It’s a new year, and I bet like me, you are thinking about how to improve your situation.  I hope you are thinking, “How can I build a better audience?” yet this post is more general than that.

I have been thinking about my resolutions for the year.  The biggest one I am working on I’d like to share with you.  Maybe my transition will help someone else.  In 2014, I will be working on moving from Survival Mode to Creative Mode.  This will be a transition that will help every aspect of my life.  It is also a transition that I hope more artists and arts organizations will also embark on.

You see, survival mode is the mode where you are squeaking by, barely making it, and it creates a great deal of stress.  Other people can pick up on this vibe, which can mean that there are people that might be put off by it.  Survival Mode does not mean that you haven’t had any success, yet it is a mode that you will have a difficult time creating a new and better situation for yourself.

In order to get out of survival mode, here are a few suggestions I have been finding:

• De-stress.  Survival mode puts you into the fight/flight response and depletes your system.  Getting rid of stress is one way to take you out of this reactive state and put you into a better responsive state to deal with situations more easily.
• Find your passions and say no to what isn’t a passion.  This means that if you are spending time on projects, tasks, etc. that are sucking the living daylights out of you (and you know which ones these are), learn to say no and instead say yes to what will make you happy.  You can learn to delegate to people that dig that kind of thing if it still needs to get done.
• Learn that life isn’t about the money, and when you switch to living with passion, the money will come.  This seems to be a general truth.  Do what you love and the money will follow.  To expand on this, I am learning that people really love you more if they know you are doing what you do because you love doing it (not simply because you want to make money).  In fact, people can sense when it is all about the money, and that usually is a big turn off.  It will turn people off to collaborating with you as well.
• Instead of striving harder on what isn’t working, change what you are doing.  Without the change you will continually put yourself into survival mode.  You have to take yourself out of the situation if it is not working and try a different approach or by doing something new all together.
• Remember that this is your life.  People can give you their seal of approval or not, and it shouldn’t matter.  What is going to make you happy?  What do you want to create?  What do you feel is a mission or purpose that rings true for you?  Do that!
• Think about the big picture instead of working on putting out fires in the moment.  This may mean that you need to take a step back, but overall you will be doing yourself a big favor for the future.
• Come from a feeling of pride and stop apologizing for needing support.  What you do matters, and until you learn how to take pride in yourself and value yourself, you will not be able to get out of survival mode.
• Be grateful for what you do have.  Living in a state of gratitude automatically shifts you out of survival mode since you are acknowledging the good that is already in your life.

I have other resolutions such as attempting to keep my GenX snarkiness to myself.  I will try to live by the golden rule: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.   However, the biggest focus will be on getting myself into Creative Mode.  You see, once you leave Survival Mode, you are open to Creative Mode and all the wonderful opportunities that will be able to find you. You will now have the new time and energy to create ideas and projects that excite you!  That’s a much better mode to be in, don’t you think?

What are your resolutions this year?

Cheers to loyal and happy audiences,
Shoshana

PS If you are thinking “How can I build a better audience?” you know where to find me.  ;O)