Carry Your Own Shovel

Happy Fabulous February!

Why has it been a Fab Feb? I celebrated my WRITERVERSARY and other milestones this month. Although I didn't publish a newsletter for weeks, I navigated continuous waves of celebration, confusion, and disappointment without fear or the urge to give up. Each time something blocked my creative path, the approach needed to keep moving would differ. February 2025 taught me how to keep the snow clear on my path.

I grew up in an all-season city and continue to enjoy the changes where I currently live. Winter and snow didn’t used to affect my mood negatively. When October-pocalypse and the Autumn season ends, I accept the cold in exchange for more sunshine. 

However, the residual noise during and after a snowfall is deafening. The cumulative sounds of defeat combined with tears and an extreme lack of encouragement will continue for weeks. “Don't bother going to work or taking transit or… breathing. The snow will ruin us all.” This trash talk embeds into and infects our brains. 

My city received winter storm warnings for weeks before February this year. “Big snowfall coming! Big snowfall coming!” The first weeks of Winter brought little snow accumulations: 2 cm one day, 5 cm another day. And before you could say FABULOUS, the snow was gone.

In mid-February, I woke up one morning and saw a pile of snow outside. It snowed as much as “they” said it would… for once!

My daughter came into our room, excited to see all the snow outside. She asked if she could go sledding after school.

I dragged myself out of bed and felt this urge to check my email. And there it was: the email all kids long for and most parents dread.

“Oh… a Snow Day?” I blurted out loud.

My daughter let out a huge gasp and began preparing for a victory dance.

“Wow, school’s closed. They never close schools. Weird, right?”

“Nope,” my always calm husband replied. “Alright, it’s a snow day. What’s the plan?”

My sacred writing time and morning routine were upended. What to do?

The same thing I always do every weekday: try to take over the world… I mean, I prepare my family for the day before I begin my own.

Having my daughter home all day from school was not a concern. Losing planned writing time, however, was a setback. I intended to publish a newsletter that very morning. The night before, I couldn’t decide which of the two drafts to finalize. I chose to sleep on it and determine which one to publish in the morning. The significant amounts of snow took precedence in my mind. I left both drafts buried under snowbanks.

The snowfall continued for a few days. My creative flow caught the snow fever many others suffered from. Despite journaling daily (in short spurts), additional writing was non-existent. I tried to look for external encouragement but found none. All I heard was “The snow is here! The snow is falling! The snow is shutting everything down! Hey, do you see all this SNOW? Why aren’t you talking more about the snow? The snow is EVIL! Nothing can be done with all this evil snow!” My inner creative mojo nearly froze. 

Creative guilt ensued. I should be doing more. It was just snow, dang-narmit! Where were all my snow lovers when I needed them? Why couldn’t I find more positive reinforcements about snow? Why couldn’t I write through this snow?  How long will these snow days last?  

How do I remove the piles of snow off my creative mojo?

One week later I woke up disoriented. I had a dream but lost it. I began to have a wave of regret. I wish I could remember the dream. I wish I worked on my newsletters. I wish I didn’t use the piles of snow outside as an excuse to create less than planned. 

As I journaled out these thoughts, I assumed my inner champion needed its own external champion. Suddenly my mind flashed back to earlier thoughts on motivation and THE TREE.

(I hear your collective groans: NOT THE *FLIPPIN’ TREE AGAIN! Please hear me out… and for those who are interested, you can read my unintended TREE series at your leisure: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4)

I have always believed aspiration, inspiration and motivation are connected, but not identical. 

Aspiration (the roots of a tree) is what led me to the path to begin with. Inspiration (the trunk) is the inner driver of my movement along the path. Motivation (the branches and bark) refers to the external factors around me, including the people I meet along the way moving boulders for or with me on the path. They work in tandem with each other. They rarely work in silos.

I  should not rely solely on MOTIVATION. 

I relied primarily on external motivation to crack the whip this season. I forgot to tap into the internal inspiration holding my hand and the aspiration reminding me why I am still on the path. 

Weather can influence our creativity in various ways. The phrase “weather the storm” can refer to both a physical storm outside and the storms ravaging one’s mind. Snow can serve as both an external motivator or demotivator. Piles of snow can turn into water and hydrate the tree, yet it can create excessive weight on branches and potentially break them. The trunk and roots of the tree provide strength, allowing it to withstand the storm. 

Having SNOW DAYS in my mind is about knowing when to use my own shovel to clear the path. If I want to limit the number of “sick” days and feelings of being trapped, I must tap into my inspiration and aspiration while the external motivation swirls about. 

A mental snow day doesn't mean giving up on a dream. It's okay to feel frustrated or angry when a huge pile of snow lands in front of me on the path. When this happens, I need to stop, breathe, and pull out the shovel I’ve carried all along. After this, I can shake my branches and figure out the best way to move the snow.  

When I pause, I can enjoy its beauty and play in the snow. I can build forts and snowmen, make snow angels, and go sledding (like I did with my daughter). I will not eat the snow. Especially the yellow snow. Yuck. 

SNOW DAYS don't last forever. They can't. The groundhog said so. The snow will be moved aside or it will melt… eventually. Always remember you have the power to work with and through the snow with your own shovel or other method you choose. Make your own path through the snow. You always had it inside you to do so. Your dream and your path are waiting to be unburied.

Enjoy the rest of Fab Feb and embrace your Snow Days, fellow creatives.

Nadine