On the power of joy and doing things on your own terms

I've never been that interested in sports, but this year I have become completely obsessed with Alysa Liu's ice skating performance at the Winter Olympics. Her programme won her the Gold Medal, and if you haven't seen it already, do yourself a favour and go and watch it now!

Alysa's story is pretty incredible. At 16, she performed in the 2022 Olympics, placed sixth, burned out, and decided to retire. But she found her way back - this time on her own terms. She ate whatever she wanted. She started performing for herself. And that changed everything.

Her performance at the Olympics is beaming with joy and freedom. And that joy is much, much, much bigger than the insane pressure she's under. Which leads to an incredible and unforgettable performance.

I'm not one for "lessons", because I believe we all have to find our own way, and that often looks different for everyone. But what Alysa did is an inspiration to all creatives out there.

It's a reminder that we create because we feel a calling to, because we love expressing ourselves, and because it brings us joy. The more you stay in touch with that truth and that joy, the more creatively fulfilled you are going to feel.

I actually included Alysa's performance in this week's session of my Creative Blocks course, which was all about joy, fow, and the meaning of inner artist. And something became pretty clear for everyone: the reason, and the person, we want to be creative for, is ourselves.

Sure, we also want to connect to other people, and we want to share our work with the world, and maybe we also want it to help or uplift others. But the number one person we create for?

It's ourselves.

It's so easy to get caught up in outcomes, in pressure, in whether we think our work is "good", in comparing ourselves to others. And those are real and difficult emotions. But the more you focus on that well of joy inside you when you create - which is the reason you do it in the first place - the less important all those worries become.

Because the outcome doesn't matter. Only how you feel when you create.

With love and big feelings, always!

Your neurodivergent creative coach,

Laurie xx