"To kill your dreams because they are irresponsible is to be irresponsible to yourself."

Artist's Way wisdom from week 1. Join us on live call once a week. Here's the recap.

Photo by Kwang Mathurosemontri on Unsplash

“To kill your dreams because they are irresponsible is to be irresponsible to yourself.” Julia Cameron

Ah, week one of The Artist’s Way. The part of the journey where you’re standing at the edge of the pool, unsure whether to dive in or just sit with a towel and a cappuccino, pretending you're too busy for all this "creativity" nonsense.

This week is all about building safety for the creative self — that precious, brave little part of you that wants to write, draw, dance, start a podcast about seaweed, or maybe just lie in a hammock and dream. It's about realising that if your creativity has gone into hiding, it didn’t vanish — it was driven underground by fear, criticism, or that enthusiastic Year 9 teacher who told you that maybe you’d be “better off in admin.”

Most of us carry core beliefs that creativity is indulgent, unsafe, unrealistic, or — whisper it — selfish. So this week, we gently unpicked those ideas. Where did they come from? Who told you art was a luxury you couldn’t afford? (Hint: they were probably very, very tired.)

And this isn’t about blaming anyone. It’s about reclaiming your voice, your joy, your weird little creative obsessions, without needing permission or a publishing deal.

So, what’s the prescription?

Your Week 1 Artist Way Prompts:

Start where you are. Pick and choose. Resist nothing.

1. Morning Pages
Yes, three pages. Yes, in longhand. Yes, every morning. No, you don’t have to like it. Just do it. It’s like hoovering your brain.

2. Artist Date
Take your inner artist-child on a solo date. Something silly or beautiful or unproductive. Go to a toy shop. Make salt dough. Buy yourself stickers. It doesn’t have to be “worthy.” It just has to be just for you.

3. Time Travel

• List 3 old creative enemies. Who told you you weren’t good enough?

• Write a short horror story about a moment you felt creatively crushed.

• Now list 3 old creative champions. What did they say or do? Write a thank-you note to one (you don’t have to send it).

4. Alternate Lives
If you could live five other lives, what would they be? Spy? Ice dancer? Poet in a lighthouse? Pick one and do something tiny that nods to it this week.

5. Walk It Out
Take a 20-minute walk with no phone, no dog, no podcast. Just you and your thoughts. See what bubbles up.

6. Affirmations + Rebuttals
Write this down: “I, [your name], am a brilliant and prolific [artist/writer/llama sculptor].”
Now write all the mean things your inner critic says in response.
Now flip each one on its head. These are the keys to your creative prison. Use them.

Remember:
To be an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist.
To create anything, you have to make space — for mess, for mystery, for you.

Want company on the creative path? Come join the Heart Leap Artist’s Way circle. It’s not too late to start. We meet in a weekly zoom call to support each other, laugh, cry (a bit), and remind each other that making stuff matters — even when no one’s watching.

See you on the page. Or in the sticker aisle.

Love,
Suzy x
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