Creativity is contagious

If you are a creative person, quite often, you realize that you have moments when you are just… how should I put this??? Stuck! You are basically stuck!

If you check a dictionary or even Wikipedia when it comes to this, the definition is simple: Creative blocks, or barriers to inspiration, can be described as the inability to access one’s internal creativity. Those in creative lanes —writers, musicians, performers, artists, content creators —are often more likely to be affected by creative blocks, which can last for days, weeks, months, or even years.

When it comes to why, there are multiple reasons WHY we find ourselves in moments like this: fear, end of a relationship, self-doubt, rejection, comparison, loss of meaning and purpose or even negative self-talk.

I want to be honest with you so I will just go ahead and admit that at some point, I went through all of the above.

If you come from faith like me, you know that you can’t remain in a place like this, God has put that dream/idea in your heart for a reason, if you’re not a Christian, let me encourage you by saying: it’s not fair to you to not share with the rest of the world your art or your content.

Oki, and what should we do? How do we get unstuck? Let me share with you 3 things that are currently working for me as I am bouncing back from this stage of being a self-proclaimed couch potato/Netflix ”art consumer”/YouTube ”evening routines” addict.

I’ll start with the most at hand:

1. Music – go back to things that always inspired you, like songs that trigger something inside of you or books, or other creators from your niche that are still going strong. For the past few weeks, when I wasn’t in the mood of writing or thinking of new Social Media posts or working on a new website for my second novel, I listened to songs like Under Your Scars from Godsmack (FYI – I only listen to 3 songs from this band). Or songs like Let me love you from Brian Head Welch & Lacey Sturm, the live version. I love how raw everything is and how you can feel their hearts for the young generation, and their passion to raise awareness for subjects like mental health, suicide or depression. You might ask, all of that through one song? Yes, all of that through just one song.
2. Go somewhere – go for a walk, go for a day out, go for a weekend getaway if you can afford it. Yesterday we had a spontaneous trip to Rye, I came from there with fresh ideas for my book launch and with a strong reminder that I need to reactivate my personal Instagram account. My husband who is a web developer was like: ”yeah, it’s great that you don’t want an Instagram account” (had a prior discussion about how I don’t want to be vain, so among other things, I am cutting Instagram out of my life), ”but you need that for your blog, book promo and new website”. So…. after almost two weeks of me ”not being vain”, I’m back on the ‘Gram folks. #struggle, right????
3. Set a routine – I mentioned this many, many times – have an established routine. Doing some research on how to ”fix” myself when I am feeling blocked, I came across this information: There was an examination made on three groups of nine blocked writers. This study found that those who wrote habitually showed the highest level of creativity. Working within a routine not only increased their overall output but also increased their generation of new creative ideas. On the other hand, writers who waited for inspiration or abstained from writing completely while blocked saw little-to-no improvement in their struggle to create new work. Once you commit a specified block of time to your creative work, the best way to start is simply that — just start!

So… just start.

And on top of these 3 things that I am currently trying to implement in my life, as usual, I am also trying to have a daily devotional routine and exercise 3 times a week. I am keeping my Mondays quiet, but from Tuesday to Friday, I signed up for classes every day after work. I reactivated my local gym membership. I hurt my shoulder a few weeks ago, feeling ok now, but after that I was: yeahhh, I might need someone to tell me how to do everything properly.

I know, I know, I always push for devotionals and for staying active, but hey, we are spirit, mind and body.

And don’t forget:

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” — Albert Einstein