My son and I recently learned about electric motors. In fact, thanks to our friends Gretchen and Bill, we were able to build one through a service called Tinker Crate, which I highly recommend.
So we were working on this motor, trying to get the wheel to spin, and nothing was happening. Just before throwing it against the wall, we discovered the problem: our electric current was being stopped by the insulation on our copper wire.
We sanded off the insulation, ran the current, and shazam! The wheel took off. It was exhilarating.
That’s how it is with our creative lives too. Have you ever felt stuck creatively? Like no matter what you try, you’re not getting anywhere? Ever felt like throwing your laptop or notepad against the wall? It can be extremely frustrating.
This post is about one major cause of creative blocks and how to bust through them.
The Cause of So Many Creative Blocks
Creativity is about self-expression, getting what’s inside out. When we have something inside that’s gnawing at us—some weakness or wound or difficulty—and we don’t address it somehow, our creative expression suffers. The creative “current” has no place to go.
We are holistic beings. Your creative life is influenced by the rest of your life. <Tweet that!>
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying everything has to be perfect before you sit down and write or design or paint or otherwise create.
“Creativity does not demand perfection,” writes psychotherapist Diana Pitaru, “rather honesty about who one is and what one’s experience in the world is. Creativity requires honesty about who you are and how you feel.”
In other words, if you have something significant that’s bugging you, pay attention to it. Maybe it’s a wound or a regret or anxiety or fear or negative self-talk or self-destructive practices. Maybe it’s physical pain that you have never really addressed. Maybe it’s a conversation you need to have.
Hear me, there’s no shame in any of these things. They are part of what it means to be human.
Fully Present to Our Art
When I open up with a good friend or my wife about something going on internally, often the very act of getting it out is the most important thing I can do for my creative capacity. I feel healthier and more free, and so I’m able to give myself fully to my creative work.
Here’s how another writer puts it: “I allowed myself to go deep into my feelings and see what was actually going on. And what I found/learned was astonishing! I didn’t have writer’s block at all, as it turns out. But I was afraid and hiding, which is why I wasn’t able to find my voice.”
We all want to be free of obstructions so we can find our voice. We want to be fully present to the art we want and are called to make. When we try to create without dealing with what’s inside, our work is less than our best. <Tweet that!>
You know the feeling you get after a great workout? That feeling of tiredness mixed with gratitude and vitality? That’s how it feels to deal with an internal block. We feel cleansed somehow and ready to go.
It is from this place that we can thrive creatively.
Question for you: What’s the project you’re working on that deserves your full presence? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Great encouragement. I let everything else get in the way of one project that I long to finish. I think I’m afraid of failing… and that I will never be published if that happens. Funny thing… it won’t ever happen if I don’t cross that hurdle either.
Oh Lisa, I hear you. That’s a tough place to be. Let me first encourage you by saying you really can do this. You have all you need to move forward. Sometimes our hopes and fears about the future sabotage what’s possible in the present, which of course on a completely rational level is crazy. The now is so precious. So forget the other voices, brave woman, and just take a step. And another. And another. I’m cheering you on!
Finishing my non-fiction book about leading a small group. Which will lead into other small group studies I will have put together for distribution. I’m about 20% through the first edits. Thanks for the great content, Chad.
Thanks for this encouragement! I’ve been working on a big project on prayer since last fall. The day I started it, relationship roadblocks and distractions kicked into high gear. I knew what they were, and it took every ounce of energy to keep moving forward. Being honest with good friends and my husband definitely helped me put those troubles aside and focus on the project!
Terrific, Amelia! Glad you were able to navigate it.
Good email as opposed to a plethora of messages. Currently I’m working on a novel, set in only one scene, called “The Pleasure Dome.” The three women characters, a writer, a painter, and a therapy addict increasingly present my memoir. My neighbor says she waited until her mother died before considering publishing her life story. So far she’s taken no action. I know writing yourself into a novel is a no, no. But there you are. I avoid the chair in front of the computer where it sits. Personally, I believe, if we are given a desire to write, to publish; it might be a sin against our Creator not to write.
Rohn, your novel sounds fascinating. Enlist some help from friends perhaps? Persevere!
Great points, Chad. It takes me where I have to consider another level. The other word that spills out of honesty is vulnerability. For me, I find that journalling is the first place I need to go to be honest. Once I’ve desensitized myself by actually writing what I’ve been holding back, then I can start looking at it from a writing content perspective. How much am I willing to share and who will be affected are the next questions. For me, the project I alternately leap into and then back out of is a story about my years dealing with mental illness. Now there’s a topic for honesty, vulnerability, and cautious moving forward! One little step at a time.
Wow, that would kick things up a notch, wouldn’t it? But this book could help a lot of people. You can do it!