thecreativeverse creativity is our human superpower.
Welcome to my Substack Notes — a collection of near daily shorter insights on topics that I’m interested in or inspired to reflect on deeper!
For those who lean strongly into constructive self-criticism / self-evaluation, make sure you celebrate the days when you can extend greater compassion, gentleness and even patience to yourself and others.
Criticism comes naturally to many of us and that’s not necessarily a bad thing — it’s a tool for evaluation, analysis and for many self-improvement. But used too often or too sharply, it can sting far more than help. Especially when it’s chasing perfection at the expense of what’s meant to be real, even messy.
So a daily practice: As you experience your day, notice when you’re in self-criticism mode. Take a moment to pause, and find the spaces to soften your approach within it.
Sometimes the moment simply calls for your presence and heart. No self-improvement on the agenda. Just you, here, now with yourself or those who need you.
Other times it’s about creating a new approach altogether. Perhaps one that still seeks refinement but in a more loving, compassionate, heartfelt way.
Here’s to celebrating the corners we soften. 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Compassionate Growth
Constructive Criticism
Time does seem to take on greater significance when it doesn’t seem so abundant anymore doesn’t it?
Maybe that’s the much-needed lesson aging offers us.
If each moment is made richer and fuller because we have less of it, how would we love? Who would we be? 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Time Offers Us A Gift
Life & Time
How will you know your person or people? They will stay through the hard stuff by choice.
Even when you’re both in challenging or difficult cycles individually and together. Even when there appears to be much distance between you. Even when there is still healing, trust and safety to build both ways. They will stay.
Sometimes you have to start with the challenging stuff first before you can get to the good stuff, the treasure that was always yours to have.
So trust in the journey, use your discernment and follow what calls you within. The foundation is strong, the bond, even stronger.
In case you’ve forgotten, you’re worth it. 💗
– Carmen Iglesias
Your People
Your Circle, Your Tribe
This is your gentle reminder that you are doing the best you can.
To simply wake up and show up — for yourself and/or for others, is already a win itself. Sometimes we can do more than that. Sometimes that’s all we can do. And that’s good enough.
We often hold ourselves to these impossible standards, expecting to be our best at everything, and at every moment. But that’s an unyielding measuring stick, and when it meets reality, it causes us all kinds of heartache. Because we can’t possibly give our all every single moment. Sometimes we need to pause. To breathe. To rest. To ask for a helping hand, and that’s ok. That’s ok to ask for help from the people who can offer it.
As someone who found this hard to do in the past, I’m committed now to being more realistic about what I can do without over-sacrificing. And I’m committed to being more gentle with myself when I need help. And more open to asking for help earlier, instead of waiting until I’m burnt out, with an empty cup.
We’re not machines and we definitely don’t have all the answers — we’re not meant to. We’re also not meant to be perfect. We are human beings meant to grow in our struggles, and shine when it’s time. We get tired. We lose direction. We get confused. We fall short. We have no idea what we’re doing most of the time and that can get messy. But it’s meant to be messy. That’s part of the journey, part of the adventure.
So give yourself some love and a much-needed break when you can, as you move through it all. You deserve it. We all deserve it.🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Doing the Best You Can
Self-Love / Self-Care
I think it’s worth being reminded, as I’ve been reminding myself today, that it’s ok when we make mistakes, we’re not perfect. To be human is to accept that.
Because we’re all going to have those days…
Days when you fall short of what you expect of yourself or fall short of what others need from you. There will be days when you do less than a stellar job of standing up for yourself or even taking basic care of yourself. There will be days when you put yourself last or when you drive yourself so hard you burn out. There will be days when you unintentionally hurt another person with your words or with your actions. There will be many days when you don’t show up as the person you thought you were or want to be.
For me it’s accepting the humanness of it all: making mistakes, falling short, messing up as a part of life. But it’s what I do next that makes all the difference. Do I let the issue stay as it is or do I take it on, let it grow me and help me show up better for myself and others? Do I let this moment make me more or less?
How I meet myself in every moment: great ones, good ones, not so good ones, is the choice I get to make. And how I let that shape me into a wiser, kinder and ultimately more human version of myself is where the greatest growth lies.
A lifelong practice, not perfect but enough.🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Mistakes, Imperfections, Growth
Personal Growth
Where do you thrive? Do you thrive singularly focused on one thing for the long term or multi-focused on multiple things or maybe even a combination of the two?
Here’s why this question is important: Too often in our society we’re taught that the first option is the standard: focusing on one calling, developing that one goal, committing to one talent, one role or personality aspect. And that’s ok. But what if that’s not how you’re wired?
What if you thrive in multitude or multi-potentiality? What if you thrive in range and breadth: multiple callings, multiple talents, multiple roles and aspects. Not all at once but with the potentials there to pick up when the season and cycle is right? Or what if you thrive in singular focus for a season and then find your calling to expand? That should be ok too.
All too often we try to force each other into a specific model not realizing that when we do that for too long, we limit our path and how we show up. And that translates into a potential mismatch: trying to fit somewhere that doesn’t fit you and feeling too much wherever you are.
Instead, we should allow all the ways we thrive to co-exist, to breathe. If we thrive in multitude, that should be ok. If you ask a young kid what they want to be when they grow up and they tell you: a chemist, an archaeologist, and an astronaut, that should be ok. You may have a multi-potentialite on your hands — so let them explore, experiment and find their way in the multiple paths that call.
I think that’s what we owe ourselves now and to the new generations born and growing up in this era — a world where they can be themselves, exactly as they are and still thrive.
Here’s to creating a better world for them and us. 🤍💗
– Carmen Iglesias
Where do you thrive?
Thriving in Multiple Ways
Sometimes our greatest growth partners are each other.
And as you connect more within and trust what you’re receiving, you will know who (besides yourself) is worth fighting for, growing for and becoming whole for, even when the cycles and circumstances may be difficult in some ways.
Sometimes those cycles are long and challenging because much inner work and/or healing may be needed for all and that’s ok. The people for you will stay by your side, grow with you, do the work with you or hold your hand as best they can.
As long as you’re following your inner wisdom, your discernment, and you’re open to the work needed, you will always be guided towards what’s most needed and the highest, most creative, loving path.
You are worthy of this for yourself, for your own growth, and for those you love.
To ourselves and our magnificent people, deeply loved, forever worth it all and more. 🤍💗🦋
– Carmen Iglesias
Growth, Change, Love
Growing with our people
Meander 🥰…. a new word to be added to my favorite words list today. And a lovely practice, one I’ve definitely done — I’ve definitely meandered and still do.
It’s a lovely practice especially for those often overly bound and constrained by time, responsibilities and pressures. A beautiful way to just practice breath, space, and presence — calming the internal productivity taskmaster/to-do clock. And a great reminder that you can actually make space for what matters when you slow down.
Not every moment needs an act of doing, a plan or an outcome immediately. Sometimes they need to evolve or just be and that’s good enough. Meander away. 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
To Meander
Slowdown to Live Fully
How do you handle change that has no reference point in your experience?
Here’s a question for you to ponder:
When you have a completely unique experience, something with no map, no precedent, nothing to compare it to, do you:
❓ ignore it because you’re afraid of what it may become,
❓ try to force it into something familiar,
❓ or let your instinct, your gut, your intuition guide you forward, even if it’s toward something completely new and different?
Why is this important now?
It’s important because many of us are undergoing a kind of deep transformation that’s redefining everything we thought was set in stone — our roles and expectations, our systems, ways of being, doing and showing up for ourselves and others. And that transformation may mean the familiar no longer fits what’s changing and something new must be born.
But rather than get stuck or overwhelmed by what may be rapidly transforming, a helpful approach is always to stay tapped into your inner compass as you change.
Because your inner compass will always make sure you’re moving in the right direction, the direction of your highest path — no matter how unfamiliar the terrain around you is.
So if you’re here, stay connected as you change and keep moving forward. 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Dealing with Unprecedented Change
Stay Connected to the Map Within
“Library” Here is where people one frequently finds, lower their voices and raise their minds. ~ Richard Armour
– Carmen Iglesias
Library
Reading, Thinking, Creating
Sometimes the win is not always how someone or the world receives you or gives back to you but how you show up.
If you find yourself showing up for others and the world in full presence and alignment with who you are, in genuine whole-hearted, meaningful ways. If you find yourself leading more from wholeness rather than wounds, or inner truth rather than external expectations or external validation, that’s a cause for celebration.
If you still find a way to show up this way, even if it means some may consider you to be too much, too intense or you risk being minimized or misunderstood — that’s still something to be proud of.
In a world that to our detriment, too often prizes conformity over inherent uniqueness, accomplishment over inner development, and has convinced us, many of us, there is not enough possibility, opportunity, expressions of love possible, or that they must exist in a specific form — doing the work to find coherence within yourself and living from that place, is a profound win indeed.
So if you’re finding yourself here, remember to celebrate that. The work itself to get you here, is the win.🤍
I’ve been exploring coherence and my own journey working towards it as part of my podcast Ep2: The Healing Journey. Join me there if so inspired.
– Carmen Iglesias
Coherence
How do you show up?
Music for Those Who Listen
Earth, Nature, Beauty
Glimmers — the little things you notice throughout the day that immediately make you feel better, even when you’re not feeling your best. I love them. What a gift throughout the day.
But there’s a kind of glimmer we may not always count as one and it’s actually one of my favorites: the unexpected glimmers created for you or by you. The playful, mischievous glimmers that bring you whimsy in the most memorable ways.
It’s the game of tag started by a loved one that’s now a nightly routine. It’s the sweetly impromptu flute concert your tour guide gave at the top of an overlook. It’s the slow clap you started after a brutally long team meeting, which somehow became the standard sign-off — ridiculous, silly and beloved by the team. The game of bingo where the prize you cheekily discovered was your own stuff.
These are the glimmers created by you or by others, just by being open and playful with each present moment — saying yes to the silly and yes to the surprises life brings. The glimmers you remember that become well-loved stories and memories. Because they didn’t just bring you joy, they also became an unexpected memory you get to share, be grateful for and that still makes you smile. And those types of glimmers are just as powerful as the profound ones you notice on your own.
To a lifetime of glimmers of all kinds.🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Glimmers
To a Lifetime of Glimmers
You heal so that you can see yourself and show up for yourself. So that you can free yourself from the burdens you no longer need to carry.
You heal to live — full, complete and whole.
If you’re here, my congratulations to you. That consistent inner work is always worth it.
Now let’s go live. Slowly but surely. 🤍💗
– Carmen Iglesias
Heal to Live
Slowly but Surely
Ready? Go Anyway
Keep Moving
Oh we got some work to do don’t we … 🌍 Restarting my Leadership, Innovation and World Change writings at http://thecrv.com. Stay tuned!
– Carmen Iglesias
Leadership, Innovation, Change
Architects
We all go through seasons where we don’t feel like we belong. I had two of these growing up — times I felt too different, too shy, too serious, too quiet. But looking back, both showed me the same thing in different ways: being genuine comes first, and belonging is not the same as fitting in (thank you, Brené Brown).
In the first, I showed up as myself, and the environment couldn’t meet me. In fact it let me know how different I was, so I met myself instead and became my company. That solitude actually became a gift. I started writing poetry, reading extensively, making art (good enough to enter competition). I got comfortable with my own company and found talents I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.
In the second, I tried to fit in and it didn’t work. I tried molding myself into what I thought the environment wanted and instead, that made me guarded and not really present. But the moment I stopped trying to fit in and showed up as myself instead, the doors of connection opened. And surprisingly, my openness gave everyone else permission to show up as themselves too. It wasn’t a mismatch after all — I just needed to show up as who I actually was.
The greater lesson, is that we always belong to ourselves first. When we try to fit in, as we’re so often pressured to, we lose connection to who we are and what we offer. But our story is not about fitting in, it’s about showing up as we are as best we can. And when you do that, the environment changes to meet you, not the other way around. When it can’t, you still survive, because either way, you always meet yourself first — with something to learn along the way. 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
Belonging
Belonging to Ourselves First
One thing I love seeing more of in this era is the return to individual passions and interests. So many of us get weighed down by daily roles, responsibilities, and obligations that we forget the power of staying connected to the things that make us uniquely us.
I remember a mentor once asking what interests I had outside of my circumstances, my role. I couldn’t answer. It shocked me. But at the time, I was doing what a lot of us do — letting the role, the responsibilities, become more important than the things that keep us connected to ourselves, the things that make us curious, adventurous, playful. Sometimes we trade that excitement for duties and obligations, allowing our circumstances to define us, then wonder where the spark went. Sometimes that’s unavoidable for a time until we can pick it back up again.
So this is a gentle reminder: remember to pick it back up again, remember what you love. Play in that arena as often as you can. If you love writing, squeeze in a 30-minute session today. If music inspires you, pull out the instrument and jam or get those song lyrics from your head and heart to paper. If you love singing, squeeze in an impromptu karaoke-athon today. If you love art, book that art museum visit or grab some supplies from the nearest reuse store and start creating.
Our passions are facets of ourselves, like the facets of a prism. They are not something optional to be taken up later but part of the real work to remain connected to the wholeness of who we actually are underneath all the roles and responsibilities. Losing them opens the door to losing connection to yourself — and it happens to almost everyone at some point. So do the best you can to keep it alive. 🤍
❓Your Turn: What would you say if someone asked you today: what interests or passions keep you curious, adventurous, connected?
Share your answers in the comments if so inspired.
– Carmen Iglesias
Passions & Interests
Staying Connected to You
In alignment with who you truly are, what you truly want and your adventurous crew by your side. What a ride indeed!
To grand adventures and great stories ahead.
You survived, you did the work — we deserve it. 🤍
– Carmen Iglesias
To Grand Adventures
A New Chapter
To those who have been with us from the beginning, or the early years — thank you.
We get so wrapped up in big change cycles sometimes — new chapters, new versions of ourselves that we sometimes lose sight of the incredibly special support system that’s been there the whole time.
Whether it’s family, friends, or both, how lucky we are to have people who have kept showing up when it mattered. Not just in word but in action — time and again.
This is the team that’s been there from the start. They may not have always had the exact thing we needed — but they gave what they had, and that was enough.
So when you get a chance, if you haven’t already — thank and celebrate your OG support system.
The ones who’ve been with you through every version of you, and who’ll be part of your story for many more.
To those in our corner, treasured always. 🤍💗
– Carmen Iglesias
To Loved Ones in Our Corner
Thank You
Things rarely go exactly as expected, planned or dreamed. That’s life, and it’s something we have to learn to be okay with.
What matters is how we respond when life throws curveballs.
I’ve learned the best course of action for me (and sometimes the only thing that keeps me going), is what one of my favorite poet’s Emily Dickinson beautifully inspires us to which is to dwell in possibility.
That way, we’re not brought down by detours, mishaps, shortfalls, even loss. Instead, we’re buoyed by what can still be, what different shapes are possible.
Dwelling in possibility to me means finding potential in the doors that remain open, or finding new ones altogether. It means asking: what’s still possible, even if it deviates from the original? What creativity lies in this place? And releasing expectations so the new can emerge and unfold.
It’s a shift into imagination and potential. And when you make that shift, you become something I love the word for: a possibilitarian.
Because the possibilities are there, and they’re immense. Just keep your heart and mind open to them, and you will see them there.
To possibilities. 🤍💗
– Carmen Iglesias
Dwelling in Possibility
Be a Possibilitarian