Creatively Punch Drunk? How To Avoid A Painful 12 Round Beating Each Time YOU Create

All of us who create know that no-one can sabotage or undermine our creativity and our creative efforts anything like as well as we can.

In fact if “Creative Self-Sabotage” was an Olympic event, the competition throughout the world would be fiercer than for all of the other events combined!

Sometimes we can get into such a cycle of thinking and (non-)action when we sit down to create, that at the end of the session, however long or short, we feel exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically.

Getting in a boxing ring with the World Heavyweight Champion sometimes seems more appealing than the mental battering we give ourselves about our creative output.

Here’s 5 common ways we dish out the pain to ourselves. See how many you recognise:

1. The Body Blow

Just as we think we’re getting some momentum in a session of creating, there it is, that brutal thud in the torso that knocks the wind out of us and leaves us gasping.

“Face it, this novel’s never going to be the masterpiece you want it to be even if you DO ever finish it. Which is unlikely.”

“Yeh so you’ve crafted a few pretty tunes. But how can you afford to record them, let alone get them distributed to the right record labels?”

2. The Upper Cut

A sharp unexpected shock that sends us sprawling.

“Don’t forget your tax bill needs to paid this month, shouldn’t you be out earning more money?”

“Remember what you heard earlier - your old college friend Sarah just got her novel published by a major publishing house. They’re also in talks with 3 film studios to bring it to the big screen...”

3. The Swinging Left Hook

A little wilder this one, it doesn’t always hit the target. But when it does connect, oh do we feel it.

“My mother always said I’d never amount to anything.”

“When are you going to get over this creative “phase” and return to your safe and predictable former career?”

4. The Right Jab

A persistent nagging punch that gradually wears us down through sheer repetition. Sometimes it’s these type of comments that have the most powerful long term effect of all.

“You’ve spelt that wrong. Again. Can’t you type properly? And you can’t write like that, it’s not even a proper sentence...”

“Bad choice of colour. You shouldn’t have used that. How many times now have you ruined a painting by simply using the wrong colour at a crucial stage?”

5. The Low Blow

This is the cruellest and often most damaging blow of all, the deliberate and heartless attack of a known weak area.

“If you weren’t so unhealthy you’d find it much easier to create. When are you going to start taking proper care of yourself?”

“You’re too scared of failing to ever take any creative risks. You just churn out the same pieces of work time and time again.”

Ouch. Feeling a little bruised? It's no wonder!

How many of these bitter blows to yourself do you recognise?

How many do you regularly dish out to yourself when creating?

You wouldn’t send your best friend into the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson would you? No. So why do it to yourself?

The first step to easing up on yourself and reducing this barrage of negative criticism is to recognise when you’re doing it. Often it’s become such a habit for us, having a head full of negative chatter becomes our natural state and we don’t realise the long term effect it has on us and how it depletes our morale and energy.

So take that first step, beginning today, and vow to be vigilant to ALL attacks and attempts at self-sabotage however they appear and whichever direction they come from.

Even if you can’t get out of the ring, learn to duck and weave and avoid taking the full force of some of those vicious and crippling blows...

Creative Marathons - Your experiences?

I've been reading recently about the concept of "Creative Marathons", where a group of people get together to create in a single place for a set period, usually 5 or 6 hours or more.

Intrigued by the idea, I tried my own personal Creative Writing Marathon, and sat from 8am to 1pm working on a novel at my computer, pretty much non-stop.

It was an interesting experience, and I found it surprisingly easy to write for so long but didn't worry too much about the structure of the story, I just wrote.

The last hour was more of a strain though and I was relieved to finish.

I had no expectations, and reading back what I'd written the next day, some was of more use than other parts.

But just by having that length of time set apart to create and do nothing else but create meant I could get into a different flow, and go to a different depth, than if I'd written for 1 hour on 5 separate occasions.

Have you ever been a part of any Creative Marathons yourself?

It'd be great to hear your experiences and thoughts on the concept, share your comments below.

Are You Serious About Your Creativity? It’s Time You Proved It...

Often we can get caught up in trying to be too serious and precise in our creative projects. This pursuit of perfectionism, paying too much attention to detail, can lead to our creative flow of ideas and energy being blocked, and us reaching a place of feeling “stuck”.

By having more of a light touched approach, being more open to enjoying the experience, having fun, experimenting and playing with what we have and seeing where it takes us, often the best ideas develop more quickly and easily, and move us in new directions in the creative evolution of a particular project or piece of work.

But sometimes, it IS important for us to be serious. Vitally important.

Serious about what we create for. Serious about the positive effect it has on our lives. Serious about considering how our lives might be without any creativity in them.

Why should we do this?

Surely it goes without saying that creativity is important, and we are serious about creating or we wouldn’t create at all, or have any desire to create?

And why put ourselves through the uncomfortable process of imagining a life that’s devoid of any artistic expression and lacking entirely in creative energy and direction?

Because we may realise that we’re already dangerously close to that almost unthinkable life.

Our creative outlets may have dried up to such an extent that we virtually are living in a creative vacuum right now.

The worst part is, if we DON’T show a serious and regular commitment to keeping in touch with our creative desires, and to what creating means for us and does for us, sometimes we can go for days, months, even years without realising that commitment is slipping away.

Then one day we wake up and discover we haven’t written a line of poetry in 3 months. Or we haven’t gone to our painting studio since last summer. Or, even more frightening, we can’t even remember the last time we had an original creative thought.

Have you ever found YOUR self in this position?

And if you have, did it surprise you, shock you even, how much time had passed, apparently in the blink of an eye?

That shock is the very reason we need a part of ourselves to remain serious about creating. And to regularly prove to ourselves that we want to create. More than that - we NEED to create.

So how can we do this?

If someone came up to you right now and said “Give me five reasons that show you’re serious about your creativity and what it means in your life”, what would you reply?

Take a pen and paper now and write down your response.

Notice that the question is about showing you’re serious about your creativity, not showing that your creative work is serious, which is a very different question.

When the sun goes down each evening, it doesn’t care whether you’re serious about your creativity, or how important it is to you.

Most of the rest of the world doesn’t care either. The one person who does care is that same person who it affects most dramatically. That is you.

So, how serious are YOU about creativity? And how can you consistently prove it to yourself?

:: Share Your Experience ::

How serious are you about your creativity? How do you prove it to yourself?

Share your comments and experiences by just clicking on the comments link below.

Creativity Coaching: But Isn't That Just For Professional Artists?

The main blockage many of us have when it comes to being creative is that we simply don’t think that we are.

We each have a set idea or vision of what a “creative person” or “artist” is like, and more often than not, we don’t include ourselves in this category, however much evidence there is to the contrary.

And so, by not even considering that we ARE creative, and thinking that our creative work isn’t valid and important - whether we write, weave, paint, knit, act, sculpt, cook, compose, sing or enjoy any number of other creative activities - we limit ourselves from receiving the recognition and nurturing our creativity deserves.

This really is for many people THE major stumbling block to being more creative.

How often have you found yourself saying or thinking things like:

“But I’m not creative. Not really. So what’s the point in me spending more time and energy on it?”

“I’ve got no creative talent, I just dabble and play around, I only do it for myself.”

“What right have I got thinking I’m creative anyway? There must be millions of people more creative than I am.”

ALL of us are creative in some way or other.

And, just as an athlete tones their body, builds their muscles and eats a healthy diet, we too must look after our creativity if we are to see it grow and develop.

This begins, again, with the belief that we are creative in the first place.

Even if we don’t initially feel we can paint like Michaelangelo, or sing like Marvin Gaye, it shouldn’t stop us improving our painting and singing the best we can, and equally, if not MORE importantly, having great fun and enjoying the creative adventure in the process.

What are your own creative beliefs?

What are your own beliefs about how creative you are and how much you deserve to devote time to creative projects and pursuits?

If someone offered to pay for you to go on a creative weekend of discovery or have a series of sessions with a creativity coach, what would you’re immediate reaction be? Honestly?

Start gathering the evidence of your creativity

A great way of giving yourself a boost in confidence in this area is to actually write down all the creative things you have done, and continue to do.

These can be specific creative projects like something you’ve made, designed, painted or written for example. But also remember to include all the other things you do that are creative, that aren’t specifically framed as creative projects.

The stories you make up to tell your children at night. The songs you sing in the shower. The delicious meals you invent, prepare and serve. The way you often come up with brilliant ideas in your office for things no-one else thinks of.

Once you begin to recognise, accept and then celebrate your own unique brand of creativity, you begin to see it’s true value and that yes it IS worth spending more time and energy developing it, for your own sake, and for the benefit of all those your creative efforts come into contact with.

Start today, believe in your own creative ability and worth, and make that list of creative achievements. Who knows what it might inspire you to do next..?

Creating Deeply: Are You Diving In Oceans Or Just Splashing Around In Streams?

What does it mean to “Create Deeply”?

Anything that we create at all, must come from a certain depth within us, a depth of experience, a depth of feeling, a depth of emotion, a depth of ambition.

And, whether we’re creating because we’re compelled to communicate with others, to discover more about ourselves, or to forge a new pioneering trail in our chosen art forms, there are many different depths we can go to when we tap into our creative source.

So how deeply are you creating in your creative work? Do you mostly feel like your diving in the deepest, most wondrous oceans of your inner creativity? Or just splashing around in the familiar shallow flow of surface streams?

Are you plunging down amongst dark uncharted waters with a strong determined stroke? Or barely treading water?

Here are 5 compelling reasons to take a deep breath, dive in and create more deeply than you’ve ever created before:

1. Create Deeply for your audience.

Whether your audience right now is just you and your cat, or 1,000,000s of devoted fans, each time you produce a new work you have a certain obligation to them to give the best you can, to create the most deep and passionate expression of yourself at that time. If you don’t you’re simply selling them, and yourself, short.

2. Create Deeply for your health and happiness.

Most creative people would agree that when they’re creating regularly and deeply, their level of happiness and well being increases significantly. Just think of your own experiences of the dreaded “Writer’s Block” to see just how painful the opposite state can be. The deeper you go, the more material you’ll find to create from.

3. Create Deeply for your peers and your colleagues.

Even if we feel we create alone, at some point our creative work reaches others who are in a similar creative field. Just as we are inspired or disappointed by the creative people who’s work we follow, we each have our own followers and admirers. When you create deeply, you’re more likely to inspire others to reach in deeply and create their best creative work too.

4. Create Deeply for your own personal creative growth.

However accomplished a writer, singer or photographer you become, if you continue to operate at the same level, creating the same kind of work at the same kind of level, you’re not growing creatively. And in creative terms, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. And in that state, how long can anyone continue to create?

5. Create Deeply for your family, friends and community.

As creative people, when we create deeply and feel we are genuinely giving all we can through our creative work, the sense of pride and contribution is incomparable to anything else in life. And the more we do this, the more interesting, stimulating and happy we become in the company of those close to us. Remember that each of us has a unique creative voice to communicate with the world. It’s up to us how often and how powerfully we make use of it.

Creating Deeply means different things to each of us. But the common factor is that we all KNOW how deeply we’re going when we’re in the midst of creating, we can’t fool ourselves, even if we convince others.

So carefully consider the five reasons above and look at your creative work. Do YOU need to go a little deeper?

: Share Your Experience ::

How deeply do YOU create? How much more deeply COULD you create? What stops you from going deeper?

Share your comments and experiences by just clicking on the comments link below.

5 Lazy Excuses You Give About Why You Don’t Create

Each of us have our unique set of circumstances in our personal lives.

Our careers, our relationships, our dramas and celebrations, our ambitions and aspirations, our fears and insecurities. We all have a loosely connected mix of events and feelings going on at any one time.

But whatever’s going on your life, and whatever outside influences permeate you, the fact remains that the only person who can ultimately decide how, what, when and how much you create is YOU.

Here are 5 of the most common excuses we tell ourselves and others about why we don’t create more, and how we can begin to challenge them:

1. “I don’t have enough time.” A very wide reaching excuse that covers a great number of things without us having to question it in any depth. Can you make just 15 minutes a day to write or paint? How important is it for you to create? If it’s important enough, you can find the time.

2. “I have to be in the right frame of mind to create.” This is often linked to the excuse about not having enough time. Maybe you feel you do have some spare time here and there to create but then you never seen to quite be in the right mood? There is no such thing as the right time, there’s always something going on in our lives and thoughts. The key to consistent creativity is to accept this and create the best we can anyway.

3. “There are too many distractions around.” People keep walking in and around where you’re working, there’s music and talking coming from the next room, the TV’s calling you... Like the excuse about being in the right frame of mind, there will always be distractions. Do all you can to minimise them – shut your door, put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign, wear headphones – and then create as deeply and freely as you can anyway. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.

4. “I’m too tired at the end of the day.” Most of us perform some kind of work that’s not directly involved in creativity, that we do to support ourselves, and this can leave us tired and unmotivated. If this happens to the point where you feel you can’t create at all, question whether this particular job is the best option right now. An alternative is to get up a little earlier and create each morning before you do anything else.

5. “I don’t have the right equipment.” It may be that you’re a painter without paints or a DJ without any record decks. In which case, what other ways can you get use of the equipment you need? How can you work towards investing in your future creativity? It’s also easy to get lost in the lust for new technology. “I can’t possibly create music without the latest laptop and music software…” It’s a dangerous myth, some of the greatest songs of have been written on just a cheap guitar or keyboard…

How many of these can YOU relate to? Which do you tell yourself most often, to justify the fact that you don’t create as often, as consistently or as deeply as you want to?

Which of the above excuses, if you were able to eliminate completely, would have the biggest positive effect on your creative life? Isn’t it worth taking steps towards eliminating, or at least reducing its impact?

Remember, the only one who can control your creativity is YOU. Yes there are major events in our lives that set us back and cause us pain, discomfort and difficulty. But recognise the difference between these, and the all-too-easy-to-churn-out-without-thinking excuses that slip by unchallenged.

:: Share Your Experience ::

Which of the above excuses have you found yourself using? Which hold you back most from creating in the way you truly want to?

Share your comments and experiences by just clicking on the comments link below.

You can also read this article at Creativity-Portal:

http://www.creativity-portal.com/cca/dan.goodwin/lazy-excuses.html