You’re feeling tired, perhaps restless and a little anxious. You haven’t had a great idea in ages, heck, there have been very few even worth lifting a finger for.
Or maybe you just are longing for a change, something to stimulate your heart and mind to create again, to find new energy to face the tasks ahead of you.
Most of us have been here at some point. It’s hard to feel the creative energy zinging around every day, but it is not impossible. Feeling creative is an emotion, and it is available to us at anytime once we learn to allow ourselves to access that feeling.
Creativity is an emotion
Usually we describe creativity as something we feel..
“I feel creative” and such. So if you don’t feel creative today, how can you put yourself in that mood? You can do it – you can call up an emotion whenever you want. Start with focusing your mind on the feeling of creativity, and then think of the times in your life that you have felt creative. Saying that you never have isn’t accurate! I am sure you have! Think back to how you felt, what you did, how you expressed it through you body. Much of how we feel is expressed through actions, gestures, and other expressions. Put yourself there! Feel it deep in you! What is is like to feel creative?
Bust that block
How many times have you described yourself as feeling “blocked”?
Well stop it!
Language counts, and I will return to that below. First, though, if that is how you describe yourself, then push that block right out of your way. Yes, imagine it vividly putting your shoulder against a big block and pushing it out of your way! Do it. Envision a free, bright path ahead full of creative fun and expression. You can access it anytime you like!
Change your self talk
Start using better language!
If you tell yourself you aren’t creative, how are you ever going to be?
It’s self-defeating to even think that. Start thinking and saying “I am creative” and with some real conviction.. with all your heart. The more you tell this to yourself, the more creative you become, it’s true! No doubt you have some other negative self-talk that you circulate through. Change it to something positive, the sooner the better! Remember the words we use matter. Whenever you catch yourself using words with negative tones, change them around. Notice what words you use to describe things and how it affects how you feel about something, especially your art and creativity. We want to nurture these areas, so don’t taking a verbal wrecking ball to them!
Let your other emotions guide you
Try focusing on some new emotions, some that are associated with creativity.
If you use them, they can help stimulate new thoughts and perspectives.
Try putting yourself in a mindset where you look on the world with wonder, for example. As you walk around in the woods, or where ever, look around as if it is all wondrous and amazing. I bet you start to see things in a completely new way. Perhaps thoughts about how you can use what you see in your art will seep through. Other emotions that could be helpful are curiosity and passion. Put yourself in a passionate mindset.. not like a lover, though you can if you want! I mean where you feel and care deeply for things around you. Imagine how you could express this great amount of passion through your art and creativity. Think what amazing things you could make if you had so much feeling for something.
Take action!
Getting blocked often leads us to a passive state.
Break out of that!
Shake things up, do things differently. Take action and do it with the intention of having fun and being playful, or maybe silly and outrageous. Or you can switch gears and become serious and intense. It doesn’t really matter what you pick, as look as you do something. Quit waiting around! Life is too short. Take action now!
Ask some quality questions
Start with questions, and no bad questions that are mean to yourself. Good quality questions. A couple examples where you might start:
- What can I do to feel my creativity again burning in me so hot that I can’t sit still?
- What new can I see in the world that I can connect to something I already know and use it to express myself in a new way?
- What are the types of projects I really want to do that would feel fun and fulfilling and meaningful?
Now you have your questions, write them down, and come up with at least 3 answers to each! Now you have something to work with.
Start getting visions
You can start using visioning techniques at any time.
It is a great way to focus your mind and energies on what you want, and what we focus on, we move towards.
So close your eyes, take some deep breaths to focus your thoughts on feeling creative. Imagine as vividly as you can making that great painting or writing that deeply expressive poem, or making a fabulous new birthday cake or however you wish to express yourself. Rehearse it several times, all the steps to create it, the feeling of putting your energy and heart into something. See it grow brighter. Feel the creativity moving through you and out your hands and mind into the world in a personal way that makes you feel joy and fulfillment. Do this often, whenever you are at a low in your creative feeling.
Bust your self doubts
You can imagine doing this with a hammer if you want, that would definitely work, but there is another way that might help.
Often our self doubts and fears limit us and keep us from achieving our potential. How many times has fear of failing stopped you from making progress or expressing your creativity in a new, challenging way? Perhaps you aren’t sure you will succeed or others are so much better or whatever your favorite flavor of fear is.
Get out your notebook and write each one of them down. Be honest and brave. Now look at that list. Seriously, are any of these truly something you need to waste one minute of your precious time on?
I wrote out my list of self-limiting beliefs and fears. I almost laughed when I was done because I realized how ridiculous it was to let such things rule my life. Fear of failing? Yeah we all feel that, but it seems like more of an excuse for not doing anything at all. You can’t fail if you try. You always learn and grow from doing, and you if nothing else, you can practice your mindset so what you are doing feels like an experience worth having.
You may tell me, but I am more sensitive than you. I understand. I have been so too, trust me. I have felt it all, deeply. I have been paralyzed by all this and more, but at some point, you must understand that this is your life. You can’t let your mean thoughts and feelings stand in your way. Feel courage, feel that nothing will stop you from what you need to do. It’s all a matter of mindset, and you can fix that.
Break the pattern
Your lack of creative feeling is nothing but a pattern you have fallen into, a mental habit that you zip back to when things feel hard.
Or maybe something triggers it, like comparing yourself to someone, or some other type of fear you haven’t faced.
You must break these habits. The best way is to do some of these suggestions to break up the pattern. You don’t need to waste time feeling uncreative. If you are tired, then rest up, but get back to your work quickly. It needs you.
Feeling wildly creative is within your reach
Most of these suggestions you can do now, with little preparation, in fact most of them are mindset problems because being blocked or not feeling creative IS a mindset problem. There is hopefully nothing physically stopping you from creating. Think in terms of ideas, new ideas that excite and make you feel that fire in your soul, that unstoppable need to express yourself.
You can do it!
