Day 216: Dee Dee Remington
“I found over the years the way to keep me going for my potential is looking for that next challenge. What’s going to stretch me? What’s going to make me just a little … it’s going to be a little uncomfortable, but when I get to that point, and when I reach up for that fruit and grab it and it’s in my hand, I’m going to go ‘Wow, that was great.’”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Dee Dee, for agreeing to be part of the Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Dee Dee Remington: I sure will. My name is Dee Dee Remington. I live in Portland, Oregon. I’m a creativity coach, owner of Okay, Let’s Go Creativity Coaching Services. I’m a costume designer, hat maker — or milliner, for the fancier term — and I also teach millinery because I absolutely love hats and that whole form of expression. I’m a writer, a crafter, and founder of the Campaign for Creativity to Banish Negativity.
Toni: Well, gosh, Dee Dee, that’s one heck of a bio there, fantastic! So Dee Dee, when you think of the word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Dee Dee: Who do I inspire? Well, people tell me that I inspire them by being the most creative person they know. The sheer volume and the quantity of what I create on a daily or weekly basis, people tell me that inspires them. I also love to seek out new ways and learn new things and new forms of creative expression and ways to express myself, and that process inspires people.
A lot of people tell me that I make creativity and embracing that process … I make it look fun and easy. I take all the fear out of it for them, because I’m kind of … I’m fairly serious in my creative expression. I’m almost childlike in the aspect that I just create what I want to create, I use the expressions, the forms, the mediums that I want to create in, and I just blatantly send it out into the world. And really honestly, I don’t care who is looking. But I love it, you know, when people are looking and they get inspired.
I know also that there’s always fans and critics, but bottom line, I don’t let that get in the way of what I want to create. So that inspires people, just to kind of fearlessly go out and try it, you know? If they fall on their face, they’re fine; get up and try something else.
Toni: So when you … the work that you do and this example that you’re setting by the creativity that you generate and that’s out there in these quantities and this no fear that you have, who finds you? Who are these people that you’re inspiring?
Dee Dee: People that … well, I inspire other artists and other people that are crafting, creating. Portland’s got a really outstanding crafting community, so a lot of people feed off of that. Also, just people who are … a lot of people that I attract are people who are really timid about their creativity, and I’ve been in that place where I’ve just sat in a cubicle and I thought “There’s got to be something better than just entering data and answering phones.”
You know, that’s an important part of life and keeps businesses going, but there’s another part of me that’s aching to get out and just … there’s a lot of people that approach me that are so timid about their creativity, but then they watch me and it’s like “Well maybe if I just, you know, take a baby step here, maybe I can open that door, maybe I can walk through it a little bit.”
I talk to a lot of people who really don’t think of themselves as being creative, which is silly, because we’re all creative. But they come to me and work with me and start discovering that, yes, they’re creative and, yes, what they have to express and what they have to say is very important.
Toni: And how do you think that translates all that you do into helping people to explore their own potential?
Dee Dee: Well, I think our creativity is like a light force, and it’s a driving … I think most of us … well, I think all of us have a driving need to create, whether we recognize it or not. And with that, tapping into our creativity and walking into that fearlessly. And I do coach people to explore that, you know, those sides of themselves. What do they want to create? What is their art?
Through that, it opens up so many doors and opens up so many ideas and opens up so many pathways that they never even thought were there for them. And from there they can start looking at “Well, maybe I want to walk down this path because that looks like it really resonates with me – that’s where my life is, that’s where my passion is.” That’s hitting their potential.
Toni: Absolutely. What inspires you?
Dee Dee: Oh, information. Information. And also the fact that there is so much information out there that I can get overloaded, but the big piece behind all that information is that willingness to share. There is so much information out there in the world, in the internet, that when I’m lacking for something or an idea or I need to figure something out, there’s people out there sharing. And that inspires me — the fact that they’re fearless and what they discovered and here, it’s free for you to take. Use it as you will. I’ll find a little kernel of information somewhere, and it may not relate to something that I’m working on, but I’ll put it into that project.
You know, I never limit the connection that information can have, so information inspires me totally. I’m also, oddly enough, inspired by animals. I’m also an animal advocate on top of everything else that I do, and I’m really … I’m inspired by their movements, how they interact in life, how they live their lives. I’m fortunate to have two cats that I live with that are very inspirational. They keep me in the moment, which is, I think, key to finding inspiration and being able to create fully and stay in the moment. So I find inspiration from information, and animals provide inspiration, and other people provide inspiration, and so that’s how I get inspired.
Toni: So when you are maybe having a day that, you know, you’re reaching for a little bit of inspiration — and you said sometimes you will go and you will seek information to fuel that a bit — are there other tools or resources that you tend to reach for on a consistent basis?
Dee Dee: Well, I find if I’m having like a block or not feeling inspired, I take a few minutes and check in with myself and figure out where I’m at, where I’m living. If I’m living too much in the future or living too much in the past, then I’m pulled out of the present moment, so I’m not going to find inspiration. I find the minute I step out of the present moment, my inspiration goes; it’s gone. I’m not in tune to finding anything.
And, I think stepping into the past or the future creates blocks because, in there, I think we find our fear and that builds up a block, and then inspiration stops, so it’s kind of a spiral that happens. So I always stop when I’m not feeling inspired or I’m feeling like I don’t know how to handle this; the first thing I do is I stop and I check in. Where have I been living? Have I been living too much in the past or too much in the present, or not in the present but in the future, and not enough in the present? So I always just check in.
Sometimes it takes … you know, if I’m way … spun way out, you know, either in the past or the future, then I have to sit down and do some meditation or yoga or even just simply go for a walk to clear my head and pull myself in. That’s my focus. You’ve got to pull yourself into the here and now.
Toni: That at times can require a lot of discipline and a lot of work to stay in that present moment. What have you done to realize that that’s the most important thing for you to do, to be creative, is to stay in that moment? Did you always know that, or was that a learning that evolved? What happened to get you there?
Dee Dee: That was a huge learning piece. The first piece that happened to me was I started unfolding, and unfolding the creativity and unfolding the process of creating and just saying “Okay, I’m not going to be afraid of this, I’m going to go for this,” not realizing that what I was doing was actually being very present, very right now, and just … I could just go merrily along creating and then these blocks would start forming, and things would start happening that would prevent me from getting to being able to express myself.
It took me many years to realize, and I’m just within the last, you know, year or so realizing that how incredibly important being in the here and now is. And you’re right, it takes a lot of discipline. It’s probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in my life. One comment my husband made years ago to me, he said “I get nervous when you get into a car, because I know you’re always thinking about the next project or the one that you just finished.”
And you know, that shed a lot of light on how I worked, because it was like I wasn’t … I don’t know how I created, because I wasn’t in the minute. I wasn’t right there. I was always thinking “Well, when I get this done, I’m going to be here, or I should have done this to this,” you know? And if I would have done … going back or moving forward and never in the moment, I’ve had to develop little tricks to stay, like I said, clearing my brain, stopping and saying “Where are you? Where have you been living? Because this is becoming a struggle. Where have you been living?” And then kind of flipping back and going “No, you haven’t been living in the present, you’ve been living … thinking about the next thing or the past thing, so let’s get present here,” and really taking that time to pull myself into the present.
Toni: Thank you for sharing that, because there’s a lot of people that want to do that but are not sure how to do that, so I really appreciate that information. And the final question of the Project is, what do you do to explore your own potential?
Dee Dee: I challenge myself. I constantly am seeking out kind of that higher fruit up on the way branches, you know? Part of the thing with the Campaign for Creativity to Banish Negativity, it’s a challenge – it’s a yearlong challenge that I’ve established where I’m doing a creative project a week and blogging about it and blogging about the creative process that I go through. And sometimes it hasn’t been a fun week, and sometimes I wanted to say the hell with it. And if you’re trying to banish negativity by using your creativity, coming up with a “hell with it” attitude isn’t going to be … or throwing things across the room isn’t how you do that.
And so, you know, I found over the years the way to keep me going for my potential is looking for that next challenge. What’s going to stretch me? What’s going to make me just a little … it’s going to be a little uncomfortable, but when I get to that point, and when I reach up for that fruit and grab it and it’s in my hand, I’m going to go “Wow, that was great.”
Toni: I just want to clarify on something here. When you … this challenge sounds wonderful, and we will have a link at the bottom of your interview on how people can view what you’re doing and take part in it if they choose to, but banishing negativity – how do you practice staying positive and creative when you really do want to throw something across the room? How do you overcome that?
Dee Dee: Again, again, it’s stopping yourself from doing that. I mean, I come from … a lot of people say “Oh, you’re so bubbly and you’re so … you’ve got so much energy, and you’re so positive about everything,” and it’s like … and “You’re almost like a Pollyanna.” It’s like, that was hard earned; I did not come from that. I come from a background of being very negative, very angry, very … I know how to throw a plate across a room and make it smash. I come from that background.
It’s making a conscious decision that you want to change something, that that’s not where you want to be. It’s easy to live in the negativity. It’s easy to live in a place where you’re just kind of wallowing in the junk. It’s really easy to be there, and there’s lots of people that will join in with you.
It’s harder to come up and say, you know, “There’s something better than that. There’s something … there’s a better frame of mind that’s going to be healthier, that’s going to keep me living longer, that’s going to keep me curious, that’s going to keep me just living … feeling like I’m alive and not just dragging through life but really just kind of pacing, having this wonderful pace in life,” and just feeling like you’re connected to everything — people, animals, nature, higher power, everything just comes … an ease. It’s an ease, but it takes a really strong, conscious decision. It’s a lot of discipline. It takes a lot of discipline, and it takes a lot of forgiveness of yourself, because you’re not going to be perfect.
You can make the decision “I’m going to shift this frame of mind, and I’m not going to dwell on the negative.” It’s almost like saying “Don’t think about elephants,” because then all of a sudden I’m thinking about elephants. So it’s being … it’s embracing that “Okay, I am being … I do want to throw this across the room. Is there a better way to respond?” It’s standing in that place of choice, you know?
And it goes back to what I was saying earlier, you know, when I’m not inspired. I can stand there and go “Well, I’ll just live in the future” or “I’ll just live in the present. Yeah, I’ll just be there,” and not pull myself into the present moment where I know that’s where all the juice is and that’s where all the goodness is.
And it’s the same thing with the positive energy. I find … you know, there’s many years where I responded negatively to people and angrily to people. And over the years of making that conscious decision that that’s not how I wanted to be and that’s not what I wanted in my life, I’ve been able to reflect back and, you know, now that I’m responding positively and now that I’m looking for “Let’s get rid of the negativity and let’s look for positive solutions on things and creative solutions on things,” I just feel there’s an ease in my life.
And you know, I come up with … you know, there’s challenges, there’s difficulties. It’s not all a sunny day, but it’s easier to address them when you’ve got … it’s easier to address them when you’re positive about them and when there’s a lighter note to them and when things are fun than it is to look at it and go “Well, this is just garbage. I can’t move forward from this. I’ll just wallow here; I’ll just sit in the mud.”
Toni: Absolutely. You’ve given so much great information here and great advice, and very … I have to thank you for being very honest about it, because there’s certain words that come to mind when I’m interviewing people for this Project, and I wrote down, you know, forgiveness and shifting your frame of mind to embracing change of heart, and practice. And I would imagine by doing that … that’s also what you do for others when you’re inspiring them to be creative and to be fearless and passionate about their creativity. I just see that going hand-in-hand with you.
Dee Dee: Well, I’ve been told it does, and I feel that it does, and I see the results with the clients that I work with. That’s a buzz for me when they come to me and they say “Well, my life is garbage.” And it’s like “What do you want?” And we start doing the coaching practice and working through it, and then there’s that shift that happens, and they’re off on this positive path and things … and they stop.
And you know, we have moments where we have the celebration call where they’re looking at “Well, six months ago, I was here. But look where I am now, and look at all this …” and they’ve got this energy and they’ve got this vibrancy and they’ve got this life, and it’s like … and they’re going out and creating wonderful things in their lives — which is contributing to my life, which is contributing to your life, which is contributing to, you know, everybody’s life.
I think that’s the thrust of the Campaign, basically people asking “How do I do this?” Well, it’s disciplining yourself in how you feel you want to be disciplined. If you want to do a creative project every week, that’s great. If you want to just smile at people every day, that’s great. You decide, and we move forward on it.
Toni: Thank you so much for sharing everything that you have today and being part of this Project. We really appreciate your time, Dee Dee. It’s been a wonderful interview.
Dee Dee: Well thank you, Toni. I’ve just … you know, I love … as you see, I get kind of wired up about creativity and the creativity process, so …
Toni: No, it’s fantastic!
Dee Dee: I thank you for the opportunity. I thank you for the great work you’re doing, because it is … you’re creating ripples in the pond as well, so thank you.
Toni: You’re welcome. Take care, Dee Dee. Hopefully, we’ll meet again.
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For more information about Dee Dee Remington: www.deedeeremington.com
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