For some reason you cant summon the gumption to do anything with enthusiasm. You feel stuck in a rut, and you dont know why. It has happened to me, and frankly to every grown up I know, though many wont admit to it; thinking its a sign of weakness. It can be a source of strength and new inspiration providing we interpret its message properly. Let me speak from my experience with a common creative malady, writers block. This is what I call, Stuckness. And whats interesting is it doesnt just afflict writers, it afflicts all creative types, including actors who wont audition, painters who dont lift their brushes, and sculptors who cant bring themselves to touch another smidgeon of clay. But all human beings are creative, whether theyre cooking something new, or driving a novel way to the airport. So, Stuckness is a creative block, of any kind. When I suffer from writers block, its usually symptomatic of other things: (1) Im feeling unappreciated; telling myself nobody likes my stuff. (2) Im whispering in my mind that Ive lost it, whatever that magic was that made my work good. (3) Im anticipating rejection by editors and publishers. (4) Im predicting that my work wont sell; that it will be a commercial flop. (5) I tell myself I should be doing something more productive. (6) I feel Im just re-hashing old stuff, or stuck in a single writing style thats confining. (7) What Im doing feels like WORK, and nothing but; its joyless. (8) I dont like my own writing; it reads terribly to me. If you synthesize this entire list it boils down to just a few things. Im predicting and expecting failure. And Im judging, and expecting others to judge my work, negatively. In light of these concerns, of course Im going to stop producing. The key is to get back to doing the activity, whatever it is, merely for the joy of it, because its fun, because its a way of losing and finding yourself at the same time. Once you do this, instantly, youll be unstuck. |
