There’s been a lot going on lately. Almost too much. Though, considering we spent nearly three years doing nothing at all, I’m not complaining. Instead, I’m choosing this moment to breathe.

I’m not a big fan of buzzwords. Unfortunately, I work in an industry that was built on a jargon foundation and assembled brick by brick using vernacular that gets more airtime than boy bands did in the early 2000s. Terms and phrases like vertical, strategy, synergy, dynamic, transformation, brand identity, transparency, gated, enterprise, infographic, clickbait, omnichannel, have become a part of my daily life. Not to be trumped, of course, by the endless series of acronyms – CRM, CRO, ROI, CTR, UI, CTA, UGC – that makes me feel like I need a translator sitting beside me on conference calls. Even now, as I write this, my word processor is stalling as it tries to determine how much of what I just typed is actual English.

I’ve been working in marketing and/or technology for close to 25 years, and buzzwords still make me cringe. Perhaps none so much as my arch-nemesis phrase, Core Values. 

Ugh, I know, right? How many of the ten people actually reading this blog feel similarly at just the mere sight of that phrase on the page? 

I feel your pain. In fact, I’ve been in more meetings with more leaders, staring at a whiteboard containing those two words than I care to admit. But maybe it’s because I’ve been at that table that I understand both the challenge of defining values and its importance. Attempting to identify the key principles everyone in an organization should adopt isn’t just about how a company will build relationships with clients or customers, it’s about establishing a unified culture among its employees. 

But what about personal core values? Or, even more relevant to me right now, creative core values? What are the guiding principles that support my relationship with my art?

You’d think, after being force fed multiple sets of core values for two decades, these questions would be easy to answer. Spoiler alert: they’re not. Especially since I took the exercise one step further and listed not only what I consider my creative core values to be today, but a complementary aspirational value I can work toward in the same core “family.” 

Apparently, I still can’t resist volunteering for extra credit. 

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Core Value: Dedication | Aspirational Value: Balance

Last year, I went on a weekend trip to the mountains with some friends. We spent one day hiking a trail that we thought would take us to a summit with a view, only to be disappointed when we never found it. Ok – so maybe I was the only one truly disappointed. Despite the girls having a great time, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. I had spent the morning researching trails on my hiking app, considering distance, level of difficulty, and location, only to be defeated by nature itself. 

Still, on the way down, my friends reminded me it didn’t matter. We had all still committed to the activity that day. Regardless of the outcome, we challenged ourselves and made it happen. And then they nicknamed me the “Dedicated,” because, in their words, I always follow through.

My superpower is discipline. It may not be as exciting as teleporting or being able to move objects with only the power of my mind, but it’s the reason I accomplish as much as I do in a single day. I commit – to a writing routine, to people, and to being prepared. Against most odds, I stick to the plan. 

Which is good, until it’s not, and I find myself over-committing to my detriment. Like, when I woke up this morning exhausted but still intent on performing my daily early morning yoga ritual, only to realize I was counting the minutes until the end of the video which, if you’ve ever done it, is the complete opposite of yoga’s purpose. Instead of embodying the experience, I ended up manifesting my own personal hell. 

It’s in those moments, when I do something for the sake of doing it without it bringing me genuine joy, that I know I still have work to do. Balance, whether work/life, art/life, or just life/life, is essential to my creative health. So much so that I wish they had a pill for it, or it was something I could add to my morning smoothie to ensure I had the perfect blend of yin and yang to start my day. Most days, though, it’s still a tight-rope walk, one that I attempt while suspended in the air between two high-rise buildings against the force of 50 mph hour winds.

One of these days I’ll make it to the other side. 

2. Core Value: Curiosity | Aspirational Value: Innovation

If this were a post about defining my professional core values, innovation would be one of them. In fact, it probably belongs in the list above because I innovate, in some way, every day. It’s as essential to my professional life as coffee is to my creative life. You can’t have a career in digital technology without understanding the value of bringing new ideas to the table.

And the way to get there is to stay curious. I’ve met so many talented creatives in both my work and personal life and the one thing they all have in common is that they’re not afraid to ask questions – either of themselves or others. I’ve seen it in action and the complete lack of hesitation many creatives have at the prospect of learning something new is fascinating to watch.

I’m slightly envious whenever I witness this, even though I believe I’ve gotten pretty good at asking myself the tough questions about my writing. Do I really need this character? Why doesn’t this plot work? What do I really want to say in this paragraph? Most of the time, asking these questions is as awkward as staring at myself in the mirror first thing in the morning. But if I don’t take that first look, I won’t know what I need to do and, maybe, I won’t find the courage to make the change.

And we all need to change. Creative practices grow stale over time if we don’t continually seek ways to elevate. To me, innovation in my creative life means discovering unique ways to connect authentically with readers and other writers. I’m not there yet. At least not completely, but I’m taking incremental steps in that direction. 

Starting this blog was one of those steps. I write fiction and much prefer sharing me through stories, rather than personal anecdotes, but there’s value in shared experiences. If even one reader can relate to these words, then it’s worth it.

3. Core Value: Adaptability | Aspirational Value: Flexibility

I know you’re probably thinking these two values sound like the same, but to me, they represent very different concepts. Adaptability is about being prepared. I’m fantastic at preparing for contingencies and do nothing without a backup plan. Even if I don’t divulge a Plan B right away, I always have one sitting on the bench, ready and waiting. 

In my creative life, this usually means taking a notebook on a business trip, so I can write on the plane. It could also mean having a list in my mind of what I want to work on during my morning writing sessions, or coming up with several ideas for the way a fictional scene may play out between my characters on the page. Truthfully, there are a few aspects of each of these creative core values that also align with my professional life, but the parallels are stronger here. Being prepared to adapt is one value I’m most proud of in my work and personal lives. 

Flexibility, though, involves some level of situational spontaneity. There’s so much in life we can’t prepare for, so much that happens that’s outside of our control. Even though I’m aware of this in theory, unforeseen circumstances consistently send me into a tailspin. In-the-moment, I fear the unknown. 

Whoever invented the phrase, “roll with it,” never met me. My brain latches on to the singular idea that doesn’t belong like a virus does to cells, and then it reproduces until I’m consumed with anxiety. God forbid the flight I’m on experiences turbulence for three quarters of its duration and I’m too sick to write, or I realize the only time I have to pay bills one morning is during my writing time, or my first choice idea for the climactic scene in my novel just isn’t working the way I’d hoped. I still do what needs to be done, but not without a lot of mental suffering.

Am I the only one who experiences this?

I have a good friend who shared that when she’s worried about something unexpected happening; she thinks about the worst-case scenario. At first, this literally sounded like poking my own eyes out with a No. 2 pencil, but actually I’ve been trying it, and it works. Mostly because I involuntarily seem to ask myself the followup question, “if the worst happened, what would I do?” 

Before, dear reader, you tell me this is just another method of preparation – I assure you – it’s not. Instead, I think it’s about realizing that I am, indeed, more capable and resourceful than I think. It’s this boost of confidence that calms the fear and anxiety and clears my mind. And we all know what an open mind can do for creativity.

***

As far as reach goals go, I can do a lot worse than endeavoring to stay fluid in all things, not just writing. Growth happens when we’re open, and exploration inevitably leads to spending weeks in self-reflection to define your creative core values.

Try it.

You might learn something. 

-K