How To Overcome Creative Blocks
Hello again and welcome back!
Last time I reflected on how to prevent burning out creatively. I discussed how we can keep our minds clear and fresh and add fuel to our passionate fires to present the most profound expressions. However, this is not the only aspect of creative expression that can produce challenges.
There are moments in our lives when we feel hindered in our surroundings, our mindset, or our progress, with no clear direction of how to progress at all. This is not the same as burnout. Allow me to differentiate -
Burnout is when you are do not have the motivation to continue.
Creative block is when you are motivated but are having difficulty finding your path.
It may feel as your when you don’t know how to find the expression that fits just right. These are the times that make you feel like you aren’t creative, or don’t have anything inspiring to offer. I can assure you, this is not the case.
As a Marketing Director and Project Manager of a small jewelry store, I spend a lot of my time researching a wide variety of jewelry aspects. These range from learning about the discovery and history of a precious gem and how it has impacted society throughout time, to how customers value it, cherish it, and wear it in modern society. However, in order to find the messages that will resonate with our community, I must dig deeper.
Sometimes, all of this data can be overwhelming. Sometimes, I am not sure what the best aspect is to focus on. Most of the time, I enjoy arranging photography and engaging with the different jewelry pieces themselves to understand their beauty. How they can make someone feel or think. This interaction gives me a direct opportunity to better appreciate the journey each gemstone has been on before it is taken home.
This experience can be compared to drinking a glass of wine. It isn’t until you taste the wine after it’s been in a bottle, from a barrel, taken from a vine, and grown from the ground, that you can truly enjoy the fruits of the grape’s adventure.
Aside from drinking a glass of wine to get more creative… I tend to turn towards other outlets to bring about my creativity.
Writing (go figure)
Coloring
Going for a walk
Goofing around
Singing
Reading
Working out
Each of these methods helps to give me a clearer mind. Getting out of my critical mind allows me the opportunity to think a little freer, feel a little less stressed, and enjoy the process of creativity rather than harping on getting stuck and feeling blocked.
Getting into the action phase of creativity will help you continue to explore and expand your creative potential—movement fuels future movement as creativity fuels future creativity.
Not only do these activities unclog my mind and my thoughts, but they help to ensure that I am creating, living, and producing life in alignment with my values. I deeply believe that our values direct our lives and guide us in ways we don’t always understand. However, I’m sure we can all relate to the moments where we go against our gut and end up disappointed with the outcome. When we are acting in ways that create almost a meditative flow, almost an ethereal experience, these are the moments in which we need to practice mindfulness and acknowledge what is happening and how we are responding.
Training our brains to be mindful and focused is difficult. There is so much noise in the world right now that we may have trouble hearing some or all of the guidance from our specific values. These seasons will come and go, but they will only truly go when we are ready to dedicate ourselves to pursue those goals driven by our values.
It’s time to create!
-Rose
Check out more about the opportunities to find creative alignment in your life in my new book coming out next month!