I am sure you have been there. Staring at your screen or looking at a blank piece of paper, not knowing how to start. We say we are in a creative block and so we think it’s something that only happens to people in the creative field. But I am sure every one of us gets stuck sometimes.
It is not something you can prevent and it is certainly not fun. The feeling of not being able to do what ‘you were supposed to’ makes your mind go to weird places. It makes you question your decisions and it makes you question yourself.
This is me these days. Barbara and I have been working so hard on this blog. We have put hours and hours into this, researching, learning, trying (and failing). And doing it all again the next day.
And that is fine. It is not the work itself that I am struggling with.
I don’t mind the work. I know why I am doing this and that keeps me going.
It is this little voice inside, this tiny possibility that all of this will amount to nothing despite how much we both believe in it. I guess you could say it is self-doubt, although I struggle even writing this.
I am stuck. I feel like anything I write is not good enough. I feel my ideas won’t resonate with anyone out there. I fear our DIYs won’t excite anyone and make them go ‘Awesome!’. I fear we are trying to achieve something we will never get.
It is not a great place to be.
So while trying to put my mind off of these crippling thoughts, I do what I normally do to relax. I go and browse through some of my favorite bloggers’ sites.
Reading some of their more personal blog posts makes me realize that just like me, they are only human. They must have had these creative blocks themselves.
And this simple realization kind of releases the pressure. It is OK!
It makes me think of the best advice on getting unstuck from a creative block I could possibly give to anyone. I’ve been here before and this is the one thing that works without fail.
Just do something!
I just have to start. Write something. Write anything. Write the first 500 words. It doesn’t have to be the best blog post anyone has ever written. It doesn’t even have to be a blog post. Just do something.
And this is me doing this. This is me pulling myself out of that pit that I involuntarily fell into. This is me getting unstuck.
The words coming from under my fingers are not perfect, but here they are. They are forming something.
Does it mean every single doubt in my mind will instantly disappear? No. Does it mean I will magically write seven more posts in the next couple of hours? No. Does it mean I will never feel this way again? As much as I want the answer to be yes, I am pretty sure it’s not…
But it means something. It means I am no longer stuck.
Because this is what getting unstuck from a creative block is. It is producing something and then going from there.
Full disclosure. I wrote this a while ago, and I have kept it to myself. I wasn’t sure I was ready to share something that felt so personal. But just writing this short piece gave me the first push to keep on writing. And since writing this I have come up with so many ideas and written many of the articles you see here on the blog. So I knew I needed to share. If it helps just one of you move forward when you feel stuck, it will be worth it.
Have you ever felt this way? How do you get unstuck from a creative block? Please share!
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