Becoming a Soulful-Funnel:
Why I Stopped Fearing Structure in My Creative Work and Started BUILDING Systems That Work FOR ME...
For SO. Many. Years, I thought having structure might dampen my creativity.
That if I organized my ideas, they might lose some of their “magic”...
That if I chose a system to put things in, I might (somehow?) lose sense of my ARTISTRY along the way...
Sooo.. I didn’t... have ANY organization or structure at all for my ideas. I just collected and hoarded them—like a living scrapbook of creative chaos.
I stayed scattered until all that scatter started feeling more like... creative static.
I couldn’t hear myself (or the unique artfulness from my soul) anymore.
I was full of creative fire, but I felt like I was stuck in a perpetual fog..
It was fear disguised as freedom, and I mistook my creative resistance for good old fashioned, GenX-inspired rebellion.
I kept calling myself “free-spirited” while secretly drowning in half-finished projects and invisible ideas that never got their chance to breathe or become [something].
And then one day, I stopped (or SNAPPED?)...
Not in a dramatic collapse (althooough, I’ve had those too).
But this was more in a quiet, holy way**.
I realized, I didn’t need less structure in my creative process, but I actually needed MORE (of the right kind of) structure...
I needed SOME sort of container or shape or framework that could hold me and my ideas but not shrink me and my ideas.
So I started building, again (from the inside out)...
I did not force creative discipline, but I did start listening to my heart again:
• to the steady rhythms of my own creative flow
• to what made me feel alive vs. what made me feel small
• to where my (natural) gifts naturally converged (e.g. intersections of research and creative confidence/technology and artfulness)
Instead of choosing options from someone else’s system-menu, I started building my own compass.
It’s finally feeling like something more flexible, organic, and honest.
For me, it’s been a new system that lets my soul and heart take the lead...
If you’ve ever felt like your ideas or TOO MUCH or your creativity is too big to contain, this part is for you...
Here’s something I had to learn the hard way:
Systems don’t have to shrink us and our creative process down to fit an exact specification. The right ones will set us free and give us the structure our ideas need to grow.
Start by noticing where/when/how your energy naturally flows.
• What times of day do you feel most inspired?
• What kinds of tasks energize you, and which drain you fast?
• If you could design your own creative rhythm… what would it feel like?
Then, give yourself permission to build tiny creative rituals that honor those truths.
That’s where the TRUE soul-full, creative funnel begins.
Not with making rigid plans or platforms, but by building sacred containers for our time and energy.
I’m not fully “there” (wherever there is), but I’m no longer lost in a fog of creative confusion...
I’ve chosen to tend my garden, not just plant it. And that small, steady choice is changing everything.
If this resonates and you’re longing to design your own creative rhythm—one that honors both your soul and your unique schedule (and natural rhythms).
You might love the Creative Identity Compass or want to join me inside Wild Creating, where we’re all figuring this out together.
Much love, more soon,
Aaron