The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

Today marks day four of my mural project. It has been chalked full of excitement, inspiration and a lot of sweat equity. A big challenge with this project has been working around more than a dozen people fulfilling their own tasks. There has been electricians, plumbers, construction guys and window installers all busily running around trying to get the store up and running before this Friday’s Grand Opening.

How does one maintain motivation in a less than creative atmosphere? Well I will tell you. Creating my mural pieces allows me to see my progress as I work. What started as a rough cinder block wall, becomes primed, painted and ready for me to start painting. Each layer of the murals goes up and you get that instant gratification that you are indeed making progress. Maintaining motivation is easy when you can see the before and after, or even in this case, the steps. I like to photograph each day so I can go home and compare the photos with the day previous. It really does make you smile with contentment to see the changes you are making.

With any business you can create ways for yourself to maintain motivation. It may be photographs, it may be a list that you get to check off goals or it may be your calendar with the daily duties that you can look at and see your achievements. No matter the business, maintaining motivation helps you in many ways.

Maintaining motivation can bring you an extra boost when you thought you had none left. It can help you make decisions from steps made, which ones worked or which ones didn’t. You can set obtainable time schedules for yourself based on how you manage your time. Motivation drives you forward and beyond…at least it is in this artist’s eyes.