It’s almost Halloween, a custom we celebrate here in the United States, where we dress up in costumes and jump out from behind the bushes and yell, “Boo!” At Halloween, we acknowledge that there are plenty of things in life and (woooooo) the afterlife that scare us.
Eating lots of candy from large sacks or plastic jack-o-lanterns seems to help us ignore this fear. Grab some candy corn and read on.
What I want to discuss here is Boo-Tivity!
Boo-what?
I’m so glad you asked. Boo-Tivity is the practice of scaring our selves and not giving our creativity a ghost of a chance.
Let me give you a few haunting examples:
When you practice perfectionism, you practice Boo-Tivity. (“I am afraid my art won’t be perfect, therefore people will know I’m not perfect, so I won’t go any further.”)
When you put on a mask and hide your talent from the world you practice Boo-Tivity. (“I’m afraid people will talk about me behind my back.” Newsflash: They already do. Why not give them something fabulous to talk about?)
When you set an unreachable goal or an impossible deadline you practice Boo-Tivity. (“I must have an article in the New Yorker by the time I’m thirty,” is enough to scare the absolute joy of writing out of you.)
Boo-Tivity Energizer:
- Refrain from practicing Boo-Tivity.
- Instead practice Create-Tivity!
- Stop Scaring Yourself.
- It’s only fun at Halloween.