Episode 5 - Overcoming Self Criticism. Seeing Ourselves With Eyes of Love.

In this episode, I'm talking with Michelle Swan - Gold Coast Portrait Photographer about overcoming self-criticism to allow us to see our lives and creativity with eyes of love, rather than judgement. Michelle talks about how an affirmation she's said throughout her life has now become her creative business name and message.

Welcome my fellow creative to episode FIVE of The Mindful Creative: Overcoming Self-Criticism. Seeing Ourselves With Eyes of Love.

Joining me in this episode portrait photographer Michelle Swan, who is passionate about helping women realise their beauty and view themselves from a loving perspective.

To overcome this ‘self-critical’ tendency, Michelle came up with an affirmation years ago: “I view myself with the eyes of love” and this became her mission in her business. Choosing the name ‘Eyes of Love Photography’ allowed her to extend love, support and kindness to those she cares about. While our stories are all unique, if you’re anything like Michelle I am sure there have been times when you’ve been your harshest critic, thinking and saying things to yourself you’d never dare say to another.

This episode came about when I was reading Gabrielle Bernstein’s book – The Universe Has Your Back. I’d met Michelle when she attended one of my in person workshops and we connected over brunch when she came to Melbourne for work. Her business is called Eyes of Love photography and like most names sometimes you just see them an Instagram handle, or something that you can identify a brand with.

I hadn’t given Michelle’s business name too much thought, but it wasn’t until I was reading The Universe Has Your Back that the power of it jumped out from the page and smacked in the face.

I was reading about the concept that ‘how you feel either attracts love or blocks love into your life’ So love accepts, judgement blocks. So when we live our lives from a place of love our world is open to us. We are open to receiving all kinds of positivity, opportunities. But when our perspective, our mind, our perception of ourselves comes from a place of judgement we block love, and the things we want for our life.

So as I am reading this Gabby asked ‘do you look through the eyes of love or the eyes of judgement’. And I immediately thought of Michelle and what she is trying to create in her business.

EPISODE RESOURCES

QUOTE: Every expert was once an amateur ~Robin Sharma

BOOK:

The Gifts of Imperfection ~ Brene Brown

Ask and it is Given ~ Ester and Jerry Hicks

VIDEOS:

Brene Brown on CreativeLive

Listening to Shame ~ Brene Brown

 

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Episode 3 - Anxiety in Creativity. Dark Shadows to Guiding Lights.

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In this episode, Marisa and I connect through our mutual journey with anxiety and how managing your anxiety can shift those dark shadows to be lead of the bright lights of creativity. Marisa shares some of her experiences with anxiety and how this shows up in her business of art direction and styling. We chat about fear of success, fear of failure, perfectionism and over delivering.

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Hello and welcome to episode 3 of The Mindful Creative: Anxiety in Creativity - Dark Shadows to Guiding Lights.

Joining me In this episode is Marisa from Miss Marzipan, professional art director, recipe creator and stylist.

You can find Marisa’s creative delights at missmarzipan.com on Instagram at missmarzipancom.

I met Marisa who was a fellow speaker at the first Food Photography Summit hosted by Beyond The Eats.

Marisa is an explorer who seeks the creative satisfaction in ‘doing it herself’. She truly believes that every aspect of everyday life can be beautiful, whether we make it so with a sprinkle of homemade magic, or through simply shifting our perception to see the extraordinary beauty in ordinary things.

Now Marisa, it was the law of attraction that brought us together right? We first met through the Food Photography Summit and were both in a space where we wanted to share our battles with creativity and mindset if you will!

Diving a little deeper, we connected on common ground that we’ve both had to manage anxiety in our lives.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

QUOTE: 'I'm not seeing things the way they are, I am seeing things the way I am'

BOOK: The Road Less Travelled ~ M. Scott Peck.

Episode 1 - Creative Depression. Ignoring One's True Joy.

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In this episode, I am exploring one of the major events in my creative journey as a freelance food photographer that prompted me to get in conversation with our community about emotional health for creative wealth. I chat about how feelings of guilt and ignoring what brought me creative joy lead to being creatively depressed.

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Hey fellow creatives you’re listening to episode one, that’s right the first episode of The Mindful Creative podcast.

If you’re keen to learn more about this podcast, check out my introduction episode, episode 000 for the full low down.

In this episode, I am exploring one of the major events in my creative journey as a freelance food photographer that prompted me to get in conversation with our community about emotional health for creative wealth.

This episode is about Creative Depression - Ignoring One’s True Joy. I’ll be chatting to you throughout the episode about how ignoring my true joy resulted in a bout of creative depression, which basically killing my short term creativity.

After months of working on myself, taking some time off to realign my values and much soul searching, I realised that at the core of this episode was exhaustion, guilt and ignoring my true joy.

Don’t be afraid. There is only one you, and your creativity, your idea is begging to be heard. Be seen. Be created.

I would love to know what would bring you true joy to your creative life that you’re currently ignoring? Leave me a comment and let's chat!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

QUOTE: 'Your talent isn't going anywhere' ~ Jo Anderson

BOOK: Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert

Introduction to The Mindful Creative Podcast

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What's The Mindful Creative all about? In this introductory episode, I share what prompted me to start this podcast and what Emotional Health for Creative Wealth actually means.

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Welcome my fellow creatives, I’m Rachel Korinek, a self-taught food photographer and you’re host of the Mindful Creative Podcast.

The Mindful Creative was founded on the belief that looking after our emotional health and mindset brings us a wealth of creativity and joy in our creative pursuits.

We all know that to pursue creative quests, we need to learn aspects of photography, or design, acting, singing and even writing, and we also know that we need to learn the tricks of the trade in business and marketing to gain exposure to our work. BUT what we aren’t told (and what no one talks about) is that we too need to learn and practice emotional wellbeing.

This podcast is about Emotional Health for Creative Wealth.

My goal throughout this podcast is to bring to light the experiences and mental challenges we all face as creatives (and humans, let’s get real), and the strategies and experiences that can assist us in moving through common negative thought patterns. Together we’ll tap into the raw beauty of authenticity and vulnerability, relish in knowing we are all human and our emotions don’t set us apart - they bring us together.

Throughout the episodes, you’ll get to sit down with me and creatives from all over this amazingly creative world, as we chat about the experiences we’ve faced and how we grabbed them by the balls and took charge of our mindset to chase after our dreams.

I owe a lot of my journey to reading self development books, affirmations, mantras and quotes. So each episode will tap into the power of wise noteworthy quotes and good reads so that if you really connect with the clear takeaway of each episode you can pursue a clearer, healthier mind.

This podcast isn’t and will never be judgmental, nor will I or the creatives who join me pretend to be experts on emotional health. We’ll simply share from a place of love in the hopes of touching someone in our community who needs it. Because, we’re all in this together!

My guests and I could chat for hours. We get lost in conversation, and often do once the episode stops rolling. BUT The goal of this podcast is to provide you with a clear value bomb, that take away that can shift your mindset. Each podcast will be intentional and around the 30 min mark.

So what made me start this podcast?

After my first couple of years of learning photography, the pressures of creating a full time freelance business, being a new wife, moving cities, losing family members and hustling my butt off for the least amount of money I’ve ever made - I burnt out. My physical and emotional health plummeted. Soon followed my creativity, zest and passion for photography. My fall back was seeking out western and alternative medicine to get my health back on track. But what about my creativity? There’s no doctor for that? I was left in the dark as what to do. My mind was telling me I’d lost it, and that I’d hit a ceiling and wasn't going to get better anyway.

It wasn’t until I worked hard on my thought patterns and mindset, that I started to be able to create again. To achieve creative wealth, as defined by me, not society.

I’d love to see in our community that working on our emotional health is an equal slice of the pie just as creating and business are. It’s talked about, it’s respected and even praised.

If you’re a creative (and your human don’t forget) then this podcast is for you, and if it’s touched you in anyway, please subscribe, rate and review. If you know someone who could benefit from the topics we chat about, please flick the episode their way. Together you and I can reach one creative at a time and this this community even greater.

I look forward to sitting down with you each episode and strengthening our emotional and creative health.