Creativity In Crisis? How To Stop, Breathe And Begin Again And Get Your Creativity Back On Track

Creativity In Crisis? How To Stop, Breathe And Begin Again And Get Your Creativity Back On Track
By Dan Goodwin

Emily was going through a difficult period with her creativity.

Although she’d recently had some of her writing published in a national magazine and some other work picked up by a renowned writers' publication online, she was struggling.

Emily was pleased with the writing she’d produced that had been published. But she wanted to develop and grow.

She didn’t want to write the same story over and over again, however popular that story was, and how well it was received.

But she was stuck in a cycle. Every day she’d go to her desk to write, try to come up with a good starting point to write from, then go about expanding it into something interesting. Then, sometimes only minutes later, she’d scrap the new writing in frustration, convinced it was nowhere near as good as her published work.

Some 30 plus days later, Emily was getting slowly more and more anxious, dejected, uninspired and creatively stuck. She’d reached a point of creative crisis.

How often have you felt like Emily?

How often do you feel so tight and anxious about creating that you can barely focus on the act of creating itself?

It happens to all of us, and though we know we’re in the midst of a creativity crisis, we’re so desperate to just get through and create, we don’t stop to take some of the simple steps that would free our creativity up again.

So here are 3 simple steps to Stop, Breathe and Begin Again when your in the midst of a creativity crisis.

Step 1. Stop. Whatever it is you’re creating, just stop. Put it on pause. ADMIT to yourself that you’ve reached a difficult point in this creative project, and more importantly ALLOW yourself to take time out, rather than slogging away blindly and ineffectually.

This may just be the hardest step, especially when you’re deep in the middle of a project and all you want is to get through it as quickly as possible. But before you can take the next step to get your creativity on track again, you need to just stop.

Step 2. Breathe. Literally, take a few deep breaths and calm yourself. You’ve taken control of your creativity, realised that what you were doing wasn’t working. This is a positive and brave step. Allow yourself to breathe and find your natural rhythm again.

Take some time out to absorb complete different surroundings. Go out for a walk somewhere beautiful. Spend some time with young children while they’re playing. Visit somewhere you’ve always wanted to but never got round to, like a gallery or a show or a monument.

Step 3. Begin Again. You’ll now be in a far calmer, more objective position. You have essentially two choices in beginning to create again. Either pick a new project, something quite small and fun that you can really enjoy without getting caught up and attached to the outcome.

Or, the second option is to return afresh to your current creative project. By stopping, then breathing, you’ll now see the project in a different light. Parts that seemed impossible or impenetrable will have become more clear. Trust yourself and your creativity, that you know the way forward. Because you do. Then begin creating again, in the way you feel is best.

The next time your anxiety is rising and you feel your creativity is in crisis, use these simple 3 steps.

Stop, Breathe, Begin Again, and you’ll return to creating with renewed purpose and energy.

Would you like help in getting your creativity kick-started today? Then download your free copy of the powerful and practical Explode Your Creativity! Action Workbook at www.CoachCreative.com.

From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin.