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Karen McPhail-Bell 7/5/25 Karen McPhail-Bell 7/5/25

CanvasRebel 2025 Interview

I recently spoke with CanvasRebel in this interview exploring the power of art, creativity and holistic wellbeing. Thank you to their team for the space to reflect on what it means to lead and live creatively in uncertain times. In the interview, I share about unlearning, career evolutions, and fostering supportive environments for creatives.

Karen McPhail-Bell 4/27/25 Karen McPhail-Bell 4/27/25

How to know when your work is good enough (and stop overworking)

Knowing when a creative project is "done" is especially challenging in a perfectionism-driven, hyperproductive culture. True completion is less about perfection and more about asking: Does this work still need something from me? Your work doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful, and you don't have to earn your rest, creativity, or visibility through overwork.

Karen McPhail-Bell 4/15/25 Karen McPhail-Bell 4/15/25

What to do when you feel like you’ve failed

When we’re in the “space between” action and outcome, it can feel like we’ve failed and the inner critic wants to lead. Momentum is critical - try these 4 ways to stay grounded: reframe, act, track and celebrate.

Karen McPhail-Bell 7/22/24 Karen McPhail-Bell 7/22/24

Staying creative amidst instability: 5 tested actions

Is disruption and instability in life making it hard to keep up your creative practice? Here are 5 tips to cultivate creativity, and free journal prompts to support you to take action.

Karen McPhail-Bell 4/29/24 Karen McPhail-Bell 4/29/24

Fear of failure holding you back? Here’s how to make a move

Is your attention to whether or not you have failed (or might fail) distracting you from getting on with what you actually want and need to do? Here are some reflections and free action prompts to support you to embrace failure as feedback to live life fully and creatively.

Karen McPhail-Bell 3/21/24 Karen McPhail-Bell 3/21/24

Waiting for the right conditions before changing?

Are you waiting for conditions to change before you take action towards that big - or little! - goal you dream of reaching? So much of life is: ‘we make plans and life happens’. But why wait until everything is ‘just right’ to get started? Here are some free action prompts to support you to keep moving.

Karen McPhail-Bell 9/7/23 Karen McPhail-Bell 9/7/23

What do you need right now?

So many of us have been conditioned to postpone our own needs in order to earn a place in society. Our bodies, culture and relationships can reproduce the dynamics that disconnect us from ourselves and each other. And so, the simple question, “what do you need right now?” can be a beautiful starting point to reconnect, when done relationally.