You were once a creative genius machine were you felt untouchable and your soul would radiate in the glorious waves of successful ideas that were born from your unique god-like mind. Now you struggle to put pen to paper (or most likely fingers to the keyboard) or even putting a brush to canvas. You sit there looking into the void. Even if you were able to create a little something you destroy it because it’s not good enough. You once climbed so high, now the depths of your creativity disappointments are slowly killing you. All the coffee, alcohol, vast ranges of drugs, even exercise and the best sex of your life still make you numb in your weak attempts at any creativity. Is there any hope? Is there a solution to your current creative block? Of course there is.
For a creative professional it can for some become potentially career-damaging. Many creative professionals will need to solely rely on their creativity to pay the bills and hopefully build up their reputation. Some people will say you can't afford to be short of ideas or be lacking the energy to put them into action. But creative blocks are not all the same. Different types of creative block may require different solutions. The metal block is a major example as well as the emotional barrier being another, then there's the work habits, the personal problems, poor time management, poor knowledge, poor equipment, being overwhelmed, or a communication breakdown, etc etc. For now this post will concentrate solely on The Mental Block and here I will simply share my advice to hopefully help you out for when the creative block rears its ugly head. For some the advice given here is just common sense, but it’s the simple things that are the most effective sometimes.
So The Mental Block. The king of creative destruction in my opinion.
With the mental block you may feel trapped. Say, more trapped than a spider surrounded by a glass with a sheet of paper being slid beneath its legs. You’re the spider trapped inside the glass and I'm the kind human that has opted to not flush you down the toilet this time, but instead I will unlock the window, open it and set you free back into nature. The key thing here to remember is that a creative block is only temporary. Yes, I know writing is not my greatest talent; creating art is my strongest talent. Yet it seems you may have reached a point where you googled for advice and came across a blog that will try to give you clear simple answers. Though with my simple solutions presented here, you may just find a path where the old creative flame is relit and the creative genius that you once were is now up and running and finally start to feel like your back in top form once again.
So you’re trapped by your own thinking. You might be permanently locked in a certain way of looking at the world and have failed to see any other options available to you. Maybe your inner critic comes to surface and stops you thinking straight. You may also feel like you’re surrounded by all that you need, but still the mental block persists and is breathing all over you. The feeling of nothing, the act of nothing now rules your creative soul. You have reached the breaking point. Here's my simple solution to The Mental Block:
In a nut shell CHANGE IS GOOD. In fact it will do you the world of good if you very simply surround yourself with new things. This will help you adopt different perspectives in your empty mind. The refresh button in your brain can be hit and a possible feeling of a creative rebirth may grow inside you. I myself tend to rely on music to help generate creative motivation and stir emotions, as well as bringing out past and recent memories, and ultimately it will eventually create new ideas.
If you are like me, why not get yourself some new music. Some new sounds. Did a good friend once advise you to listen to an album they suggested, but you failed to take action. Well, DO IT. DO IT NOW. You got the internet I see and that's great because you can now download that album while you continue reading this wonderful blog. Or was it a film you felt you must see. Is there a magazine or an article you should be reading, a book, and a website. What interests you? What do you love? If you love a certain book(s), well just simply research into other authors that create similar material or grab another published book of theirs. I tend to always underline any quotes that mean something to me or interest me the most while reading, then I would sometimes scan through these quotes before or during painting. If I feel the need to inscribe any text, I now have plenty to be inspired from. Sometimes just a simple quote from a book will inspire a whole body of paintings.
How about visiting a new environment. Was there a certain place you wanted to go to? If that place is far and you are lacking funds, well that's no excuse young sir/madam. Just take a walk/ride/or drive to an area near to you that you haven't visited before. Is it raining and cold? Great, time to embrace the elements and get out there into the fresh air. That wind will eventually blow some nice ideas into your empty mind. If there's a favourite place that you love to visit, go there that's fine, just make sure you visit a new place also. Take the camera, take the notepad, take a picnic, and take a piss before you leave because this is an adventure now. It's just you and the world now and the moments to enjoy. Capture anything that jumps out at you. Capture whatever communicates a positive or even a negative feeling within you. This may just be the beginning of the end for Mr/Mrs Creative Blockhead.
Communicate with others. This can really help you. Communication is the key to life in general I believe. Visit your dear friend(s), make a random visit, or find new people, try to surround yourself in new things that can lead you towards other people. These people may just say or do something that will spark something within you. They may offer an alternative point of view and give you something that you may have never of thought of doing before.
Was you once approached by what seemed at first a bit of a nutter (has possible mentally ill problems) on a public transport journey or while you were out shopping, yet you decided to cut the conversation short because you felt a little out of your normal comfort zone? Hang on a minute. Why not continue the chat a little more, you may even enjoy it, because you might be chatting to someone who is in the same situation as you are, has the same career goal(s), and has the same problems you are facing currently. This happened to me, and as I decided to continue the chat we suddenly realised that we were more or less the same person in some ways, we had the same goals and the same problems. And as my destination approached we exchange business cards (mine looked more professional I must add)
Is there a certain creative process/plan or order that you tend to always follow in your creativity? Think of that, lay it in front of you if possible, now smash it up. Strip it down even, mix it up, add new parts, take pieces away, and develop a new monster. Maybe this is what you wanted. You want to feel excited again, want to feel the passion again, I know, your hungry. You can feed yourself, you just need to apply the right advice to yourself, use the correct tools or plant the right seeds and you will get the right results.
Sometimes it’s not the new things that generate inspiration for your creativity. Sometimes we need to explore the past again. Do you have old sketch books collecting dust? An old diary, journal, or old photos in a shoebox or even a film not yet developed still? Do you have old books stacked away somewhere or an old painting rolled up? Is there pieces hanging around that have completely lost any meaning to you? If so, maybe its time to get rid of it, destroy or clear the clutter. Maybe the clutter becomes the new art piece or part of a new creation.
Dig out the past, take your time. Let the good and bad memories come flooding back into you. Make yourself comfortable and REMEMBER. Why did you take that photograph or write that story/poem or create that painting? Was there an old dream you once had written down and now it’s given you a new idea (this happened to me) Surround yourself with the past material(s) and soak it all up. Was there something you left unfinished but had totally forgotten about it? Maybe now is the right time to finish it. Maybe just maybe, looking back through your past will allow you to help create a clearer mind and hopefully a more distinctive brighter future.
For some having a creative block is when you imagine you are at the end, but you are really just at the beginning of the process. Have patience to let things take their course. Creativity comes in waves of highs and lows, just try to enjoy the ride. Don't think too much; be spontaneous as much as possible. JUST DO IT and you will eventually break into the great stuff that boosts your creativity levels and most importantly your confidence and self belief once again.
(I do not wear Nike trainers)
