We've had enough of a taste and glimpse of being both creative and happy to know what we love and want more of, and what we don't like and need less of.

The problem is getting through all the surface clutter and down to the pure source of that knowledge.

We're each unique in our creativity, and so we each have a different recipe for a creative and happy life.

But there are some basic ingredients that are needed for everyone's recipe.

Today we're going to focus on one of the most important.

Being recognised and appreciated are essential for a life of creativity and happiness.

What do we mean then by "recognised and appreciated"?

As creative people, as artists, we need to feel at a deep level that our work has some purpose.

We need to know that what we create - and therefore our creative life itself - has some point and some meaning.

Part of this comes from within ourselves.

Someone with very high self esteem, huge levels of motivation and endless courage can quite happily produce creative work in complete isolation.

They can comfortably rely on themselves and their "inner rudder" to guide them to through the right decisions, the right projects, the right areas of focus for the creative energy.

But that's not what most of us are like.

The majority of us need constant recognition, acknowledgement and affirmation from others around us, those we trust, admire and respect.

We need to hear:

"Wow, that's amazing. For me it's the most powerful and emotive abstract work you've produced yet."

"Eighteen months after their debut, this new record is even more ambitious, more rewarding and truly stirs the human soul."

"You've written a quality article every week for the last 3 months, that's great going, well done."

And sometimes just:

"I really admire how you've chosen to live a creative life and follow your talents and your calling."

What happens when we don't get recognised and acknowledged?

We feel we're beating our heads against a wall. We wonder why we bother to create anything when no-one ever sees it or takes pleasure.

We wonder if our work is any good, or if we're making any progress at all.

We may even create our own version of the famous riddle: "If a tree falls in a forest and there's no-one around to hear it, does it still make it sound?"

"If I create and there's no-one to around to appreciate it, did I actually create anything at all, or was it just a dream??"

So how can we get the acknowledgment and recognition we need?

In fact this doesn't begin with other people. It begins right here, right now, with ourselves.

When was the last time you actually acknowledged and appreciated something you'd just created?

When did you last take a moment to actually say: "I'm proud of that creative project. I really feel I've progressed, it's the best I've created in a long while."

Once we start acknowledging our own creative work - and appreciating our own creative EXISTENCE - we can start to become more open to receiving it from any number of other sources.

We can then take it out to those people who's opinion we respect and admire, knowing we've done the best we can and are now open to constructive feedback from others.

What are you going to do TODAY to acknowledge your creativity?

Start right now and get into a regular habit of acknowledging and recognising how much you achieve, and you'll be giving yourself one of the essential ingredients for a creative and happy life.