6 Lessons Drawing Taught Me on Life & Leadership
A note to you: Thank you for your interest and time. In this article, I share with you, my journey towards reclaiming joy through the practice of drawing. This is not a how-to guide for drawing. Rather, these reflections are an account of lessons I’ve learned through the art of drawing and self-expression. I hope you enjoy!
The Journey
It all started with coloring books…
My love of drawing recently spurred out of a great need to get involved with something new; an activity that could help to release the major tension from the everyday stressors of my life. It all started with coloring books. After seeking advice from a friend, I bought a few. I was drawn to — mandalas, birds, nature scenes — anything that seemed remotely cathartic to me. Soon after, I discovered the activities I once loved as a child, provided solace as an adult. With the recent hype on coloring for adults, I am guessing many of you can relate? If this is your first time hearing it, no worries. If it is of interest, there’s a ton of information out there waiting for you on the health benefits of coloring. For me, coloring became an outlet for my own, unfiltered, creative expression. . . which also sparked a great sense of delight! This led me to ask myself,
what if I created my own drawings?
At the time, I was under the impression that zero ounces of talent for drawing existed within me. Yet, I was ready for the challenge!
I was ready to listen to that quiet voice inside, gently nudging me to honor my intrinsic desire by simply trying it out.
That was in 2018 and since then, drawing as an adult has been a deeply personal journey for me.
The Lessons
In her book “The Spirit of the Brush”, Sungsook Hong Setton, describes her own journey with ink-wash (a traditional form of Chinese painting) and notes:
“The brush strokes and the brush itself have their own lessons to teach.”
I’ve learned this sentiment also holds true with drawing. The strokes of the pencil and the pencil itself have taught me powerful lessons that I’ve found to be relevant in all areas of my life, including professional leadership roles I’ve held. Taking the time to cultivate my own talent and engage in unfiltered self-expression, has led to moments of self-discovery, learning, joy and connection.
While this is not a guide to drawing, nor do I claim to be an expert in the technique itself, drawing has taught me many lessons over the years. Here are 6 important lessons I’d like to share with you…
1. Self-expression is a necessary act. Cultivate it, nurture it, and let it flow freely out into the world!
Celebrate you and honor who you are!
A colleague who I deeply admire, once shared “walking in your truth allows others to do the same.” In order to do this, you must first know who you are. Self-expression clears the path towards walking in your truest, most authentic self.
Self-expression — the manifestation of your most authentic self — allows for a greater sense of self-awareness. It is another way of looking in the mirror to discover what you like about yourself and the practices you may want to change. Knowing who you truly are leads to a greater appreciation of self, which allows you to both value and extend gratitude to others — strangers, friends, loved ones, staff and colleagues. And expressing who you are, strengthens your connection to the source of joy within you, while sharing with others.
The more joy you express in your life, the better it will be for yourself and everyone around you — it is what sustains our life source.
Drawing helps me to connect with and experience an immense level of joy from within. After completing a project, I become filled with excitement which typically leads to me sharing with loved ones. Drawing is one form of many, in which we can engage in self-expression and it is the act of self-expression that allows us to naturally connect to our innermost source of joy.
Think about a time you were really proud of something you created, something that brought you a great sense of joy. To name some examples, it could be a meal you prepared, a program you developed, a letter you wrote to a friend, a room you decorated, an event you produced, a bond between two loved ones you helped form, a meeting you designed and facilitated, a card you made or an image you colored in your coloring book.
Name one thing you created that you were really proud of. When you think back, how did you feel after looking at your creation, what impact did it have on others?
2. We can overcome our greatest limitations, which are those that we place on ourselves.
Regularly engaging in self-expression, in any form, helps us to gain insight on the perceived limitations that we place on ourselves. Remember, initially I was under the impression I could not draw at all! If I did not take the time to listen to my intrinsic desire to try, I would have limited myself from discovering my natural ability to draw and would have missed out on all the joy I experience when I am engaged in sketching (a form of drawing).
Freeing ourselves of perceived limitations that exists on a conscious level, creates room for an increased understanding of self. An expanded awareness of self allows for authentic appreciation, respect and shared connection with others.
3. Being open to different perspectives leads to expanded awareness.
I am drawn to recreate images I see in life through sketching. Whether scenes in nature or photographs of people that peak my interest, I enjoy the process of capturing the essence of the image I am recreating. While I am presently smiling as I reflect, there were attempts that were very difficult at times — particularly in my early days of sketching. I remember there were moments that were filled with much frustration because I could not translate what I was seeing in real-time, onto my sketchpad. Yet, taking a step back and working through those feelings of frustration helped me to realize the importance of understanding the nature object from different perspectives.
Through sketching, I realized I needed to move past my assumptions of where lines should be in order to recreate the image. These assumptions were based on my initially narrow view of the object’s characteristics rather than truly examining the object of the sketch in it’s current reality; its lines in relation to others and its placement within its environmental context (e.g. lighting). Drawing has reinforced the importance in challenging assumptions. I’ve certainly learned through practice, taking the time to see the object of my sketch from different perspectives leads to a better end-product along with an expanded level of awareness.
Think about a challenge you encountered. In dealing with the issue, how did you or how could you have benefitted from taking the time to look at the issue from the different perspectives of others involved?
Expanded awareness has proven to be valuable in all aspects of my life, particularly in gaining a deeper understanding of self and in my interactions with others. In professional roles, I believe a commitment to a growth mindset is necessary for effective leadership. It allows for the flexibility to evolve and adopt new practices in order to best support staff and colleagues who are a part of your team. Taking time to understand others’ perspective, while committing to expand your own, provides the foundational building blocks towards mutual understanding and a genuine interaction. This notion holds true for any relationship, whether engaging with colleagues, friends, loved ones, or even someone for the first time.
4. Put your ideas in motion; learning by doing is key.
In taking a historical look at the sketches I produced, I can see my technical skills have grown over time. You may recall, I previously noted a love of recreating images that I encounter in life. Given the multidimensional world we live in, this requires the ability to capture the shape and depth of the object at hand. The ability to convey depth and light on a one-dimensional page, is a result of practice — in this case drawing.
Mastering a particular skill (in any form) is a result of being committed to and actively engaged in the skill itself.
In everything we do, there exists the opportunity to learn and evolve. We must first act towards putting our hopes and ideas in motion.
5. Patience is an exercise worth practicing.
Patience is a verb. It does not mean inaction, rather it creates room to celebrate forward progress, take in lessons learned, while working towards a goal. As a self-taught artist, I have certainly learned the value in exercising patience. It takes time to build a masterpiece and practicing patience while working towards the end product can lead to an outcome better than imagined. I am always pleasantly surprised by the outcome of my sketches.
It is wonderful to see my progress over time and while I am still homing in on my technical skills, I can see that the time invested has led to significant progress. This holds true in other areas of my life, including the professional roles I’ve held.
Think back to the thing you created that brought you joy, how did patience play a role? If not all, how could have the exercise of patience improved your experience overall? What impact did it or could it have on others?
6. Lastly and most importantly, trust your inner guide.
Trust that inner voice that may be gently nudging you to take steps towards a goal or to try something completely new and know that your efforts can lead to a beautiful outcome.
Eckhart Tolle, eloquently notes to all of us, “you are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are!”
I love this statement because it is a powerful reminder of the vital nature of our existence and how connected we all are. Furthermore, we enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold through self-expression, in its truest, most authentic form. In other words, celebrate you and share your unique expression with the world. I hope this reading helps you to connect to that internal source of joy within you, amplify it and share it with others.
