CREATIVITY AND PROCRASTINATION DO NOT GO TOGETHER BY LEAH VAVEREK

Creativity is personal and has the power to connect and inspire people. It is done with ease when the task at hand is enjoyable and a subject of passion. Being authentically creative in figure skating comes naturally to me for this very reason; it doesn’t feel like work, and it is much easier to achieve desired results. I find myself prioritizing what I love to do over what I have to do. It is too easy to put off the unknown when there are things so overwhelmingly comfortable that you could do instead. But this isn’t practical, and life doesn’t magically change deadlines to fit everyone’s priorities. Creativity has proved to be much harder in times of uncertainty or self-doubt, and it is in those moments that your passions and your priorities need to be utilized in a way that compliments the rest of your life, not promotes procrastination. You cannot give everything 100% all of the time; it is simply not possible. But what is possible is channeling what is important to you to set your mind to an unfamiliar task and take the time to make it your own based on these personal priorities. Finding commonalities between the things that you love and the things that scare you is the key to success. Once this is mastered, completing work and meeting deadlines, no matter the task, becomes easier.