "I see you right now, but I will see and think about you more tomorrow or later or when this project is done." Then come back to your creative brief that you're following right [00:28:00] now and keep bouncing around inside your box. Your tomorrow list
is for your new ideas. They're for your tomorrow thoughts. They are your containment system for anything that is outside of your beautiful cart that you are pulling to your destination. If you've been hanging around Create Today for a while, especially in the last four or five, six weeks, you have learned about my Going FourWords framework, and I want to show you how perfectly knowing where your horse is connects inside my framework.
If you haven't heard these episodes yet, I'll link all four, um, in the show notes, and I encourage you to go back and listen or re-listen. But here's a quick map of how today's episode fits inside the Going FourWords framework. The four words are revive, realize, refine, and release.
So let's first consider the revive word and see how [00:29:00] it fits with today's exploration. Before you can build any kind of structure, you need enough energy to think clearly. A depleted creative cannot write a creative brief. They can barely find their horse, and I'll bet you that horse is hungry. In the revive stage, we are replenishing our energy and finding our vitality.
And if you're running on empty, go back to episode, uh, 123, because you're going to need to fill your horse's tank before you can pull your cart anywhere. The second word is realize, and this is where thinking about what you're thinking about actually lives. Realize is about waking up from living in the fog of too many routines that keep you on autopilot.
It is the awareness step where you're looking at your project, your patterns, your [00:30:00] mental space, and you're actually seeing and appreciating in the moment what you have today. You cannot define your what or your who until you've slowed down enough to realize what you're actually capable of creating. Now, the third word is refine, and this is where our creative brief, those six steps we explore, actually happen.
Refine is about doing the work, 'cause you are not going to have your horse pull your cart anywhere if you don't get the work done. So it's a combination of permission to do the work and structure of working inside that beautiful cart that you've built, working together. So writing the brief, building the cart, planning the path, pulling your cart.
This is where you start moving with purpose towards your goal. [00:31:00] So get the work done. That's refine.
And the fourth word is the word release. And release, it's, it's just like it sounds. It's about letting go, and letting go in two unique ways. The first way you let go, the first way you release, is releasing what is holding you back. You park those shiny objects in that parking lot or that corral, for another look another day.
You release your grip on them right now so your current project has room to breathe and get finished, because you can't make progress if you're gripping to a bunch of other shiny ideas that you've collected. Your ultimate goal is always to release that project into the world to do what that project has been created for.
But you can't do this
you can't deliver your cart to your delegated deadline if you don't let it go at the end. when you get to your deadline, when you get to your destination, [00:32:00] you gotta let it go.
So, you see, the whole going FourWords framework, it's a cycle, and today's episode is essentially one pass through the cycle applied to a single idea, which is where is your horse? And it's all wrapped up into these two beautiful metaphors: a cart that is not before your horse, and thinking inside your box.
So, um, I'm gonna ask you one more time, do you know where your horse is? I hope that by the end of this episode, the answer to where your horse is feels a little clearer. And I hope you know not just where your horse is, but where it's supposed to be going. Is it out in front? Is it leading the way? Is it seeing the road ahead?
and is it delivering its beautiful cargo to its destination on time? You see, when you are in front of your [00:33:00] work, in charge of your work, but you also have a plan and a deadline, and a box to bounce around inside of, your creativity does not shrink, it thrives, and it gets better, and it gets bolder, and it gets done, and science says so.
And getting stuff done, my friend, oof, it feels really, really good. Now, if this episode helped you today, I would love it if you would subscribe to the Create Today podcast wherever you're listening or wherever you're watching. And leave a review if you have a minute.
And if you know someone who might not know where their proverbial horse is right now, share this episode with them.
It might be exactly what they need today. All the links, the email, the Create Today membership, um, one-on-one coaching, and
the Going Forwards episodes are all waiting for you inside the show notes. [00:34:00] So my friend, where is your horse? Do you need help building your cart, one that you can dance inside? I want you to take all the tools shared with you today and use them, my friend, so you can stay creative
