Chad R. AllenOne Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity » Chad R. Allen https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/ Helping You Find Your Voice and Do Your Art Fri, 07 Jun 2024 20:54:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cropped-Smart-Idea1-32x32.png One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity » Chad R. Allen https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/ 32 32 39388254 One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/ https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:38:09 +0000 Chad R. Allen https://www.chadrallen.com/?p=4879 The other day I was getting ready to go for a run when it occurred to me: I’d be more comfortable in my other pair of shorts. I also knew I would enjoy the run more if I downloaded an episode of one of my favorite podcasts. That way I could listen to it on […]

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Because the Cause of Your Creative Blocks May Be Different Than You Think

The other day I was getting ready to go for a run when it occurred to me: I’d be more comfortable in my other pair of shorts.

I also knew I would enjoy the run more if I downloaded an episode of one of my favorite podcasts. That way I could listen to it on the road.

And I should probably use the restroom before I go, I thought to myself.

That’s when Jerk Face, my evil avatar, showed up.

“You lazy slob!” says Jerk Face inside my mind. “You’re making up excuses to avoid running instead of getting out there and doing it!”

Unlike what I normally do in these cases, I paused. I took a second to assess whether Jerk Face was telling the truth.

And I decided he was full of crap.

I wasn’t generating excuses to delay the run, and even if I was, so what?

I was still going for the run, but this handful of activities was definitely going to make the run more enjoyable. What’s wrong with that?

I changed my shorts, downloaded the podcast, used the restroom, and went for my run.

No big deal, right?

I didn’t think so either, but what happened next blew me away.

Holding Ourselves Back

I ran to where I normally turn around to go home and thought, “I feel so good, I think I’ll just keep going.”

That happened four or five times.

And instead of running my usual three miles, I ran six.

Here’s what I’m learning: I often hold myself back from accomplishing my best not because I’m selfish but because I fail to believe in my value and the value of what I have to offer. 

A part of me did not believe I deserved to enjoy my run. 

In a very similar way, I often do not think what I have to offer is important enough to do what I need to do to produce my best work.

Or to put it bluntly, I often do not believe I’m valuable enough to be successful.

Can you relate?

  • You wake up too late to do your writing because you didn’t think you were worth a good night’s sleep.
  • You feel gross because you didn’t think you were worth a healthy snack, and you ate something you now regret.
  • You make a choice you’re not proud of. Then, instead of offering yourself some grace and moving on, your mood is off all day. You kick the cat and snap at the kids.
  • You don’t schedule a writing retreat because you don’t think your manuscript is worth vacation time.
  • Your relationship’s a wreck because you don’t think you’re worth the cost of therapy.

Let’s stop this. Or at least let’s take one small step away from it.


I often hold myself back from accomplishing my best not because I’m selfish but because I fail to believe in my value… #amwriting @ChadRAllen
Click To Tweet


One Small Step

What’s one thing you can do this week so that your behavior is in better alignment with your value?

You could:

  • Choose to go to bed at 10pm every night this week
  • Journal every morning
  • Schedule a writing retreat
  • Read a book for at least 15 minutes each day
  • Cut out dessert on weekdays
  • Enroll in a strength and conditioning program

Go ahead, choose what you’ll do. What’s one thing you can do this week to live up to your own worth?

Once you’ve identified your one small step, go further: Ask a friend to help you stay on track. Here’s a text you can use or adapt: “Hey! I’ve decided I’m going to journal for 15 minutes every morning this week. To stay accountable, I’ll text you each time I’ve done it. Cool?”

Will this one small step forever transform your sabotaging beliefs about yourself? No, but the more we behave in alignment with our value, with who we really are, the more we will act like the best version of ourselves. And as we live out the best version of ourselves, our beliefs will catch up with reality.


One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity #amwriting via @ChadRAllen
Click To Tweet


Question: What was most helpful to you in this blog post? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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<![CDATA[ Because the Cause of Your Creative Blocks May Be Different Than You Think. <p>The other day I was getting ready to go for a run when it occurred to me: I’d be more comfortable in my other pair of shorts. I also knew I would enjoy the run more if I downloaded an episode of one of my favorite podcasts. That way I could listen to it on [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/">One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.chadrallen.com">Chad R. Allen</a>.</p> ]]>
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<![CDATA[ <p><em id="gnt_postsubtitle" style="color:#666666;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;">Because the Cause of Your Creative Blocks May Be Different Than You Think</em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The other day I was getting ready to go for a run when it occurred to me: I’d be more comfortable in my other pair of shorts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I also knew I would enjoy the run more if I downloaded an episode of one of my favorite podcasts. That way I could listen to it on the road.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And I should probably use the restroom before I go, I thought to myself.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s when Jerk Face, my evil avatar, showed up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You lazy slob!” says Jerk Face inside my mind. “You’re making up excuses to avoid running instead of getting out there and doing it!”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike what I normally do in these cases, I paused. I took a second to assess whether Jerk Face was telling the truth. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And I decided he was full of crap. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I wasn’t generating excuses to delay the run, and even if I was, so what? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was still going for the run, but this handful of activities was definitely going to make the run more enjoyable. What’s wrong with that?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I changed my shorts, downloaded the podcast, used the restroom, and went for my run.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No big deal, right? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I didn’t think so either, but what happened next blew me away.</span></p> <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-4880 size-large" src="https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-1024x683.jpeg" alt="" width="760" height="507" srcset="https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-760x507.jpeg 760w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-518x345.jpeg 518w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-250x166.jpeg 250w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-82x55.jpeg 82w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity-600x400.jpeg 600w, https://www.chadrallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/enhance-your-creativity.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" /></p> <h2><b>Holding Ourselves Back</b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I ran to where I normally turn around to go home and thought, “I feel so good, I think I’ll just keep going.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That happened four or five times. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And instead of running my usual three miles, I ran six.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s what I’m learning: I often hold myself back from accomplishing my best not because I&#8217;m selfish but because I fail to believe in my value and the value of what I have to offer. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A part of me did not believe I deserved to enjoy my run. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a very similar way, I often do not think what I have to offer is important enough to do what I need to do to produce my best work.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Or to put it bluntly, I often do not believe I&#8217;m valuable enough to be successful. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Can you relate?</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You wake up too late to do your writing because you didn’t think you were worth a good night’s sleep.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You feel gross because you didn’t think you were worth a healthy snack, and you ate something you now regret. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You make a choice you&#8217;re not proud of. Then, instead of offering yourself some grace and moving on, your mood is off all day. You kick the cat and snap at the kids.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You don’t schedule a writing retreat because you don’t think your manuscript is worth vacation time. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your relationship’s a wreck because you don’t think you’re worth the cost of therapy.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s stop this. Or at least let’s take one small step away from it.</span></p> <hr /> <p><em>I often hold myself back from accomplishing my best not because I&#8217;m selfish but because I fail to believe in my value&#8230; #amwriting @ChadRAllen</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/share?text=I+often+hold+myself+back+from+accomplishing+my+best+not+because+I%27m+selfish+but+because+I+fail+to+believe+in+my+value...+%23amwriting+%40ChadRAllen&#038;url=https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/' target='_blank'>Click To Tweet</a></p> <hr /> <h2><b>One Small Step</b></h2> <p>What&#8217;s one thing you can do this week so that your behavior is in better alignment with your value?</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You could:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Choose to go to bed at 10pm every night this week</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Journal every morning </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Schedule a writing retreat</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read a book for at least 15 minutes each day</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cut out dessert on weekdays</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Enroll in a strength and conditioning program</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Go ahead, choose what you&#8217;ll do. What’s one thing you can do this week to live up to your own worth?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once you’ve identified your one small step, go further: Ask a friend to help you stay on track. Here’s a text you can use or adapt: “Hey! I’ve decided I’m going to journal for 15 minutes every morning this week. To stay accountable, I’ll text you each time I’ve done it. Cool?”</span></p> <p>Will this one small step forever transform your sabotaging beliefs about yourself? No, but the more we behave in alignment with our value, with who we really are, the more we will act like the best version of ourselves. And as we live out the best version of ourselves, our beliefs will catch up with reality.</p> <hr /> <p><em>One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity #amwriting via @ChadRAllen</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/share?text=One+Ridiculously+Easy+Thing+You+Can+Do+to+Enhance+Your+Creativity+%23amwriting+via+%40ChadRAllen&#038;url=https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/' target='_blank'>Click To Tweet</a></p> <hr /> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div style="color:#dd9933"><strong><em><span class="preface">Question: </span>What was most helpful to you in this blog post? <span class="comment-prompt">You can leave a comment by <a href="https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/#respond">clicking here</a>.</span></em></strong></div></span></p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.chadrallen.com/2018/08/09/one-ridiculously-easy-thing-you-can-do-to-enhance-your-creativity/">One Ridiculously Easy Thing You Can Do to Enhance Your Creativity</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.chadrallen.com">Chad R. Allen</a>.</p> ]]>
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