This article is an excerpt from a past MONTHLY LETTER. If you enjoy this kind of grounding support, sign up to receive the monthly coaching package: it includes an article like this one, journaling prompts, creative practices, spiritual rituals and supportive tools to help you navigate your rebellious path as an artist or creative entrepreneur.

Wherever you are today, however near or far you are compared to where you intended to be halfway through the year, there is much to celebrate here and now. I hope you can be proud of how far you've come.

Maybe no one has told you this lately— but I want to remind you that you are doing enough. In fact, what if you were already doing great?

So, I ask you, what can you choose to celebrate today? What are some good decisions that you have made this year? And, perhaps most importantly, what blessings might be hidden behind a perceived failure?

And maybe you haven't yet reached your goal but have made slow and steady progress on something else. Perhaps you have decided to let go of another dream, and that is profound growth in itself. It could also be that nothing seemingly changed on the external, but your inner world ripened into a much softer place to be.

As creative spirits, our definitions of success, progress, and growth may not fit society's predetermined mould. Chances are, for us creative minds, it looks drastically different.

If you're anything like me or the delightful humans I've had the honour to coach in the past, when our creative soul feels successful, it looks a lot like this:

"Taking brave action on something unfamiliar."

"Finding time for myself and my creativity."

"Gaining the confidence to set boundaries."

"Lounging, painting and playing outside."

"Enjoying a nice meal and heartfelt conversation."

"Dancing in the kitchen."

"Making a new friend."

"Expressing myself without restriction or expectation."

"Spending a quiet evening reading and listening to music."

"Picking flowers and collecting treasures on a forest walk."

"Letting myself fall into the rabbit holes of my curiosity."

"Adding 'artist' as a title to my Instagram bio."

All of this feels incredibly beautiful to me.

You may also notice that deep down, our soul knows that genuine success is not about reaching an arbitrary metric by a specific date while executing it flawlessly… Interesting, isn't it? ;) It's about discovering contentment and satisfaction in the journey itself. So, what brings you a sense of triumph or, better yet, makes you feel alive?

As you embark on the second half of 2023, I encourage you to shift your focus from reaching those incidental goals or asking, "Where do I need to be by date X?" to asking yourself "How do I want to feel this season?", "What would true success look like for me this month?" or "What is one thing that would make my soul happy today?"

You may come up with a vastly different (and more authentic) answer. And you may conclude that the pressure and expectation of achieving a goal based on someone else's definition of success prevents you from feeling truly alive and thriving. Instead, I invite you to honour your progress and keep pushing forward in a way that feels true.

I am sharing a quote from one of my clients and her redefinition of productivity to inspire you to write your own:

"If my life is the product, my spirit the output and my experiences the breath — how beautiful can I shape this life? This is the productivity I seek. A collection of spirit, breath, experience, presence and quiet joy."

What novel vocabulary fills the pages of your new dictionary? I am curious to find out ;)

PS. Private coaching will open again in a few weeks :) If you're looking for support to unearth and manifest your creative vision, I would love for you to schedule a clarity call so we can talk through your current challenges and aspirations, and identify what kind of support may benefit you right now. I'm always happy to create tailored journeys to meet your needs.