Change reaction

You can listen to the audio version of this post below.

This is a part of the October blog challenge. You can find the other posts here.

A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest.

I remember learning this lesson in a Physics class a few decades ago. There is energy required to set a body in motion - and that could be any sort of body - from a snowball rolling down a hill, to me - sitting on my couch, trying to get up and feeling like I have actually been glued there. But once the body is moving, it continues to move, gathering momentum.

And I have found there are many things in life where movement causes what I am calling a “change reaction” - where one change can lead to another, where a habit that has been changed leads to positive outcomes, and fuels other changes.

Momentum.

I have experienced it - in the realm of creativity, but I have also experienced it in my health. I recently gave up caffeine (accidentally of course - I don’t think I could have done it intentionally even if I wanted to!!) and one of the side effects was that I have been sleeping a bit better. Not much better, but better enough that I’ve been getting up early to write again. Writing has prompted more writing, more ideas, but has also inspired creativity in other areas of my life - crochet and cross stitch to name a few. 

Now - I know what you are saying - is that really a change reaction, or is it just that sleeping more and being well rested is the master key to feeling more energized? Does all change lead to further positive change? Well - maybe not all changes will have the impact that getting more sleep does, and after all sleep can be the catalyst for so many other changes. But isn’t that the point? Sometimes I think it is difficult to see how things in our lives are linked together, or to realize how one action can set off a series of actions that can have a profound effect on our lives. Haven’t you ever noticed that when start one habit, how others follow? For example - you might decide to drink more water, and realize that you are craving more fruit and vegetables. You might decide to stop scrolling social media, and realize that you are reading more than ever. 

Some changes can make us feel expansive, and create room in our lives for more changes, changes that we didn’t see coming. I wrote about this in my original 39 lessons series, where I told the story about how my writing habit started a change reaction in other areas of my life. Here is an excerpt.

“Once I started to write, it became easier and more fun. There was a time when I didn’t think I had enough good ideas to continue blogging, but the more I wrote, the more fast and furious the ideas come. Once I got creative in this way, I started to think of all sorts of ways I could get creative!

I took art classes and did some paintings. I started doing some drawing. I gained confidence in every aspect of my creativity – I actually felt creative. And this spilled over into other areas. I felt as if I had a newfound energy, which was powering every other aspect of my life. Even though I may not have been using my creativity at work, when I had an annoying situation instead of being furious, I thought about how I could blog about it! My outlook improved. I looked forward to writing, to reading. I started composing poetry while waiting for doctor’s appointments. I started having ideas for other blogs, for other topics, business ideas. I became funnier and smarter (or at least I felt funnier and smarter and that totally improved my mood!!) Once I found a creative outlet, it supercharged everything!

The truth is – this was just the thing I needed to climb out of a longstanding funk that I was in. And what it made me realise is the true joy in creating something, in using my brain in a way that was totally different to how I use it every day. That the very act of creating something was its own reward.

And it changed my life.

I was honestly stressed and moody, and had tendencies for bouts of depression. Once I started writing, for the first time in a long time I felt excitement, joy and pride. And I appreciate the importance of actually doing something, of taking action. Not waiting for inspiration, not waiting for the energy, or for the time, or for the perfect moment. Because a body at rest remains at rest.

The longer you wait to start, the longer it will take you to start, and the harder it will be to start – anything! Exercising, learning an instrument, writing, drawing, painting, dancing (even budgeting apparently – or at least this is what my best friend tells me) – whatever it is – we all have creative talent in us, and once we get it in motion we will find it easier to remain in motion.

I guess the physicists were right after all! Our life is made up of the things that we habitually do. But there can also be cross pollination. I spoke to a friend last night who started doing yoga and pilates – it has improved her energy and posture, but also her mood and relationships! I have another friend who took an art class, and it seems to have had positive feedback in her business as well. I know yet another person who started learning a musical instrument, and it really inspired her at work as well. We do not know how being creative will change our lives, so it is always a great use of time. I hope that you out there who are feeling bitten by one creative bug or another to do it! Don’t wait for inspiration – take action and call it out of its hiding place! Play, sing, dance, write, paint, knit, sew – whatever it takes – and watch and see what happens!

So tell me about a change you have made that sparked a change reaction in your life. Or about one change you would love to make that could be the catalyst to a snowball of change.

And I send you big love from a small island.

PS the above photo is by Sebastian Davenport-Handley on Unsplash