My Life-Changing Experience from an Art Class at the Local College

7 Takeaways that Will Forever Impact My Life!

A few years ago, I went to a guided meditation class. During the session, I had the most magnificent visions. Scenes played out in my mind’s eye that I wanted to capture in my journal. Later that evening, as I tried to draw these visions, I quickly realized this was NOT a skill I possessed.
The chicken scratch on the paper was in no way representative of the image in my mind.  I was so disappointed.

You know how they do it in the movies. The characters have these beautiful illustrations of maps and artifacts, and they’re incredible.
That’s what I was hoping for. I was so let down by the actual drawing.

I thought, “There has to be a way I can learn the basic principles so I can at least get what I’m thinking onto paper. “

I found a class called “Drawing 101” at my local college and decided to give it a shot.  It ran for 16 weeks on Thursday afternoons from 2–5 PM.

Here are 7 life lessons I learned that semester. 

Lesson #1 – Carving Out Time to Do Something Enjoyable

Carving out three hours every week was a tough commitment.  That’s a lot of time to take away from managing the business. It would have been easy to stop going or miss classes. To continue being chained to my desk.  I’m eternally grateful to myself for making the commitment and seeing it through.
The benefits changed me in such a lovely way.

On day one of class, I was delighted to be there. My excitement and enthusiasm were unmistakable.  I was like, “Buddy the Elf” on Christmas Eve. “Hi, I’m Danette! What’s your favorite color?”

Not everyone in the class was as excited as me. You might even say some of the other students were a little “blah.”  This class was mandatory for them, and they had a lot of other homework. They took this course to tick a box rather than pursue an interest in art.

It threw me off a little during the first session, but I was prepared for the second. 

Lesson #2 – You Can Raise the Energy in a Room

When I arrived for the second class, I was ready to be as upbeat as possible.  It was so exciting to be there, and I was determined to have fun. This was playtime for me, and I made a big commitment to being there.

Each week I smiled, asked questions, and showed interest in the other students. I’d ask what they were working on, how they liked the homework, and so on.

Eventually, they started coming around. They wanted me to see their artworks. They smiled and laughed easier.

I started noticing a change of energy in the room.  I could have easily let it go, but I kept my enthusiasm each class. I’m happy I brought my most positive, energetic self week after week.

Every time I show up for an engagement, I remind myself how I showed up for Art class. 

Lesson #3 – Lifetime Learner

When we think about the big questions, like, “What is our reason for being here?” or “What is our purpose in life?”, everyone has their answer. Mine always comes down to this – I want to teach and learn, two sides of the same coin.

Being a Financial Advisor allows me to teach people about planning for an epic retirement and achieving their financial goals.
Before you can teach someone something, you have to learn it first.

That’s life lesson #3 for me: to be a lifetime learner.

I enjoy being taught new things.  It’s what I love about YouTube and podcasts. Anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to know is available from a real instructor.

I realized that about myself in my first art class.
When I wanted to learn how to knit, I took a knitting class.
When I wanted to learn how to meditate, I took a meditation class.

I’m currently focused on scaling my two businesses, so I’m learning all I can through books, classes, and everything online.

The process of learning fills my soul with joy. 

Lesson #4 – Drawing from Observation is Incredibly Relaxing

Each week our instructor gave us a lesson.

We would take that information home with us and draw something from observation.

Our paper was 18” x 24”, plenty of space to work with.each evening).

One time my assignment was to draw a pair of shoes.

Another time, a pinecone (which was challenging because it opened up each day and looked different One time, we photocopied our faces and had to draw the image in charcoal.

What I enjoyed each week is that the time spent trying to draw from observation was deeply relaxing.
I spent hours of my evenings on each assignment and felt the stress of the workday fading as I immersed myself in the drawing.

There was no time to worry about problems or issues.There was only me with a pencil asking “How will I represent that line?” or “Where should this element go?”

It’s time very well spent because it’s so incredibly calming. 

Lesson # 5 – Meeting Other People is Beneficial for Longevity

When you take a class with other people, you get a wide variety of opinions and viewpoints.  I’ve read that the secret to a longer life is conversing with people with a variety of worldviews.

Considering the “feedback loop” we’re living in, I feel this is especially important today.  When you hear a viewpoint different from your own, it causes you to think and stimulates neurons and all kinds of wonderful things happen in your brain.

In my Ready to Retire! podcast, we did an episode on confirmation bias, our tendency to seek information that agrees with our opinions, and how this affects our financial decision-making.

Breaking out of your usual pattern of thinking helps develop a well-rounded mindset. 

Lesson #6 – Art Applies to Everyday Life, Especially at Work

Do you remember taking Math in school?
There was always a kid who looked at a word problem and said,
“I’ll never use this. Why are we learning it?”

To that, I say I think I’ve used math every single day of my life.
From calculating how much yarn to buy when knitting a scarf to figuring out how to double or triple a recipe.
Of course, in my work as a financial advisor, it’s a given that math is a daily occurrence.

Yet no one ever told me how often we use art!

Every morning when I put on my make-up – that’s a form of art, creating shadows and highlights.  What about cooking food? Have you ever made a dinner with ingredients that were all similar colors and think to yourself, “How bland, it needs some contrast”?

I use art the most at work.  When I put on presentations for my clients, I’m aware of the size of the font and the colors on the graphs.
When I rebranded my financial planning firm, I was very conscious of the color choices and their meanings.  Art played a huge role in my business coming together so beautifully.

Check out the Shine First Today website – it’s all about the art and the vibe that’s created by different combinations of colors.
I strongly believe art should be a mandatory class in all schools at all levels.  I think better when I’m around art.  Even the simple act of applying a color to a page is so satisfying and enjoyable! 

Lesson #7 – How My View on Constructive Criticism Changed for the Better

This is my favorite life lesson.

This lesson has to do with the weekly “critique” of our homework.
My understanding is that the “critiques” in art schools can be quite brutal. They can wreck a person. For some, it’s a withering experience.  I’d never been through that personally, but the people in class who were familiar with the process were pretty worried about the weekly “critique.”

Our instructor was very sensitive to that fact and made sure to encourage and guide us rather than tear us down.
At the beginning of class, we all put our drawings on a wall in the back of the room.  When the time came, our instructor reviewed each one of them. Here is the magic– no matter what the drawing looked like, he always found something positive to say.

He’d say how lovely something was, or how detailed, or how interesting.  Some students started their drawings in the hall 20 minutes before class. He would still find something positive to say first.  It wasn’t about giving false praise, or faux compliments. Those are the worst.
This was a true, sincere, and honest appreciation of what the student produced, wherever they were in their artistic journey.

When he suggested an improvement, it felt like it came from a place of love. He gave those kinds of instructions to every student. It was received so well, we didn’t fear the “critique” because it was done with such compassion.

Even though there were huge differences in skill, he wasn’t comparing the pieces to each other. He evaluated each on its own merit.

How often do we compare ourselves to someone else, and then beat ourselves up because we perceive them as better?  Or, if we win this internal battle, that means we judge the other person as less.

The minute we start comparing, the game is over and there is no winner.

To see someone find the beauty in every single drawing and point it out in an honest and supportive way elevated not only the student but the class.  We looked forward to that because it created trust. We knew that we were safe from judgment.

This life lesson, to truly see the best in every situation, will always stay with me.

When I’m at work and I need to talk to an employee, I always consider this first– What is the employee doing well, what are they doing right, and what do they need to learn next?  This is powerful.

Think about it with your kids or even your parents.  Sometimes we can get frustrated with the people we love most in the world.

For me, if I take a minute and look at the person for the beautiful, amazing, wonderful human that they are, and stop comparing them to my expectations of what I think they should be, and enjoy the magnificence of who they are, it diffuses almost any situation and improves the relationship. 

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I hope you enjoyed hearing about the 7 life lessons I learned from taking an Art Classs!

Now it’s your turn:

Have you ever taken a class that forever impacted your life?

Share your story in the comments below!

                                                                                 

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