Sometimes, seemingly out of the blue, I feel creatively blocked. Nothing works, everything seems like crap, I don’t feel inspired. This is when doubts creep in.
Has this ever happened to you?
Once you’ve owned that you are indeed a creative being, you will undoubtedly traverse the ebbs and flows of the creative process. Part of that process is experiencing ebb times when it feels like your creativity has dried up.
When it comes to making your “art”, feeling stuck can feel like a death. (I use the word ‘art’ to mean whatever it is that you’re creating – not just visual arts, or writing or what we deem artistic. All creative endeavours are considered as ‘art-making’)
How do you keep the creative flow happening when you feel stuck?
MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN
Creative Block to Creative Pivot
When you feel creatively blocked there are some steps you can implement.
- Be with what is. The first step is being aware and acknowledging how you feel. Don’t force an outcome. Trust your creative process. There are always ebbs, there is always going to be a winter season and fallow fields. Nothing in nature produces constantly without recharging and replenishing.
- Do something completely different that you enjoy doing. Spend time in nature, the beach, the forest, hang out with friends, tend a garden, go to a concert, etc. Be aware that you are giving your creative-self some space, which is necessary and vital to the creative process.
- Start a small (tiny) daily practice that you can maintain. For me it is a commitment to making a little drawing, doodle, watercolour, sketch. It takes 10-30 minutes only. This keeps the energy flowing and usually leads to something else, often delightfully unexpected places.
- I personally love the exercises in the book ‘The Artists Way’ by Julia Cameron. So do check that out if you haven’t heard of it. Doing the suggestions in the book will definitely help you make go from Creative Block to a Creative Pivot
Let me know how you go.
And always … Be true to you, and be brilliant.
