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Why It Can Be Harder for Creatives to Achieve Their Goals

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Perhaps, like me, you’re a very creative person. A dreamer. An idealist. And you have big goals and dreams you’d like to achieve. If that’s the case, I’m about to share information that will be very beneficial to you. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, this information is vital—I know so from experience.

The Dreaded Question

It was a hot, stuffy afternoon in Bangkok. We were having lunch at an outdoor food cart.

“So, how’s your business going?” asked my entrepreneur friend.

My heart accelerated. My body tensed up. I so disliked that question. “I’m getting there,” I mumbled between two bites of Pad Thai.

Almost a year before that, I had left my job and apartment in Montreal and flown to Thailand with the intention of “making it happen.” I spent that year in Thailand hustling, starting a bunch of projects and quitting them all, one after the other, most often due to being distracted by a new idea or simply losing interest. I wasn’t making any progress, and my savings were drying up.

“What’s wrong with me?” I remember thinking. The thing was that it wasn’t just that year in Thailand that was concerning; I had been hustling for five years, getting nowhere close to having a profitable business. “Why do most entrepreneurs I know have no problem building businesses, often in just a few months, and I can’t?”

I got the answer a year later.

It’s Because of Vata

A year later, I heard an Ayurvedic expert, Sahara Rose Ketabi, explain on her podcast why creatives (like me) often struggle to achieve their goals. It was one of those light-bulb moments.

Before I share this golden information with you, I think it’ll help to quickly explain what Ayurveda is.

Ayurveda is a holistic health system that comes from India. According to Ayurveda, there are three main archetypes or energy types (called “doshas”): Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each archetype has a specific set of characteristics that influence our physical health and psychology. Everyone has the three archetypes but in different proportions. We usually have one dosha or archetype that’s predominant.

Why does it matter?

Well, highly creative people tend to be predominantly Vata dosha. If you look at the characteristics of this dosha below, you’ll quickly understand why Vata can be problematic when it comes to pursuing goals.

Vata Dosha: The Creative Type

People who are predominantly Vata tend to be very “heady,” creative, and imaginative, with thousands of ideas constantly spinning in their heads like tornadoes. They may be artists, philosophers, or visionaries. They tend to be free-spirited and a bit obsessed with freedom. On top of that, they may also:

  • Change their minds often.
  • Get easily distracted and be very susceptible to “shiny object” syndrome.
  • Have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time.
  • Be massive multitaskers.
  • Get easily excited but then quickly lose interest and get bored.
  • Be good at starting projects but not at finishing them; they have difficulty following through on their ideas.
  • Be obsessed with freedom and “allergic” to structure.
  • Overthink their ideas, which commonly leads to “analysis paralysis,” anxiety, and even insomnia.

If you’re highly creative, you likely recognize yourself in some of the above. You can also already see why it can be difficult for Vata people to achieve their goals.

That being said, there are ways to make it easier for us creatives to succeed in life. The key is to enhance the qualities of the two other doshas within us. (Remember that we all have the three energies within us, just in different proportions.)

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie

Pitta Dosha: The Action-Taker

Pitta people are usually organized, active, and high achievers. They tend to have type A personalities and more self-discipline and willpower than the other archetypes, and they have no difficulty taking action and following through on their ideas. Contrary to Vata, they love structure and having routines.

On the downside, they may overwork themselves and experience burnout, and they can be impatient and controlling.

A typical Pitta person could efficiently work as a manager or CEO or be an entrepreneur. Athletes and politicians are also very Pitta.

Kapha Dosha: The Nurturer

The third archetype is Kapha. Kapha people tend to be naturally grounded and present. They are friendly and have a calm and nurturing energy. However, when their Kapha energy is out of balance (when it’s in excess), they can become lethargic and stuck.

How to Achieve Goals as Vata Dosha (the Creative Type)

Achieving goals is very Pitta. Therefore, to increase our chances of success, we must enhance the Pitta qualities within us. Plus, since Vata is very heady and prone to anxiety, it’s also essential to ground ourselves and be more present in our everyday tasks (i.e., enhance the Kapha within us).

Here are a few specific things you can do to help you achieve your goals as a creative:

  1. Make sure to write your goals down and read them every morning and night. That may be the simplest thing you can do to stay focused on your vision and avoid getting distracted. Although this strategy is beneficial to everyone, it is critical for highly creative people to achieve their goals.
  2. You can also write down why each goal is important to you and the benefits you’ll gain from achieving each goal; that will help you stay motivated and not lose interest in the middle of a project (it’ll help you follow through).
  3. Write down your top three priorities for the following day sometime the night before. Make sure to tackle those first. Vata people tend to be all over the place, and staying focused on what moves the needle is essential to make our goals come true.
  4. Practice ‘just in time’ learning—only feed your mind information you plan on using and implementing right away. This will reduce the risk of information overload and the feelings of anxiety that come with it.
  5. Try committing to one primary project at a time (or one idea or strategy) and finish it before starting a new one. Finishing what we start is an important habit to develop for success.
  6. Have an accountability buddy, join a mastermind, or hire a coach. It’ll help you stay focused on your goals and progress faster.
  7. Avoid multitasking. I know how difficult this can be for us Vata. I can eat lunch while watching a YouTube video and searching for something on the Internet all at the same time. But that’s just not efficient.
  8. Ground yourself daily, whether it’s by going for a walk in nature, practicing yoga, or doing breathing exercises or any other mindfulness practice you enjoy.

These Strategies Will Increase Your Chances of Success

Some highly creative people have enough Pitta energy to achieve their goals without too much difficulty. However, for very Vata people like me, it can be challenging to progress toward our vision. Thankfully, there are ways to make it easier on ourselves.

After years of inefficient hustle, I finally managed to become a location-independent entrepreneur. However, the journey was painful, and I wish I had known about Ayurveda ten years ago—it would have made my life so much easier!

I hope this information can serve you well, too.

Emilie is a certified life coach, spiritual entrepreneur, and creator from Canada (currently living in Mexico). She specializes in helping people clarify their purpose and make a profit from it (on their terms). You can get her free guide, “The Fastest Way to Uncover Your Purpose and Calling” or connect with her through her website consciousoriginals.com.

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Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

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How to grow a brick and mortar store
Image Credit: Midjourney

In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
Image Credit: Midjourney

Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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