The problem with finding your focus too fast

What is the very first thing that you want to do when you feel stuck? You want to make a plan to get unstuck, right? That's why you hire a coach. That's why you try to find somebody outside of yourself, maybe to find some kind of a fix or formula, to find your focus, because your brain always wants to keep you safe.

Formulas are great if you want to keep doing the same thing over and over again. But we want to actually create something new based on our uniqueness. So while your brain says, Okay, we need to hurry up and focus, narrow, narrow down and just focus on this specific plan, you might actually be blocking out all of the possibilities of what this project or your life could look like. You’re blocking the ease, the fun, the excitement, the connection to other people, that uniqueness that actually will attract people to your art. This is what happens if you narrow down too fast. Let me give you an example.

Let's say you've been exploring your art for a long time, and you want to begin to sell your work online or to new collectors. Your brain says, Okay, let's make a plan. Let's kind of create this plan so that we can create sustained income. So you look around and see, okay, well, there is this person who has this class about selling artwork. I'm gonna follow through with that formula so in six months I’m going to make six figures selling my artwork.

So you download the PDF, and you start following that to the letter. Maybe you've experienced this before.. you start to follow the plan, and you do pretty well for a while. And then you start to kind of hate it. Kind of hate your artwork, kind of hate the people on social media. Maybe you just get bored or you can't sustain it.

Why does this happen when we begin to follow the formula? Studies have shown that for long-term motivation, we need to access internal or intrinsic motivation. External motivation can be created from things like making money, and other people's approval. But for long-term motivation, especially if you have ADHD or are neurodivergent, It's so important for you to be able to access intrinsic motivation, this is what's going to sustain you. And for you to create a plan that's going to sell your artwork in a way that really works for you that's really fun and connected and easier for you. What we don't want to do is we don't want to narrow our focus, and create that plan or formula that’s too rigid, closed or focused too soon. It's blocking out the possibilities of doing it in a better way.

So the first step in Finding Focus is actually getting into a very open, playful mode and FINDING INSPIRATION. I have a whole video and podcast episode focused on this step.

In this example, taking the class can be the first step in FINDING INSPIRATION. But then dig a little deeper. What are the other ways that you enjoy selling? What are your core values, and how do you connect with your community? All of this can be combined to create a plan that works really well for you and taps into that intrinsic motivation.

When I work with my clients, we create an INTUITIVE BUSINESS PLAN based on what works for them, not a formula.

Stay tuned to this blog and my YouTube and Podcast where I’ll be sharing more about my FLOW Process to find focus.