Starting the new year, creative, and doing more of what you love.
Wether it's creative beginning or following the lifestyle that suits you better.
Hello! Happy New Year! We can still say that, right? The first post on Substack for the year feels like a joyful start anyway. Welcome to Happy Surprise, a weekly newsletter about creativity and creative practice. If this creative space inspires you, please consider sharing the love and leaving a comment. Thanks for reading and inspiring me to continue on this creative journey. Susan x
It’s only seven days into the year, and I haven't done anything around my place because we only just got back from Normandy, France, where I am starting to feel as if it’s a home away from home. It has become so familiar that we are getting to know some regular locals, and it’s only a four-hour drive from us in the Netherlands.
It’s been a while since my last post here, and somehow I just took off a month from spending time on Substack. December was the month I had so many unfinished things to do, but in the end, I can’t say I completed anything "right" as I was planning to do. Instead of winding down and enjoying a festive season, I was trying to catch up with loose ends, and it stressed me out for no reason. I don’t want to do that again.
So starting the old and new year away was just the perfect way to let go and enjoy nature by the sea and start the New Year with a dip in the cold sea — swimming in the cold for the fun of it. I can’t explain it, but it feels so good and rewarding afterwards.
And I do like the fresh start of every month. Yet the beginning of a new year is both thrilling and daunting as we put so much pressure on ourselves to suddenly become the most productive and goal-oriented people. Well, at least I am speaking for myself.
My year has started slowly and very intentionally, doing the things I love the most: travel, swimming in the sea, drawing, culture exploring, and journaling.
The new year gives me the chance to reinvent myself, and so I have gone back to morning journaling, opened a new sketchbook, and added some creative rituals to my lifestyle.
"New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results." — James Clear
My Aspirations for a Creative Year
I didn't have a word for last year, but in the previous years, I did. To be honest, it sometimes feels stressful and pressured to find the perfect word to adhere to for an entire year. Therefore, I am choosing to establish better creative habits and rituals that I can commit to for this quarter and this month.
While I am still honing in on how I want to channel my energy this year, I am clear on a few things that I want to focus on
Begin each day with a music meditation session using Insight Timer, a practice I've found immensely helpful and have loved for the last five years.
Journaling comes next, with a focus on listing three gratitudes at the start—something I successfully maintained for almost two consecutive years back in 2019.
Doodling every other day in my small or bigger sketchbook, whether it's in my little sketchbook or the big one.
Dedicate time for more extended painting sessions throughout the week, allowing space to keep exploring and developing my style.
Take regular breaks and go outside for a walk, so less sitting down all day.
I have additional creative aspirations to pursue and rituals to adopt along the way. However, some of these are still in the experimental stage, and others are merely thoughts that I plan to explore further later this month and throughout the year.
I’m following
drawing prompts and joining in the fun of the 30-Day Drawing Habit, . Unfortunately, due to my time zone, I don’t receive the prompts until the end of my day. So instead of waiting a round, I'm mixing it up. But it's so awesome to see such a variety of artworks and the creativity within that community.
I’m also finding some lovely inspiration from
New Year’s Journaling Challenge, and adding some of her prompts to my morning journaling practice. creative roundup of drawing sessions, workshops and creative gatherings on substack is always fun to check out.
Street Art in Boulogne-Sur-Mer
To wrap up my creative aspiration for this new year, I'm looking forward to wandering through more museums and stumbling upon art from other parts of the globe. Like the street art in Boulogne-Sur-Mer is a vibrant canvas painted by artists worldwide—it's like a city-outdoor gallery! Lastly, dive deeper into exploring portraits.
Thank you for the shoutout in this lovely post! I’m adding #4 and #5 to my routine as well! ❤️✨
Hi Susan, are you part of TTN?
I totally like your approach!