Kimberly | The Little Plantation.
Prop and food stylist, food photographer, recipe developer, nutritional therapist and plant-based food blogger. For kicks, she also edits the Bitter Foods Feed over at TheFeedFeed. Her blog, The Little Plantation came out of a mid-life crisis and her urge to pursue and create what makes her happy.
Welcome my fellow creative to episode EIGHT for the Mindful Creative: The Challenges of Being a Grounded and Authentic Creative Being in The Age of Social Media.
In this episode, I'm chatting with Kimberly from the Little Plantation, who is a wearer of many creative hats. She is a prop and food stylist, photographer and nutritional therapist.
And today we are chatting about this the challenges of being a grounded and authentic creative being in the age of social media.
Now I recognise that social media pops up a lot in our chats with creatives, and just listening to a podcast doesn’t mean you’re instantly relieved of feelings of overwhelm or comparison. So I am hoping that our continued chats around creativity and mindset will keep reinforcing that we are human and we’re in this together.
This episode was recorded on a Skype call, and as we all know the quality of a Skype call can be a bit dodgy. For me, it is better to have honest talk out in the world rather than letting the barriers of perfection prevent us from creating. So please keep that in mind when listening to today’s episode.
Now let’s dive into our chat with Kimberly. Welcome to today’s episode Kimberly, it’s great to be chatting with you!
Why listen?
To realise when creating begins to shift away from what you intend. Your authentic self.
How taking a break and reflecting on what you want to get from creating can propel you back to its true meaning.
How using a bullet journal helped Kimberly in making the time she spent creating more joyful.
Episode Takeaways
Instagram started out as a place of discovery and joy, but turned into a source of stress where I felt I had to post all the time or I was letting people down.
What I wanted to do creatively in the kitchen and with photography was being pushed in one direction that my audience liked, rather than what I wanted to explore.
If I didn’t post every day the world would come to an end and I would wake up feeling anxiety and pressure that wasn’t there when I started with the platform.
Life is about being present with the people that you love.
There is a lot of ego feeding online which you don’t get as much in real life. It feels like an escape. Too much of a good thing isn’t healthy. Too much of an ego boost isn’t reality, it isn’t right.
After my realisation, I do what my heart wants to do and it feels more authentic.
I spent more time with myself, being online means that you don’t have to look at yourself in the mirror.
If a photo doesn' do well, I don't question my self-worth or validity as a creative anymore. The break allowed me to feed this perspective.
I felt liberated when I made the decision to take some time off. I was my opportunity to go back to the drawing board and think about what I want to create.
I can look at an image I took and be happy. Becuase I know that it came from the right place.
If you are posting and are anxious or upset if it doesn’t get the likes and comments - take a break. Take some time away. Reassess what the platform is for you.
The creative process shouldn’t be connected to likes and comments.
Separate your artistic and creative validity from likes and comments. It doesn’t mean you aren’t talented or you aren’t worthy of putting your work out there.
When it comes to your social media use, is this for validation or what your heart needs to express.
Tell me!
When it comes to social media, do you feel that your current use is for validation, keeping up with the rat race or a platform for you to express what your heart desires? Leave me a comment below.
Episode Resources
Quote: Sometimes we need to disconnect in order to reconnect with what matters.
Resource: Bullet journal - track and note down your dream, hopes, wishes, as well as boundaries, fears and scary thoughts!
Rate Us on iTunes.
If any of the episodes touched, moved or inspired you, I’d appreciate it so much if you could rate and review the podcast on iTunes. Together, you and I can change the lives of creatives together. Just this small gesture could allow an episode to show up for someone who truly needs it!