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Joyful Creative Life Blog Articles

Written & Illustrated by: Tanya J. de Wet

A Romantisized Life: New book & tips to reach for a little happiness

Writer's picture: Tanya{ADMIN}Tanya{ADMIN}

Updated: Jul 21, 2022

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to separate our personal lives from our daily work? At some point, someone will ask about the kids or even want the recipe to the dish you brought for lunch.


Let’s face it, our lives are a mixture of all the things we do in private & all the things we allow others to see.


Yes, I did use the words “allow others to see” as it is also true that we don’t always want everyone to know what weird thing we do while we are in deep thought & oblivious to the outside world. Now, most people are going through life totally unconscious of their surroundings anyway & hardly notice the changing seasons of their own lives. On a day when something happens unexpectedly… they think it came out of the blue, but in reality, it was brewing there & growing without them knowing how big it has become.



You see dear friends, we are always building our lives, even when we sit on the couch for hours on end. It’s happening much slower in that scenario, yet it is still happening.


Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the anti-TV type, I’m just more productive & prefer not to watch a lot of TV. So, what do I do all day? No... I don't just read, research, draw & paint all the time (ha-ha-ha, that's so funny)


After a near death experience in 2007, I've made it my highest priority to live life to its fullest by genuinely making the effort to only doing the things I love most. Adding moments of joy along the way & mostly to build my Creative Career into exactly what I find appealing.


This is my happy place


It is the place where I get to live out my dream vocation as an Artist, Surface Pattern Designer, online educator & a creative being. Making every aspect of my life count!


Some creative friends have asked for a guideline as to what I do in my business.

I do discuss it in full during the Creative Careers Workshop & an elaborated version in the Creative Conscious Business Mind Course (coming soon) But, I thought to give you a quick layout consisting of my three-fold approach to the business model I follow:

Residual Revenue in the form of long-term engagements with Licensing Partners


Recurring Revenue in a medium-term goal where I work with creatives on Themes & Topic


And lastly, Cash flow in the form of Products, the Play & Paint Sessions & Art Tutoring


Of course the Creative Retreat Workshops are dependant on who booked my services, but it is all relevant to my Creative Career. It’s not complicated at all; the biggest take-back is goal setting & following through on commitments.


To me, it really feels like I’m the “Mastermind” behind the talents I’ve honed in over the past couple of years. Once you gain control of your mind my friends, you are set to create miracles in your life.


We have to make an effort to pull ourselves out of dormancy, take action when it’s needed & actually having a set of rules to live by. As creatives, we have to make up the rules as we go along when we work for ourselves or else nothing gets done at all. As most of us have been programmed to work for others it can be hard to get to grips with running your own business successfully without the structures of an existing model. But for me it just feels more like pleasure when I can do more of the things I love to do.



It’s like I always say:


“I do more of what I love so that I can wash the dishes & pull the weeds with a smile.”

– Tanya J. de Wet


Finding a way to continue to do the things we love doing means we have to make our lives as organised as possible without over complicating it in any way. Making time for ourselves without letting the to-do-list rule our lives requires inner gusto, patients with our current state & of course a playful approach so that you can find joy in difficult things.


I mentioned this last week. We need to K-I-S-S everything & turn our lives into the best version of what happiness & joy looks like.


Yes, it took a whole lot of time, but here I am now & I couldn’t be happier. To most friends, this looked like play as all they saw was a painting I was working on or the new fabric prints in the Studio. Some even came around just to see the wallpaper in real life. Some popped in for art tutoring while others came back to learn more & dive into creativity even deeper. Some only saw me writing stories about my adventures & others went for walks with me as I took photos of the flowers & scenes that adorn each location we visited. All the while, I was literally doing the things I adored doing, plus making sure I found appreciation for where I was in each moment. This brings me to the point where being conscious of what we think is as important as what we do.


Most people I know are afraid of being alone with their thoughts, therefor also scared of living to their fullest potential. Yes, they fill their lives to the brim with too much of all the things that don't matter, they stay very busy… but with what?

If the answer isn’t complete fulfilment & joy, then it could be that you are staying busy to avoid hearing the nagging voice telling you all those lies. Do you often find yourself controlling others instead of yourself? Or are you finding reasons not to try anything new in case it doesn’t pan out?


Hearing all the chatter in my mind or shall I say the monkey-mind, going on about the so-called shortcomings, doubts & fearfulness is part of the conversations I enjoy unravelled. Listening to it (the monkey in my head) go on about things I know are not true is just another way of avoiding life while trying to escape the fears we have to face eventually.


I’ve known for a very long time that trying to control the mind only brings us more of the chaos, but learning to manage & guide the monkey-mind is exactly why I chose Art Therapy as a professional career to replace the one I had. You see, I needed it to find my way to a Creative Career & then to go beyond the old limiting beliefs I used to have about my life.


Let me share a couple of secrets with you:

The monkey still talks smack - but I know better than to believe such nonsense

The fear has not gone away - I just harness it to improve the here & now

The failures happen & there will be more - but I decided to use them to reach higher

The heartaches come around - then, I look at them & see how much I’ve grown

The doubt creeps in every now & then – but I forge a path through it because I owe it to myself for being brave enough to start


There really isn't a magic pill for happiness, just a recipe to find moments of joy that works every time!


One of these moments are to engage in a creative activity like drawing, painting or colouring. In this deep relaxed focused state we often find clarity & answers to the things we often overthink. So, without keeping you in suspense any longer, I'd like to give you a colouring page with mixed flowers to say thank you for staying to the end & making time for relaxation in your life.


Click on the image to go to the download & print it on your favourite paper

Mixed Floral - July 2022


I think it is time for me to follow my own advice & print out this page for myself.


Happy colouring friends & don't forget to add your favourite flowers to the list for the new book.


Love to all

Tanya

xo



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Tanya{ADMIN}
Tanya{ADMIN}
22 באוג׳ 2022

I thought to give everyone a short update on the Floral Remedies Book while we are here in the comments. The book is nearly filled with all your favourite flowers & I just loved researching all the attributes to add in the guide pages.


With only a few days to go, I'm counting down the timer for the Competition draw on Thursday the 25th of August 2022.


There is still time to add your name to the list, as long as you add your favourites to the growing list of wonderful flowers.


Catch that link in the Blog Article, if you missed it.


Until Thursday, stay happy & creative


XO

Tanya


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