My Cozy, Creative Year of Yes
Saying Yes to Radical Authenticity
This past Sunday, I hosted a “cook and create” night at my house. And when I say “cook,” I mean I microwaved Trader Joe’s meals. And when I say “create” I mean four hours of me and my bestie wasting time, cracking jokes, and getting distracted every two minutes, followed by a solid hour of actually sharing ideas.
When it was my turn to share what I’d been working on, I handed her a printed list of more than two hundred essay ideas. I was so proud. Beaming. Practically vibrating. I was grinning so big I looked insane.
“Yeah, my readers are gonna LOVE these!” I announced, waiting for her to also form a smile that made her look like a lunatic.
But she didn’t. She stared at the paper. Flipped it over. Looked closer, then squinted.
“First of all… what in the ADHD?! You do not need to plan this far ahead,” she said. “And second of all…” She hesitated, flipped the pages again, then looked at me.
“Ice… these are horrible.”
“HORRIBLE?!” I tried not to scream.
“Yes. Horrible.”
“Horrible?!”
“Yes. Babe. Horrible.”
(This went on for longer than I care to admit.)
Finally I asked, “Okay, what’s horrible about it?!”
“Don’t start crying,” she warned, “But baby… ChatGPT could’ve written these. I mean, I know they’re not Chat because I know you….but I don’t see you in any of this.”
I snatched the pages back (playfully… mostly) and scanned the list. She was right. Nothing was unique to me. The ideas looked like:
10 Ways to Be More Productive
How to Start Your Creative Routine
New Year Goal-setting 101
Finding Balance in Your Creative Life
How to Overcome Creative Blocks
My ideas weren’t horrible, but they were hollow. Empty. Devoid of all things Isis. A bunch of Instagram-reels-coded crap masquerading as depth. They were simply the kind of ideas you come up with when you’ve spent the past seven years scrolling, too much time listening to what “works,” and instead of listening to yourself. They were the kind of essays designed to be saved, shared, or commented on… They were everything except me.
And that’s the part that stung. It hurt to realize my girl was right. I could look at that list and barely find my own fingerprints. My voice was missing. My perspective was watered down.
I hate what Instagram did to me. Or, more specifically, what the coaching environment on Instagram did to me.
I love serving. I love teaching. I love supporting creative people. But somewhere along the way, I started creating with an audience-first brain, always imagining how something would look on a feed instead of how it felt in my body. I started writing with a performance-first voice, a “make this quick” instinct, a “will-this-sell?” reflex instead of my heart.
I stopped asking, What does God need me to say?
And started asking, What will my audience want to hear?
And that’s the problem. When you create for other people first, creativity stops being fun and starts feeling like a job you can never clock out of.
I’ve decided this year is going to be different for me. I want this year and beyond to feel hearty, rich, warm, grounding, and super cozy—like a thick pot of chili on an icy winter day!! Like a hug from your momma when you’re sick!! The kind of year that fills you up, makes you feel twinkles inside, and reminds you of who the heck you are!!
This revelation reminded me of Romans 12:2 that says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
In this case, the “patterns of this world” are hustle, performance, algorithms, approval, and a “will this sell” consumerism mindset. So, I’m using this next year to finish deprogramming from instagram and to renew my mind DAILY!
This means:
Less consuming
Less planning
Less algorithm thinking
Less comparison
Less “is this good for engagement?”
And more:
Scripture
Slowness
Silence
Journaling
Wonder
Play
Coziness
Books that make my heart feel full
Conversations that feel warm and deep
Writing what I feel called to write ONLY
This year is my Cozy, Creative Year of Yes. Not a productivity year, and certainly not a hustle year. This is a year wrapped in warmth, softness, and complete authenticity. A year where creativity doesn’t come from pressure or performance but from presence with Christ. A year where I listen inward before I look outward. A year where I treat my creativity like a companion, not an obligation.
I’m going to take off the hard, structured, Instagram-teacher hat I’ve been wearing for years (the one that makes me talk in slides and bullet points), and put on a cozy, plush, slightly-lopsided creative hat instead. The fun hat!! The “true me” hat!! The “let’s just see what happens” hat. The hat that makes me feel like I’m sitting cross-legged, reading my Bible in a bed of flowers on a warm summer day in Martha’s Vineyard!
I said before that my “daily yes” would become daily devotionals, and as cute and holy as that sounded… that wasn’t actually created with me in mind at all. That was me thinking, “What can I give them?” instead of asking, “What do I need to write that will help me devote my creativity to God each day?” Some days that answer will be a devotional. Some days it will just be journaling. Some days it will be a messy note about inching from aspiring romance novelist to 3x published author. Some days it’ll be introspective reflections like this.
So if anyone was looking forward to a devotional every single day, I’m sorry. I really am. But, I’m growing out loud this year. No more chasing perfection. No more showing up completely polished. I’m figuring it out this new life too; because being a full-time entrepreneur and being a full-time creative are totalllyyyyy different. But, we get to sit in the figuring-togetherness of it all.
My yes also looks like nourishing my creative life instead of squeezing the life out of it. Rereading books that make me laugh instead of hopping into another “100 books in a year challenge”. Journaling until my hand says stop instead of trying to fit it into 30 minute increments. Allowing myself to write ugly first drafts that no one will ever see. Sending voice notes to my friends at 5am saying, “Is this idea creative or chaotic?” and giggling when they reply, “Both.”
And finally, my Cozy, Creative Year of Yes looks like building sustainable momentum toward the one thing I keep getting called back to: finishing my romance novel, because gone are the days of having 12,000 goals — chaos is not cozy!! One project. One year.
That’s how I’m making this my Cozy, Creative Year of Yes; with softness, authenticity, honesty, God, creative nourishment, one book to finish, and a whole lot of warmth and courage.
💭 Share Your Story: Leave a thoughtful comment about your own experience with reconnecting with yourself! This community grows stronger when we share authentically.
P.S. You might notice me making some updates to The Daily Yes! If I’m going to be authentically me, that means being my colorful, groovy, loud self that I was often told is “too much”!!
This! I’ve always struggled with posting things because I know it will do well, to what I actually feel led to say and it always has to fit it an algorithm or search engine. It really makes me discouraged when it comes to showing up and at the end of the day, it’s to impact who God has called me to serve and be in obedience to him
Now this.! This right here...is everything everyone should generally follow. Yes we have to serve BUT they really want what WE have to offer. That's what makes them reel in, learn new things, change, say things things like "oooo I like that. Give me more." Yes we give what they want but we have to give us first. If we don't, it will be the same old thing, no new "trends" or complete change.