We recently connected with AnnMarie Fox and have shared our conversation below.
AnnMarie, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Dealing with unhealthy friendships/relationships, economic pressure, toxic work environments, illness, negative news, and unexpected life changes has had an adverse effect on my creativity. I had to ask myself, “How did I go from being inspired and motivated to stifled and out of touch?”
The first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge that there is one. I had creator’s block due to stresses within and beyond my control. One of the best pieces of advice that I received was to never worry about issues beyond my control. I can only piece together a plan to handle issues that I can fix.
I had to walk away from people and situations that didn’t serve me. If those things and people didn’t add encouragement, peace and positivity to my life, then they had to go. Learning the art of disassociating and putting up boundaries between myself and all things that didn’t add value to my life gave me a sense of clarity. I was able to think beyond the stressors and revisit my happy place. I also had to learn to unplug from life. Taking time away from work, technology, and people to sit in solitude to remind myself of why I became passionate about what I do.
I also took time to discover new passions. As far as the issues beyond my control, I had to learn what “taking it in stride” really meant for me. For me, it means to address and ponder about how I will react to a specific issues one day at a time. I refused to think beyond the day. I had to acknowledge being present. In the moment. I can always negatively speculate about a situation that may not have the outcome I expected. I can always self-diagnose and scare myself when I’m not feeling well. I chose not to. If I don’t have an answer for something, I’m not going to force one for the sake of having one.
I learned to take my time again. That required being patient with myself. I learned to be gentle with myself. After all, it’s said that we are our own worst critics. We can also be our own biggest advocates.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an entertainer that enjoys singing, songwriting, audio engineering and performing. I’d also like to humbly mention that I have had several award wins and nominations in the past. I enjoyed choreographing and putting shows together. I’ve produced showcases and widely distributed songs and videos. I’ve also had my share of providing Business Development and Marketing services for individuals and B2B corporations.
I have been steadily focusing on taking care of those that matter most to me and quietly crafting new tunes that I look forward to sharing. I had to re-learn myself and experiment with a multitude of tools and sounds to figure out what I’m most comfortable with creatively. I feel a certain level of evolvement took place.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The top 3 qualities that were most impactful in my journey: 1) never compromising my integrity, especially if it meant taking longer to achieve my goal 2) patience and 3) being kind.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Having the healthiest personal relationships as well as the healthiest romantic relationship of my life. I credit that to finally learning what it means love myself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redfoxsings/
- Youtube: YouTube.com/AnnMarieFox
- Other: https://redfoxsings.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Photos by FocusedFoto and AMFoxEnt
