We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gaffney Taylor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gaffney below.
Gaffney, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from knowing my priorities around goals and emotions. Half a year ago, I was answering questions in an entrepreneurial journal-style book that asked me to envision my ideal life. What would a day in my ideal life look like? What would I do? At that time, I wrote what many people may say if they were a writer or life coach– writing a great fiction book, changing people’s lives for the better, and making a difference in the world. However, something changed. I read a book that placed focus on inner fulfillment through knowing how I wanted to feel— what emotions?
By prioritizing my life around feeling good, namely–happy, free, joyous, determined— and so many more enjoyable emotions– my intentions shifted. I answered the same questions from the same workbook again half a year later, and this time, I wrote: “I want to experience happier days than sad, and when sadness comes because since it’s part of the human experience, I choose to welcome sadness into the passenger seat of life and let her go and come as she pleases–knowing the emotion is temporary and serves as a lesson that something is off in my life.” By placing more focus on inner fulfillment and less of my time and energy on external markers of success, I am no longer in a cycle of feeling like I have never accomplished enough. And here’s the thing, placing emphasis on goals isn’t a bad thing. The reason the feeling of success is so satisfying when we get it is because of the small actions and habits you built to get there. It’s in the journey of one present moment after another. What doesn’t work long term is attaching our worth to what we can achieve externally. When we move with the flow of our emotions tied to our goals with love for others, ourselves, and the planet–creativity and originality bursts from the center of us effortlessly. The older I get, the more I value time with my friends and family– while having patience with the intentions I set to live an embodied life. Thus, my resilience comes from a quiet, inner reservoir– like a fountain that overflows with what can be based on intentions set around feeling good– instead of fear based attachment to a particular outcome.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hello wonderful readers! I am Gaffney Taylor, and I identify as a multi-passionate artist, author, life coach, and aspiring educator. I focus on helping people evolve through creative expression, intuitive intelligence, and collaborative problem solving. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my time talking to you through writing, it’s that today, people are disconnected– from others, from themselves, and from their sense of place in this world. You are living this beautiful thing called life for a reason. What is the reason? What is your dharma, or life purpose? Only you know, and it may be buried beneath layers of self-doubt, societal conditioning, childhood patterns that no longer fit with who you are today, and so much more– but that’s where someone like myself comes in. To help you untangle the core knots that keep you stuck in patterns that never unbreak for the better. I ask the right questions to meet you where you’re at, whether that’s feeling or thinking based. At the end of the day, you can try to ask other people how to live your unique life path, but they are not you, so their advice most likely won’t stick. So, how do I use creative expression, intuitive intelligence, and collaborative problem solving to help people in my business? First, I teach you how to tap into your intuition through expressive arts coaching and meditation to clear out what no longer serves your higher self. In a judgement free space, you are recognized and accepted for who you are NOW– knowing that every struggle you’ve faced in life is part of the journey of metamorphosing into who you are meant to become. What else is special about my brand? I help you find the true joy and fun that creative outlets can bring to your wellbeing that you may have never thought yourself incapable of doing. I have a new project coming up, and I’m so thrilled to share it with you. One project is a podcast with two other writers on succeeding as poets and fiction writers navigating life with bipolar disorder. We hope to inspire other individuals who are new and old to a diagnosis of bipolar to pursue their life purpose and chat about literature.
If my business could be a name, I’d call it Metamorphoses with Gaffney Taylor. All aspects of life transform like the cycles of nature. Emotions come and go, life experiences come and go, relationships come and go, etc.
Life itself comes and goes, and all these cycles are here to guide and transform us into who we are meant to become if we open ourselves up to these opportunities that allow us to take a chance on ourselves. But I do believe that by releasing the attachment to perfectionist outcomes and enjoying all present moments, knowing the past is history and the future is a mystery, but the present is a wonder to be explored, this mentality helps us reach our full potential. This is when the good stuff really rolls into your life, as it has for me. And that’s what I want to encourage in others. To laugh, play, sing, dance, and be acknowledged for who they are without the pressure to be the best at everything they do. To find a sense of community with others through shared moments of learning something new about themselves and a creative modality like the ukulele or painting. Using my life coaching skillset and knowing there is more to life than experiencing low vibrational emotions and situations, my goal is to help you live the best and healthiest life you can.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Accepting that I am not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s ok, has made all the difference in living authentically. The right people find me and I find them. My rainbow hair, colorful clothes, dramatic makeup, and multitude of passions have caused people to label me as “over the top,” “getting in my own way,” and being “too much.” If anything, I think I mirror back to people who feel triggered in this way what they so seek in themselves: the choice to allow expression of their personality to shine through these barriers and masks they put up to fit in with others. I can’t put myself in a box, that would suffocate me and the love I have to give. At the end of the day, you have a choice on who you let influence you. Clear the negative energy away and walk with confidence as the person you are! I definitely do.
2. Attending to all aspects of who I am has made a key difference in my life. I recently went on a supplement called alpha brain by Onnit that I found in the vitamin section of whole foods that is stimulant and caffeine free. It improves cognitive function and focus, and it has made all the difference in my attention and brain fog when it comes to the medication side effects for my bipolar disorder. Looking for alternative supplements to help my mind and body has been so helpful.
3. Knowing that everyone is a multi-faceted diamond in the rough who has their own unique struggles they hide or dim, when really these sides to who they are when brought to the light could shine so beautifully just by seeking the right help, makes me hyper aware never to judge someone’s behavior or assume how they think or feel, because I’m not inside their head. This teaches me compassion and positivity for all life forms.
4. I want to add a quick fourth one, because I think it’s important. Avid reading opens my worldview and provides a taste of people’s opinions and life experiences from a distance, meaning I can take the time to understand their words on the page or listen to a podcast and pick and choose what I find helpful. When reading, ask yourself open-ended questions about the texts that can apply to your own life then funnel them into closed ended questions that get more specific. If anything, my curious mind has always led me down a rabbit hole of adventure and growth.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
I used to say that if I had a decade left on this earth, I’d spend it traveling the world. I’d collect vibrant flowers from all the beautiful natural places I would visit and have them by my bedside when I returned, a visual reminder of the magical memories from people and experiences that impacted me on my adventures. The beautiful floral scents and the mass of vibrant petals would surround me with my loved ones on the last day of my life. Today, I’d have to answer differently. If I had a decade to live, I’d spent it cherishing every moment–the good, pretty, messy, and ugly. I would recognize I never needed flowers by my side because I have everything I need within me already. Abundance is my natural right as a human being, and it is true abundance is yours too. When I view the present moment as a gift full of wonder, exploration, and expansion, life on the last day will feel fulfilled and peaceful. The journey and its small moments are what make the end result of anything– any goal, success, or loss in life so meaningful and feel so worthwhile when we reach it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: gaffneytaylorllc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaffney-taylor-mfa-32035a108/
- Other: Substack: Girl World Diary
Substack: The Creative Detectives Tea Club
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