Tag: Motivation

The Lost Art of Trial and Error: Why we need to try and fail to succeed
Out of complete boredom, my younger brother borrowed my phone to play a Merriam Webster quiz.
And look hey. It’s not for the lack of games in my phone. I have one! A difficult puzzle platformer called Catbird. But my brother only wanted something to waste his time on, not his patience or his brain cells. And I get it; Catbird is basically like Flappy Bird. Definitely not something to just kill off boredom. But when I looked over his shoulder to check on how he was fairing, I was surprised at what I saw.
“What are you doing?” I asked him suspiciously.
“It’s okay,” he reassured me, “I have a plan.”
You know what he was doing? His grand strategy for the Merriam Webster quiz? He was clicking on random choices. Random. Like, zero consideration on whether that choice was the right one or not. I wasn’t surprised at all that he got a really low score afterwards.
I mean, how was that a winning plan?? You’re obviously bound to fail when you don’t think things through.
And then he did his grand game plan the second time. But this time, because the questions tend to repeat and he remembered the answers, he got more questions right. And he did this repeatedly until he passed.
Quite a cheeky strategy coming from my pure little brother, but it worked! So I figured this is something I could apply when playing Catbird. That instead of obsessing over winning, I could just try my best and learn from my failures.
Then I realized… whoa. This is a mindset I could have beyond games. I could apply it in my LIFE.
Perfectionism in games and in life
See, what I found disconcerting with my brother’s game plan was that it was not what is perceived to be a game plan. This idea of deliberately failing felt like an anti-thesis to the main goal of playing any game – to win. And as a card-carrying perfectionist, I was quite familiar with this.
Succeeding at first try is even next-level dopamine hit for me. And I’m sure it is for other people too. In fact, I recently found something on Pinterest about how to become a superstar blogger at day one, so I know I’m not alone.
The idea of being a successful blogger on your first try is also a kind of next-level dopamine hit. We bloggers have aspired to be that way, at one point or another. And maybe you still are.
The thing is, no one wants to fail.
Failing leaves an unpleasant taste to the mouth. We spray away failure like we spray away bad breath. We wouldn’t want to experience it if we could. This is why we want to succeed at first try. It means not going through all the awful feelings you get when you failed. It means going straight to medal. And foregoing trial and error is a concept that’s too good to be true.
But see, the heavy truth is this: Less than one percent of bloggers – or anyone for that matter – become successful at day one.
I admit, I pulled that number out of nowhere. And it really isn’t reflective of any statistics made on success. But you get my point.
Rarely anyone becomes successful at first try.
I already shared my two cents on failure before, and how it’s important. And I still stand on that ground. Failure is necessary for us to eventually achieve success. But more importantly, it is through failure that we learn from our mistakes. And eventually grow from it. And therefore succeed.
But how could we fail if we don’t give ourselves permission to do so? How could we experience failure and grow when we’re so adamant to avoid trial and error?
The Lost Art of Trial and Error
My mom, a mathematics teacher, taught me that when all else fails, when you can’t think of any other math technique to find the solution to a problem, do trial and error. It is the most underrated yet useful thing you can have for solving math problems.
Surprise surprise, it is also the most underrated yet useful thing you can have for solving any life problems.
But see, the problem with trial and error is that it is tedious. It takes suuuper long to get to the answer. And no one wants to take the long winding path, when they could just go for the shortcut. Honestly, even I don’t want to. But in this age of instant gratification, we’ve somehow completely forgotten the idea of trial and error.
When you start your blog, you want it to be seen and successful at day one.
If you’re trying out a new product, you want to see its effects overnight.
When you take on a new creative project, you expect things to go your way.
But you might not be successful at day one. You may not see if the product is effective until a month of consistent use. Maybe you’d reach a creative dead-end sooner than you anticipated.
Click to pin!
Maybe all you had to do was change a few things a bit. Tweak your process or try out a different one. Maybe you need to stop thinking things through so much and just click on whichever choice is in front of you. And if you make a mistake, you could always take notes. Eliminate that choice from your list for next time, and move forward.
And maybe, like my pure little brother with his cheeky game strategy, you too will pass your quiz.
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
What do you think about trial and error? Can you think of a time when you couldn’t wait for the outcome to show? Share them in the comments below!
xx Kate
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November 28, 2018
Why you need to let your inner child out to play
At age 8, I was already building my very own empire.
A paper empire, to be exact.
I have a paper doll, Analysse, who had a paper mansion and custom tailored clothes (I drew them myself).
She was living The Dream, I’m telling you!
But the thing was, her house was empty. She needed to eat the most delicious food and have the most beautiful things. She could even have her very own elephant, I thought as I look at my thick coloring book given to me by my uncle. It’s filled with the exact things Analysse needed – hair brush, hand bags, elephants and ice cream. Tons of ice cream.
I grabbed a pair of scissors and was about to cut them when a hand held my wrist. It was my aunt.
When she asked me what I was doing, I told her I’m going to cut out a few of the pictures so I could play them with my paper doll.
That’s not how you use coloring books, was what she told me then. Coloring books are for coloring. It isn’t meant to be cut out.
I’m sharing this story now, not because I have a grudge on my aunt for not letting me play back then (I don’t hold grudges) but because, remembering all those years ago, I realized that I was held back. I wasn’t allowed to play however I wanted.
And just like 8-year-old me, my inner child has also been held back. And it stayed that way for years.
I’ve only allowed my inner child to play freely recently. Like 2016 recently. And even to this day, there are still times when I hold myself back.
Here’s the sad truth:
We somehow have this idea that adulthood meant shoving your inner child into the deepest, darkest recesses of your subconscious. That we would no longer need it when we’re adults. Add to that, we live in a world where child-like behaviors are frowned upon.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been told to “grow up” after doing something fun and carefree and completely un-adult-like.
That’s one aunt holding you back from your play. But really, it’s the aunt inside us that we listen to the most.
Back in the 1970s, psychologist Eric Berne theorized that we all have three parts in us all the time: the parent part, the adult part and the child part.
The idea is, in order to live a happier life, you need to find the balance between these three parts. By age 15, however, (and I’m guesstimating here ok??) we let our adult part take the reins completely. Because that is what’s expected of us – to be adults.
Sure, we’re all adults now. We have far more responsibilities than we did as eight-year-olds. But that does not mean you need to shove your inner child onto the back corner. I have 4 reasons why you need to unleash your inner child and make friends with it.
WHY YOU NEED TO LET YOUR INNER CHILD PLAY
1) It Relieves Stress
As a kid, you usually don’t care about falling down or getting bitten by ants or having dirty hands. You just play and have fun and enjoy yourself! Who cares about dirt? (Adults, that’s who.)
Plenty of studies have shown that the carefree, playful attitude that’s often found in kids can increase happiness and reduce stress.
I’ve had tons of impromptu dance parties with my brother at home and I know this to be true. Play with your pet! Stop for a sec and smell the flowers. Get on your knees and get dirty.
Small yet super fun activities like these can help you forget, even just for a while, the stress that comes with adulting.
2) Strong Fearlessness Muscles
I have these two distinct memories from two different periods in my life:
The first one was when I was around six or seven, dancing my butt out in the middle of the makeshift dance floor at my mom’s office Christmas party.
The second one, I was a sixth grader in our school’s bathroom with my friend, showing to her that I could dance the Spaghetti dance in secret.
I’m a college student now in my senior year, and the only place you could see me dance is inside my house with my brother. (And it only takes me about two minutes and I start wheezing. Gosh I’m old.)
My fearlessness muscles that were super active when I was a six-year-old have become super, super stiff. And I’m sure I’m not the only one in this.
Letting your inner child out to play is a great exercise to your fearlessness muscles. Neither your parent part, and especially not your adult part, has any courageous streak in them. Only your inner child do.
3) Creativity and Inspiration
If there was one word that you could associate with kids, I’d say it’s “why.” Children are curious little potatoes. You’ll probably remember those times when you were a kid and you either thought to yourself or asked an adult why.
Why is the sky blue? Why are Tom & Jerry always fighting? Why do my friend Jenny only have a mom and no dad? Why do ants march in a single line? Why can’t those children go to school? It’s asking these questions that will foster your creativity. It will inspire you to think, to empathise, and to be more aware of the worlds both inside and around you.
The connection between your inner child and creativity has also been scientifically-backed. The Mission made a list of how unleashing your inner child can make you creative.
There’s also this amazing Ted Talk by then twelve-year-old Adora Svitak about how “childish” thinking inspires bold ideas and unhindered creativity. It’s a lovely talk and you should definitely check it out here.
4) You Become a Better Adult
Did you know that narcissistic behaviors and temper tantrums seen in adults are the result of your inner child “acting out”?
Mind = blown.
When you don’t give it play time, your inner child will find its own way to play by acting out. And, as things often do when restrained for too long, they act out in an awfully ugly way.
So all those so-called adults with negative child-like behaviors? You know. Those who are like a child in a grown man’s body (one of which you may know has an orange-y skin and hay-like toupee)? Those adults have not befriended their inner child or are even aware of it.
Mind = blown. Again.
Look, I’m not saying being an adult sucks. (Although adulting is definitely hard, not gonna lie.) If it weren’t for our mature and adult self, the world would be in total chaos. Like far more chaotic than it already is. True adulthood means taking your responsibilities seriously.
But remember: it is also important to let your inner child out to play. It is your inner child’s job to be creative, curious and courageous. Things that I’m sure we all need to cultivate as we also start our journey into adulting.
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Have you let your inner child out to play? What are your thoughts on inner child and how it’s affecting your life? Share them below!
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Photos from Jess Watters (via unsplash). Check out the photographer’s website here.
October 3, 2018
Sometimes you don’t get what you want
Today, I’m not going to say, “And that’s okay” and smile and be a Glinda the Good Witch incarnate.
Because it’s not. It is not okay. (more…)
January 27, 2018
Friendly Reminder: Let Your Weird Be Free
Hey hey.
Have you ever been called weird as a kid? Has anyone ever laughed at something you thought was extremely funny or extremely interesting and looked at you like you’re from another planet? As if they were saying, “Why is this kid so weird?”
How did it feel being called weird in such a subtle yet brutally honest way?
Did it make you feel embarrassed? Did it take a huge hit to your self-esteem? Did it make you rethink about what you thought was funny or interesting? Like you are now convinced at the possibility that maybe you are from another planet? Like maybe showing that quirky side of yours was a wrong move?
Ever thought that maaaybe you should just hide your weird side from people? That maybe it’s better that way?
Well, imagine this:
You’re hanging out with your friends.
You cracked a dad joke. Or made a smartass comeback. Or created a horrible pun. Or danced macarena without the macarena music. Or educated your friends on the mating process of narwhals. Or shared an unpopular opinion, like, I don’t know, aye-ayes are cute. (Although I honestly don’t think this is an unpopular opinion. Aye-ayes are cute. But I digress.)
Basically, you did something weird. In front of your friends. In public. For everyone to see and hear. Yikes?
Nope. Not yikes. Not yikes at all.
Because, my dear quirky friend, you have NO idea.
Perhaps an author was sitting nearby, contemplating this scene in their work-in-progress. And they saw you. And an idea sparked. Perhaps that author’s novel will be a New York Times bestseller. In the book, there’s gonna be an iconic scene — inspired by your weirdness.
Perhaps a Youtuber saw you and snorted at what you did, choked on his soy milk caramel frappuccino even. And it inspired a comedy sketch that will garner millions of views and will be copied by other Youtubers and will be the reason the choked Youtuber could host on SNL. All because of a sketch — inspired by your weirdness.
Perhaps a sperm whale researcher was drinking black coffee with his baklava. Sitting at a corner booth, he overheard your heated monologue on narwhals, and it gave him the key solution to the conservation of sperm whales — and so it was inspired. By. Your. WEIRDNESS.
Look. I get it.
These may seem like ridiculous scenarios. You may be thinking, “What kind of sperm whale researcher hangs out in a mall’s food court??” To which I say, YOU. NEVER. KNOW. YOU NARROW-MINDED POTATO.
Because people being inspired by your weirdness isn’t weird.
That’s the point I’m trying to drill into your wonderfully weird brain.
We live in this blue and green oblate spheroid big enough to accommodate all kinds of ideas. A planet bigger than all of our brains combined. Can you imagine that? It’s bigger than 7 billion brains. Seven billion!
Each of us can only generate as much ideas. But all these ideas coming out from our hypothalamus and our gray area and our cerebellum… basically from all parts of our brain, all of these ideas are unique. And before you tell me, “Welp someone made this and that. My idea’s not unique.” Hold your horses, you.
What I’m saying is, these ideas are unique in a way that they are molded with your own unique perspective and came about through your own unique experiences.
They may only be one puny idea in a world teeming with so many other puny ideas, but they are the only puny idea of that kind that came from you. That puny idea of yours is part of a complex idea system. It is the one unique protein that make up a chromosome, which ultimately makes one well-coordinated and functioning body.
Can you imagine if the idea of Apple came about from some other guy named Steve but not Steve Jobs? Can you imagine if someone else other than Xi Lingshi found out about the silkworms’ cocoon of thin fibers? We probably wouldn’t have silk.
It probably might have become, like I don’t know, really thin hair extensions made of worms’ cocoons. (Which is more of a mouthful than just silk.)
Can you imagine if J.R.R Tolkien burned all the papers containing his fascination on making Elvish language because some brute told him he was weird? Can you imagine if Mama and Papa Mozart didn’t support Mozart’s affinity for music and made him become a baker instead? Can you imagine if Dr Seuss didn’t write?
And so: be weird.
Be the kind of wonderfully weird that you are.
Not just because it is a disservice to yourself to lock that part of you in a cage. But because it is a disservice to this planet that is simply begging to witness that strange beauty unfold.
I can guarantee you, the world will be a lot less brighter if your weirdness was locked away deep inside you. In some dark place that no light can shine upon. And won’t that be a shame?
So let people give you the judger eye. Let other people sing about you in your own version of the song “Belle (Little Town” from Beauty and the Beast. Let them question your ideas. Let them question it or raise their eyebrow on it or laugh at it.
And if it hurts too much, find me. I’ll buy you ice cream and let you free your quirkiness and celebrate it for the whole world to see. Let them be scandalized by how shameless they think you are for not keeping your weird tucked away.
Because you know what? There is no shame in showing the whole world who you are — every beautiful aspect of you.
You are you. You matter. And you are beautiful, quirks and weirdness and all.
Share your quirks below and allow me and everyone else to celebrate them 🙂
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PS: What’s stopping you from doing what you want to do?
Photos from: Death to Stock Photo and chuttersnap via Unsplash
January 13, 2018
6 Reasons Why You Should Try Free Writing
In case it hasn’t been obvious, I love writing.
Whether it’s writing about my angst-filled days as an early teen or this one scene I came up where a twelve-year-old girl and an ancient dragon bickered if that huge grey thing is a boulder or Big Bird, writing was, and still is, a great way for me to channel my creativity into something.
But free writing.
Oh boy. That is a deeper and more intimate way in which writing has changed my life.
Good ol’ Wikipedia calls it a prewriting technique in which you disregard spelling, grammar, or topic.
I’ve always thought of it as like freestyle rap, except you’re just writing. (Freakin-genius in English, aren’t I?)
But anyway.
I have relied on it a lot in different aspects of my life this year. Which is why I’ve set myself up into convincing anyone who doesn’t free write to do it. Because I think it might just change yours too 😉
6 REASONS WHY FREE WRITING IS GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE
1. You Get to Organize Your Thoughts
I’m the kind of person who has 1,498,257 thoughts running on my mind every second. It can be pretty overwhelming. Like I just can NOT concentrate on doing anything else.
Does that sound like you too?
Does it feel like your mind is this browser with dozens of tabs opened simultaneously and it’s like you, the entire computer, is lagging constantly because how the heck are you going to process all of these???
Is that you?
Alright. Try free writing.
Free writing might just help you organize, even just a little bit, all those thoughts you are on the verge of drowning into. It totally helped me.
When I free write, I have this feeling of gradually letting thought after thought out of my brain. Putting one word after another is like closing those tabs one by one until you have just enough that you can focus on at the moment.
It is incredibly freeing and isn’t that nice? Because it’s called free writing! See what I did there? 😀 (I am so not funny)
2. It Makes You a Better Writer
Free writing helps you put thoughts into words well, right? So it also helps you become a better writer.
I mean, for one thing, it is not called a prewriting technique for show. But like any skill, writing something engaging and compelling takes lots of practice and actually doing some writing. Kristina wrote that it helped her write as many as 1,000 words in 15 minutes.
Let that sink in for a sec. 1,000 words in fifteen. freaking. minutes.
Totally amazing, right??
But free writing doesn’t just help you in the practice aspect of becoming a better writer. Free writing also helps you get into The Flow™. Or The Zone™. Or The Groove™. Whatever floats your boat.
This is when you feel fully immersed and focused on whatever activity you’re doing.
And yes, free writing can help you go to that state of mind while writing. Simply because practicing it helps you to take away compulsive self-analyzing. You might or might not get anything substantial from what you’ve free written. But you cannot forego the fact that it is a great way to flex your writing muscles and, you know, do writing warm-ups.
3. It is Actually Fun!
Sure, maybe that compulsive editor inside of you doesn’t like being in the process of free writing. BUT! Finishing that first draft of a blog post and reading through all of the grammatical errors and typos afterwards?
PROOFREADING HEAVEN.
Which, in my compulsive editor’s view, equals F-U-N.
How else is free writing fun? I’m so glad you asked.
<3 Reading old stuff you free wrote. Do you laugh at how awkward and overdramatic you are in your old diary entries or is that just me?
<3 Knowing you can write better now compared to X years ago. Boost your self-confidence yo!
<3 You don’t have to restrain yourself and overthink every-freakin-thing (which, let’s all agree, dampens the fun out of writing)
4. It is Good for Your Sanity
There has been plenty of research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience on the importance of free writing. And it is also used in counseling and therapy.
I mean. Hello, journalling?
If you’ve read plenty of self-care posts like I have, you’d know journalling is in there at the top of the how to self-care lists. And that is basically one of the best ways to incorporate free writing into your life.
Here are some other ways free writing can be good for your sanity:
+ It’s kind of an art therapy (which we’ll discuss further later)
+ It helps you put jumbled thoughts and emotions into words (as mentioned above) which is great for self-reflection and your mental health.
+ It tires you and that’s kinda like exercise for your arm (and I dunno, for some reason I like good exhaustions. Don’t you?)
+ It’s better than breaking plates and punching a hole on your wall. I mean, you could always write about punching a hole or maybe even turning into a dragon and burning down the next village over and look! No one in real life got physically hurt! Win-win. (Except for those poor villagers. May they rest in peace.)
5. You Become More Productive (writing-wise)
One thing I’ve heard and read a lot on conquering that Horrible First Draft™ is to write now, edit later. Which, I just learned, is an excellent advice for any type of writing; from novels to poetry to technical…and even blog writing.
Practicing free writing can help you from experiencing what Ignited Moth’s post inspired me to call, The Backspace Syndrome. You know, like that backspace key is so tempting to use and you edit and delete as you go? You ever had that?
Hey me too!
So when I feel like the backspace urge is too strong as I’m writing a blog post, I either resort to writing by hand or typing it on my tablet where the urge is usually not that strong and free writing comes more naturally.
End result? I have a finished first draft of blog post! Needs a lot of editing. For sure. But it’s more than a rough outline and I’ve got thoughts and ideas down that only need a bit of refining.
6. Free Writing is Therapeutic
Free writing helps me sort out things that have been on my mind. It’s rather comforting, you know.
Gosh, there were times when free writing became incredibly emotional for me. But, in a way, it was also (well here it is again) freeing. It was just me introspecting and untangling some of my thoughts. Even for just a bit. Like I don’t have to untangle everything, and I usually don’t. But what relatively little that I get untangled and sorted out, is big enough so as to make my life just a bit more bearable.
And that’s honestly what I love the most about free writing.
Do you free write? If so, how has it helped you? Do you have the Backspace Syndrome too? Do you binge-watch TED talk videos like yours truly? Tell me all!!!
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PS: If you enjoyed this post, you might like to learn 13 ways to be inspired and pump up your creativity. Just putting it out there 😉
(Photos used from Kaboompics and Pixabay respectively)
November 18, 2017
What’s Stopping You From Doing What You Want to Do?
Seriously. I’m curious.
Think of something, just one thing, right now. Something that you’ve always wanted to do but never found the time. This urge deep, deep inside you that just wants out. It just screams to be shared to the world. But it didn’t get to.
What is it that’s holding you back? That’s making you hesitate to take the first step? That no matter how many times you’ve replayed Shia Labeouf’s iconic (and probably now a classic) motivation clip, you STILL didn’t do it?
Is it your need for perfection? Or is it procrastination? Is it maybe because you feel guilty? Or you have more important things to do? Or you feel like you’re not ready for it? That you’re not good enough?
I like to think there’s one word for it, whatever it is that’s holding you back:
Fear.
I mean… perfectionism? That’s fear. Procrastination? Fear. Guilt? Busy-ness? Insecurity? F E A R.
Me + Fear = Self-doubt
At the start of the year, I planned this monthly creative thing. During each month, I was supposed to work on one huge illustration. It was supposed to be my 2017 creative project where I could improve on anatomy, get out of my creative comfort zone, practice putting more details on my work.
Now that I think about it, they’re all ambitious shenanigans.
Three months into it, I was still okay. I got to create illustrations that I was proud of, even now. But March was also the last month of our school year. Things got hectic and busy. I was meeting project deadlines. At the same time, deep inside me, doubt was starting to grow. Doubt on myself, mostly. On my art.
Utterly overwhelmed, I ran towards and hid behind the protection the busy-ness of school life provided. I had more important things to do, I reasoned out. I needed to make a priority. Funny thing, this was exactly what happened to me last year. I threw out everything not related to school.
My art, my blog, and *chokes* books.
That was hell, I tell you. And I regretted not having enough time for my hobbies.
I promised myself I wasn’t going to be like that this year. But, surprise surprise, I went back into that rabbit hole. Less than a year later.
Here’s another example:
I am a World-class Procrastinator™. Most times, I procrastinate because I’m lazy (especially in things like, you know, school). But sometimes I procrastinate in creating a blog post or doing this illustration that I’ve been planning in my head for a while now. And I constantly beat myself up over it.
Fear manifests into your life in so many ways
You might take a look at what’s holding you back and think, “Pssh, nah. That ain’t fear.” But if you look real close and think about it real hard, you’d realize that yes it is fear.
My refuge to busy-ness? That’s me avoiding the challenge I’ve set myself up because of self-doubt. Because I was afraid of failing that challenge. Being a creative procrastinator? That’s me fearing I won’t do what I imagined in my mind justice.
Like, you know how boggarts transform into that very thing you’re afraid of? How it turned into a giant spider for Ron and a dementor for Harry? That is the very essence of fear.
It morphs and takes different shapes, depending on the person that encounters it.
Now, I’m facing another encounter with fear. And it’s holding me back again. But this time’s different. I refuse to let it hold me back. I don’t want to feel awful at myself because I didn’t try to step away from my fear. Not anymore. And if you’re in a similar position as me right now, neither should you.
So what can we do about it?
Really, the first step to all this is knowing you’re afraid of something. And that fear is holding you back.
Sometimes we like to be in denial even with ourselves. I get it. My gosh, it can be sooo hard to be honest with yourself. Because truth is supposedly simple but it also hurts, which makes it so difficult to confront, let alone acknowledge.
So I always take the phrase “reflect on your actions” to heart. I try to give myself time and space alone to reflect on what I did and why I did it. Sometimes I reflect while doodling. Sometimes I’m just staring at my ceiling while the Hamilton soundtrack is playing in the background. I couldn’t care less, so long as I’m reflecting and acknowledging my flaws and fears.
If pure, staring-blankly-into-space reflection is hard for you, here are other ways you can reflect:
<3 Talk with someone—whether it’s a friend, or a confidante, or a professional
<3 Write an entry in your journal
<3 Meditate or do yoga
<3 Read books in a genre you rarely read
<3 Cook or bake
<3 Do pottery or other crafty activities
<3 Listen to relaxing music
When you’re at that point where you’re frustrated at yourself because you are not doing the thing that ignites your passion, it’s time to reflect. Ask yourself, “What is it that’s holding me back? What am I afraid of?”
Awareness is always the first step. The moment you are aware of your emotions and fears, the moment you acknowledge their existence, the rest is a little bit easier to deal with. At least that’s what I think 🙂
Check back here again next Wednesday for part two of this… Post? Impromptu series? Whatever you call it. 😉 I will talk about the rest of the steps you could take to step out of fear’s grasp and start doing what you’ve always wanted to do. For now, take the first step. And tell me:
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but never got to? What’s holding you back? Is it fear just like mine? Do you take time for self-reflection? How do you reflect on your day?
I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts! 🙂
September 9, 2017
8 Artists that Inspire Me to Be Better in Drawing (+ Whose Artworks I Fangirl Over Sooo Hard)
Role models. Y’all would agree that we all have at least three of those in our lives right? I mean, you know what I’m talking about.
Role models are:
+ People you look up to
+ People you hope you’ll become someday
+ People you hold high respect for
+ People whose works and achievements you fangirl over
+ And you fangirl over them so hard, these people basically turn you into this gal,
Don’t tell me you don’t have that in your life. Like seriously. It’s totally okay! We can all be a little geeky here, I won’t judge 😉 I mean, how can I?? I practically declared myself a Universal Fangirl™. In fact, I welcome geekery of all forms here with wide open arms!
Having role models will help you to keep on striving for your goals. They give you the motivation to pump your fists and tell yourself, “You can do this! You can reach that level! Just keep on working hard!” Especially at times when you’re about to drown in self-doubt.
In my case, I have my own list of artists that I look up to and inspire me to keep drawing and practice and improve my art. While art isn’t really a top priority for me right now, it will always be an important aspect of my life.
I always try to make time to do a little doodle when I’m free. I especially like it when they share old drawings and you can see how much improvement they’ve had between the two artworks.
So here they are, 8 of my favorite artists and how they inspired me to keep on drawing! 🙂
Jacquelin de Leon
Mermaids. Witches. Beautiful people in all shapes and colors. Tattoos. Badass females. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
I just posted a few new prints and stickers in my shop!! Im really excited to finally have my Kintsugi and Greenhouse pieces from my solo show available as prints! I’m also including a limited edition large hand embellished run of Kintsugi✨ (don’t worry I will be putting the originals up for sale soon) I also added some new glossy vinyl stickers including a mermaid, witch hand, Symmetra, and some new witches! Head over to jacquelindeleon.storenvy.com or click on the link in my bio to check it out! Thank you guys for sticking around and for all of your sweet comments! I’ll have some new art to post real soon☺️💕 . #illustration #jacquelindeleon #artistsoninstagram #artcollective #instaart #artoftheday #witch #stickers #symmetra #overwatch #kintsugi #watercolor #plants #plantstagram
A post shared by Jacquelin de Leon (@jacquelindeleon) on Jun 27, 2017 at 5:33pm PDT
There are times when I doubt myself when I use black ink as linings on my portraits. Often because there are so many artists out there who have non-black linearts or no lineart at all. But Jacquelin is such an inspiration to me and motivates me to just draw whatever the heck I want.
Alisa Vysochina
Pretty people. Cats. Dogs. Other cutie animals. Amazing attention to details. Super cute witches. And most importantly: CACTI AND SUCCULENTS!!!
🍂🍃🌿Greenhouse🌿🍃🍂 Check out my new video about creating and planning big illustrations, link in the profile as always 🍁 #watercolor #artistsoninstagram #illustration #greenhouse #patheticpowers #doggoboyfriend
A post shared by Alisa Vysochina (@alisavysochina) on May 8, 2017 at 9:57am PDT
See, ever since I could remember, I’m no good at drawing plants. My flowers are below mediocre and my trees are still like the kind you draw in first grade. It’s that awful. So seeing the greenery in her works motivates me to practice drawing more flowers and trees <3 <3 <3
*I have a thing with accents, okay??? Also, it’s soothing to hear her talk about artist woes and motivating fellow artists. They fill mah heart everytime.
Maruti Bitamin (aka Koyamori)
Beautiful and bold color combinations. Illustrations that make you feel like you’ve entered into a surreal dream world. SUPER CUTIE CREATURES <3 <3
Bioluminescence ✨
A post shared by @maruti_bitamin on Jun 30, 2017 at 7:30am PDT
Her drawings are always PACKED with details. And she always motivates me in taking more time into my illustrations and putting more details into them. I mean, who could make fishbones look so awesome??? <3 <3 <3
Charlie Bowater
Aghhh! The prints are here! This is my life for the next few days: signing and packaging this fat stack. I also never thought I would say the phrase ‘fat stack’ and yet, here we are. 👌🏻 #acowar #charliebowater #sjmaas
A post shared by charlie bowater (@charliebowater) on Jun 6, 2017 at 5:02am PDT
If you’re familiar with Sarah J. Maas, then I’m willing to bet you know who Charlie Bowater is. She is a bookworm and she creates these AH-MAZING fan arts of characters from novels. I came across her because… well, my Twitter feed is basically 75% bookish community.* And she created the Most Gorgeous fan art for the ACOTAR series and I’m seriously in love with them!!!
*Most likely because of joining in on too many bookish giveaway on Twitter. Hahaha! …haha…ha…I haven’t won anything.
Rebecca Ninig (aka ni_nig)
Beautiful girls and boys. Voluminous hair. That shading tho <3
And here’s another graphite commission. This character belongs to lymerikk (on deviantart)
A post shared by Rebecca Ninig (@ni_nig) on Jul 9, 2017 at 5:37am PDT
Ah,Rebecca Ninig and her super-awesome-I-can’t-handle-this-beauty-ashfjhdkl Instagram account. Have I ever told you how much I obsess over pencil sketches?? Like I’m sure you know how much of an art geek I am at this point but we can go further and let me tell ya: I LOVE PENCIL SKETCHES SOOO MUCH. And the way Rebecca shades her drawings…

Meyoco
Another artist whose choice of color combinations I love so much. I notice Meyoco likes to use bright and pastel colors and together with her thin lineart, it creates this fluffy and airy feeling to her illustrations.
Also: I WOULD DEFINITELY BUY THE CLOTHES HER OCs WEAR!!! <3 <3 <3
🍹🍹🍹 (art tools info: @pearlescentpink)
A post shared by meyoコ (@meyoco) on Jul 9, 2017 at 8:30am PDT
Griselda (aka lord_gris)
Pretty girls. Beautiful coloring. Her fan arts are gorgeous especially her version of Beth and Plum from Bravest Warriors.
What I loved most about her though, is that she is so supportive of aspiring artists. I mean, I’m sure other big artists are supportive of newbies as well but man, you should see the captions on some of her photos (you can have a taste of her inspiring goodie-caption below).
I was talking to someone the other day and they asked me if I ever felt pity for people, like if I looked at their art and thought “you’re never going to be any good”. I mean this was a non-artistic person so I think they thought some people blasted out of the womb with a magic paintbrush that they can whack on a canvas and the Mona Lisa pops out. So I said to them “heck no! Hold the phone! Let me get you my sketchbook from when I was 11”. They were shocked as they fllipped through it and said “wow I drew better than you when I was a kid.” Honestly most people drew better than me when they were kids. I just enjoyed drawing, so I kept doing it, and improved as a byproduct. When I say I believe in you guys I think it’s really easy to sort of shake it off and say “well she’s talking to everyone else, not me” but I am talking to you. If you’re making your art no matter what then I absolutely believe in you, because I’ve been through the same journey. I’ve never looked at any persons art and said to myself “well they’re going nowhere fast”. The only thing I look at is people’s attitudes. If they’re always talking about quitting then they’re probably going to quit, and that’s what’s going to keep them from growing. But anyone who is tenacious and perseveres is going to be so amazing at art. And I earnestly think that. And I want people to be kind and patient with themselves during the process because it takes a long time. But don’t ever think to yourself that just because your art isn’t where you want it to be then it’s hopeless. Keep going, never stop :3 #sketch #redraw #drawitagain #drawthisagain #moleskine #copicart #oldart #draweveryday #artsanity #dibujo #practice #autodesksketchbook #pencil #mechanical #doodle #scribble #improvement #fashion
A post shared by Griselda (@lord_gris) on Jul 8, 2017 at 1:09pm PDT
See??? How can you not be inspired by that?? *clutches heart* Her captions really inspire me to be better and keep on drawing <3 <3 and she’s never ashamed to share the struggles she has gone through and are currently going through as an artist.
Sara Tepes (aka sarucatepes)
Gorgeous hair. Victorian/gothic-ish vibe to her drawings; kinda reminds me of Brett Helquist’s style, the artist who made the illustrations for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
6 of the princess drawings are up in my shop along with limited edition prints of all 12 of them, link in my bio! Use the code PRINCESS30 for 30% off if you wish to purchase all 12 of them. I will snap some better products pics of the prints tomorrow, it’s super late here ahh * * * #disney #disneyprincess #fanart #shop
A post shared by Sara Tepes | 18 (@sarucatepes) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:29pm PDT
Sara and her works constantly remind me that your age is never a criterion on excelling at what you do. By the way, she’s around my age so she makes me pumped up to draw more <3
And just so y’all know, these are just like 5% of the artists I follow in Instagram and YouTube. But they are some of the artists that never fail to inspire me with their works. My People Who Inspire Me list is really long. I still haven’t mentioned the webcomic artists, and authors, and bloggers, and just about anyone else who inspire me. Maybe next time 😉
The point here is that: it’s good to have people you look up to, I like to think. You find the motivation and inspiration to do your best and keep working hard on what you do. Also: instead of letting yourself wallow in The Green Monster of Envy™, you could spread the love all around and not hurt your self-esteem, right???
FANGIRL WITH ME: Who are your role models? How do they inspire or motivate you? Are you a Universal Fangirl™ like me? DO YOU LIKE SUCCULENTS??? (Seriously. I need someone to fangirl over succulents with stat.)
Have an awesome fangirling day, awesome peeps! <3
July 22, 2017
A Crucial Life Lesson I Learned from a Chicken
Hey everyone! I’m currently hitting the books, studying for my pre-midterm exams right now and I didn’t have any post scheduled for today. Hopefully, I’ll have a new one next Wednesday but in the meantime, here’s a short post I did… *checks the date* whoa, this was last year??? It’s that old?! Whaaaaaat
Ahem. Anyway. If you don’t know yet, I have an incredibly soft spot for chickens. And birds, in general*. I miss my chicken, Maui**, sooo much. And here’s a life lesson I learned from hanging out with them last year. Enjoy! 🙂
*And cats. And fishies. And bunnies. And dogs (so long as they don’t bark at me or bite me. I still have a bit of trauma from a childhood incident)
**I call her that because she has this tribal-like design on the feathers around her neck and Moana was the jam last year. She’s also a human-attention-seeker, much like Maui the demigod.
The chickens in my grandfather’s backyard all sleep in our neighbor’s fruit tree. It is the tallest tree and the one with the most numerous branches in their vicinity. It’s like their penthouse suite. Overnight security and so high up from the ground.
There was the youngest of all, basically still a chick, that I call Tom Hanks* and he wanted to follow the older chickens up in the tree. But he was still too young and his tiny wings couldn’t take him that far up yet. I watched him go farther and farther up. He perched on our neighbor’s wooden fence and tried to fly towards the tree. But he fell.
Later, he gave up and had to retreat to his old nest. He was sleeping on that nest that night.
Observing Tom Hanks made me think of the goals we set for ourselves and the obstacles we had to face in our lives.
I once mentioned that I don’t agree with people who said that you “only think” that obstacles are big. Like obstacles have some weird deceptive power that make them look big. “It’s all in our heads,” they say.
I think not. I think obstacles are big and they’re supposed to be.
Because maybe, when we were facing those obstacles, we were just like Tom Hanks (the chick above, not the actor); still tiny and our wings can’t take us anywhere far.
Maybe we had to fall several times before we reach that treetop-penthouse.
Maybe we still don’t have the strength to overcome those obstacles.
Maybe we still have to grow.
Because really, isn’t that how life is? No one joins the Game of Life and immediately starts at level 99. And not everyone starts the game of life altogether. You could still be at level 18 and you’re already comparing yourself to someone at level 50. Give yourself a break.
If there was something I’ve learned from Tom Hanks the chick, it’s that when you fall down, you don’t give up. You go back and rest. You get to live another day and grow.
Who knows? Maybe by the next sunset you’ll finally reach that branch.
Happy obstacle-conquering, awesome peeps!
*I call him Tom Hanks because among the five hatchlings, he was the only one to survive from getting eaten by huge field rats and cats. Basically the Castaway/Survivor, amirite??
July 15, 2017
My Two Cents on Failure (+ How to Deal With It)
Note: This post was something I first wrote and published nearly a year ago. Having read it now, I realized how much it still resonates to me to this day. I’ve edited a bit of the post and added some things but the point still remains the same. Enjoy! 🙂
In this success-driven world that we live in, failure is something we’d rather not experience. (Like at all, please??)
It’s something embedded into our minds as early as when we were kids. We don’t like seeing the red marks on our paper because our parents don’t, right? We spray away failure like we spray away mosquitoes.
But something surprised me when I Googled ‘failure’ for this post. I was immediately bombarded by links with the same theme:
It’s amazing how the idea had spread over every industry like a wildfire. But it had the most tremendous impact in the competitive fields of business and arts. You’ve seen and read the success stories. And they all have that same format.
“I’ve had 10 failed projects in my career… BEFORE BUILDING MY MILLION-DOLLAR ONE!”
“My 499^th audition gave me my big break!”
“After 18 years of searching, I’ve finally proven the existence of unicorns!*”
This tells us that persistence will pay off. And that’s great! It motivates people not to be disheartened when you fail. Besides, failure is needed for us to thrive. It’s a core ingredient in trial-and-error. And it lets us know what not to do to be successful.
However, this “failure is the secret to success” bit can also further feed that success-driven mentality, deliberately deceiving yourself that failing will actually bring you nearer to success.
And that’s not at all good yo.
Romanticizing failure does not necessarily make you any closer to success.
I mean, I totally agree that it’s a great way to not get discouraged and not go total Eeyore mode, giving up on life. But there’s a fine line between encouragement and false hope.
The thing is: not everybody will succeed. And failing? Sucks.
When I graduated in high school, I subconsciously brought with me this reassurance and certainty that college will be the same. I was like, “College? Pssh, cake.”
Dear past self: They’re. Not. The. Same.
If high school was Super Mario Level 7**, college is Flappy Bird. No levels. Just pure agony.
And that cold water of reality didn’t splash onto my arrogant face until my second year in college. I didn’t reach the cut-off for a major subject and I was bummed. No, scratch that, I was more than bummed. I was devastated.
It was like a super-confident bump car driver who likes to constantly flip his hair tried driving a ten-wheeler truck for the first time. And he ends up clutching tight at the wheels and crying for his mommy.
So I’m not gonna argue with you. Failure hurts like Gordon Ramsey telling you that sunny-side egg you cooked isn’t even worthy to be served to dogs.
It hits your self-confidence and shatters your spirit. And to someone currently experiencing failure, being told “everything will be okay” may not be the best mood-lifter. And neither is the rhetoric of failure leading to success.
See, success may come later. But failure needs to be dealt now.
So sure, you may reach success afterwards. May. Meaning there’s a possibility that you won’t. And I’m not trying to be Jenny Rain Cloud here. It’s a fact.
For most of our lives, success is something that we will accomplish in the future. But failure can happen any minute and it’s experienced at present, so you deal with it now. If you don’t, failure doesn’t lead to anything good at all.
So then, Kate, how do we deal with failure?
Great that you ask. Here are three things you could do:
<3 Don’t think that the entire universe is ganging up against you. Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve had my fair share of years being an angsty kid and thinking everybody hates me. They don’t–or… not all of them do. Every person you’ve met has faced failure to a certain degree.*** And the universe is just being the huge thing that it is. In fact, leave the stars alone; they’re minding their own beautiful twinkly business yo.
<3 Think, instead, of what lessons you could take away from failing. Remember that 4-step cure I shared for missed opportunities? Missed opportunities are kinda like failures too. And it always helps to see that even the most awful things have a positive takeaway you can carry your whole life. Lastly…
<3 Give yourself the time to feel all the awful. If there was one thing I’ve learned in Pixar’s Inside Out, it’s that there is nothing wrong with feeling the negative things. It’s okay to feel bad.
There will be happy, colorful moments (like when you’ve proven unicorns are real) and there will be sucky ones (like when you realize you were just dreaming).
So really, it’s okay to feel bummed out or even devastated that you failed at something you’ve worked so hard for 🙂 Use up an entire box of tissues, if you must! But when you’re done, get up and start moving.
Because at the end of the day, success won’t come to you. You run towards it.
After having my pity party for like a day or two, I had to get back on my study desk and hit the books again because I had that comprehensive exam to face.
I passed said exam and I’m contented now. I even have this newfound determination to put in more effort into my studies 🙂 And I realized, I probably won’t have such a huge character development if it weren’t for failure.
And here’s the catch.
Yes, failure may lead to success. But for that to happen, you don’t just give yourself encouragements and confidence-boosters. You have to put in some hard work and effort, too 🙂
That’s how the bump car driver learns how to drive ten-wheelers. That’s how you cook a sunny-side egg that will have Gordon Ramsey on foodgasm.
That’s how you will grow.
Your turn! What is your biggest failure in life so far? How did you cope and rise out of it? Share what you learned!
Have an inspired day, awesome peeps! <3
Other awesome articles to read about this topic:
Challenging Success-via-Failure | Psychology Today
How Fear of Failure Destroys Success | Lifehack.org
*Who do you think was the pathetic potato who said that? (raises hand)
**Is this the underground lava level with that dragon???
***Unless, you know, that person is a newborn infant. Then protect that precious lump of baby fats from failure until he’s all grown up to handle them!
June 17, 2017
What I Tell Myself When I’m Hesitant on Moving Forward
It could be as trivial as taking a shower at four in the morning when the water’s ice cold. Or maybe a step forward to personal development like making the first move at befriending someone (if you’re shy like I am that’s a huge leap).
OR, it could be something monumentally life-changing like changing career paths or being honest with myself.
There are–and will be–moments in your life when you’re standing at a pause. Maybe you’re standing at the edge of a cliff, or facing a forked path. The gist is: once you take a step, there’s no going back. You won’t be the same person as you were before. Because even the slightest change in you makes a different you.
Believe me, I know. I’ve been there. I’ve been in an edge or a fork several times now; I expect I will be several times more in the future. And I tell myself something when I’m at that “pause” phase. So what’s that?
“You can do this, Kate.”
Just that one line. Really.
I only noticed this recently, like several weeks ago. But I know I’ve been saying it too myself a lot. (Especially at four in the morning :D) For some reason, giving myself a mini cheer is, oftentimes, all the motivation I need. There’s something utterly wonderful at being your own best cheerleader.
I am the one pushing me forward.
Do you have a mantra that helps you move forward?
Happy Saturday, awesome peeps!
March 18, 2017