How To Build Your Creative Muscles: Part III – Reflection

This is part three in a three-part series. You can read part one HERE and part two HERE.

It’s not enough to just practice your creativity, you have to reflect on the experience if you truly want it to make an impact on your work and life.

Below is an excerpt from our new book Creative Sprint: Six 30-Day Challenges to Jumpstart Your Creativity that gives you some insight into why reflecting is so important for your own creative journey…

Reflection is an essential part of a creative practice because it helps you learn from the work you’ve done and track your growth.

Reflection is a way of checking in on your progress. It’s about looking down the mountain you’ve been climbing to recognize how far you’ve come, rather than focusing on how far you have to go. It allows you to notice your growth, your feelings, and make informed decisions about what to do next. This is not meant to be a critique! All of your Creative Sprint work should happen with an open, exploratory mindset.

Reflection is a designated time to acknowledge surprising and curious developments. This can bring up feelings and behaviors you may not otherwise discover. It might feel awkward for you to focus on your emotions during this process, but this is not about judgment; this is about finding out what will work best for you to achieve your goals in the long run. Take some time to consider how you will use what you’ve learned tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

The reflection questions we provided in this book are intended to help you focus on how you did your work, not just what you made. Your answers are important clues to developing your personal creative process. They will also help you develop a way to talk about your creative practice with others, which gives you additional opportunities for collaboration and growth. Plus, getting used to reflecting and then tweaking and adjusting as you go is also a great ability to have in just about any situation.

One thing to keep in mind with any creative practice is recognizing that it’s cyclical. You try new things, you reflect on the experience, and then you apply the things you learned to the next thing you do. Over and over. This is the essence of practice. Incremental changes add up, but only if you’re pushing yourself a little bit more each step. Intentional practice makes an impact but the rote following of directions and doing the same thing over and over is not going to get you anywhere new. The key to the whole process is the reflection part, otherwise you’re just retracing your steps.

Have you experienced the benefits of reflecting on your experiences? Share a story in the comments section.

Want to try your own Creative Sprint? Sign up at CreativeSprint.co and check out the new book from me & Mica Scalin: Creative Sprint: Six 30-Day Projects to Jumpstart Your Creativity.