Are you an artist or a creative trying to juggle too many balls at once?

​​Have you ever felt like you are juggling and all the balls are about to fall down around you? You have multiple projects and types of work going at once. It starts off well- exciting even. But so easily you lose the control, one ball falls and it feels like they are all going down.  

This is common for creatives because you have a lot of ideas that pop up and seem really exciting- it feels great to dream something up and put that starting energy behind it. But the anxiety and low self-esteem can so easily be triggered if you can't get a good rhythm going, and the balls begin to drop.


I know this feeling well- in fact just last week it came up for me again. It can feel deeply undermining- like you are a fool to think you are capable of making your dreams happen. But the fact is that it is a sign- but not one of incompetence. It is a sign that you are stretching!

So what do you do?

Do you have to give up the variety and complexity that seems so endemic to who you are?

No- I would argue you don't. But you may need to slow down a bit if anxiety and low-self esteem are cropping up a lot. 

The first thing is to challenge the core belief underlying this issue: Scarcity. Scarcity of time in this case- The feeling that there is never enough time to get all the things done, much less do them well. Whatever you are doing, you should be spending that time doing those other twelve things.

This is a fallacy and a painful one.

Ok if you are limiting yourself to a 24 hour day, there is a limit of time. But if you allow yourself to hold the whole of time in your awareness, then you can see there is plenty of time. It is like breathing. You do not have to get all of your breaths in at once, your body knows and trusts that it will get plenty of air over time. Breath in and breath out and breath in again. A steady rhythm.

The point is to choose what it is going to be in this moment, and to let go of all the other things that you could be doing in this moment so that you can take full advantage of the nourishing qualities of whatever it is that you are doing. 

I know we have all heard this before and it is easier said than done. Especially for those creatives among us who have a tendency to juggle too many balls at a time.

Juggling is an apt metaphor. Have you ever seen it done really well? It is beautiful and fluid- it looks easy- like breathing and having a heart beat at the same time. And the funny thing is that for a juggler it is easy like that, because the skill is there.

But lets pick it apart.

 In order for juggling to work you have to have a variety of skills at play at once. 

There is the hand that catches and fluidly takes the momentum in and reverses it back into the air. It is a sure and clean, unencumbered act- and it trusts gravity to do its part. And when that hand lets go of the ball- it is ready for the next- not paying attention to the last. This is the single focus- one task at a time.

Then there is the broad focus of the eyes- able to hold all of the balls in awareness, while not getting caught tracking any one of them to the exclusion of the others. We could think of this as purpose. Even while you have the single focus- there is the over-arching awareness of purpose- all of your projects (each ball)  serve the greater purpose.

And finally there is that core of the body that serves as the center of energy and action- and is fluidly moving to wherever the center of the balls is. This is the Self- pure awareness and will.  The driver- the one in charge.

Trying to juggle without the skill can be crazy making because it feels like you are always chasing and dropping balls. There is no center, the hands are not deft in their catch and toss, and the focus is scattered and panicked rather than calmly holding the soft broad focus. Nothing is coordinated. There is no trust between the parts. The Driver has been supplanted by the sense of panic.

That does not mean it is not possible or that you can not do it. It means you need to allow yourself the luxury of learning, of being a beginner. And when you can do that, the learning can be fun.

So when you learn to juggle- you start with learning that simple gesture of catch and toss and catch and toss. You get comfortable in the rhythm, the hand eye coordination and the direction and projection. Your center and your focus are learning along side your hand. And there is a sense of calm- not chaos. You learn to trust your skill in the simple act before you add another ball, and another. And if you keep going you might get more complex shapes and interesting partners, but I get ahead of myself.

So what is happening for you right now? 

Are you are trying to toss too many balls before finding the rhythm, center, trust, soft focus with that one ball? Or have you just added three balls at a time, and not given yourself time to get used to the one extra?
 If you are always in a sense of panic and chasing balls, can you back up a step or two and give yourself time to gain the confidence and ease? What can you let sit in the bag for a while, trusting that you will get to it, while you get the skills of one or two balls down?

And remember that even a juggler needs to sleep- it is really ok to put all the balls in the bag for the night- or even the weekend. 

If you are a creative who seems to always be juggling, and you want to find that sense of ease and purpose, coaching might be very helpful. If you would like to see if I could be the right coach for you, check out the quiz.