In this episode, I’ll talk about how get moving when you’re feeling stuck. I’m also going to give you a creative prompt, something you can do easily and in a short amount of time, to get some creative play into your day.
A small caution might be in order. If you’re sensitive to language, I must warn you that the occasional swear word might slip through the cracks when I edit. That might happen if I’m talking about something I’m particularly passionate about.
6 - What do you do when you're stuck?
Show Notes
What am I working on?
- A watercolour landscape
- Refashions
- Workshops
- Podcasts
- Coming up with subjects for videos and Periscope
- Symbol #47/100
- Starting another series of paintings
What do you do when you’re stuck?
All of us have felt stuck on a project at some time, including me, several times. I want to give you a couple of things to try when you get there, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time in that place. So you can get some traction and move on.
#1 Do something different
Trying something different is a great way to challenge your creativity to work in new ways. It forces you to think differently, work your way around new kinds of obstacles and dive into a whole new area of creating. This reduces the perfectionist part, the part of you that wants to do it right and leaves you free to just create.
Trying to make things perfect limits your creativity
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. It sets boundaries on how things ‘should’ look when they’re finished. By doing something you don’t usually do, you have no expectations so you’re free to just express yourself. It’s a great way to bust your creativity wide open. It can be quite a transformative experience!
When you’re challenging your brain to work in new ways, you stop churning the same questions, and it opens up for new ideas. Banging your head against a wall won’t get you unstuck, doing something different will. Harvard University researcher and psychologist Shelley H. Carson says: “A distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution.”
You might even find out that you really like what you try, and that you want to do more of it or find a hidden talent or two.
#2 Get outside
Go somewhere, preferably somewhere you haven’t been in a while, or somewhere you haven’t been at all. Take in some new scenery.
#3 Set a challenge for yourself
Set yourself a challenge which fits into your life, and jump in with both feet.
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I’ve challenged myself to do some kind of artwork every day in 2015. It may not work for you, but it’s worked for me for the last 8 months.
#4 Join someone else’s challenge
Kellee Wynne Conrad has a permanent challenge of making a series of 100 artworks on one subject.
Michaela Cristallo of For The Creators has one that’s about getting 30 minutes of creative play a day. It’s just posting a picture with a hashtag, so it’s not something that takes a lot of time.
I host month long creativity challenges in both April and October. So you have a couple to choose from there.
#5 Reach out and ask for help.
When you can’t do it yourself, reach out and ask for help. Don’t let your work sit half-finished because you’re afraid to talk to someone about it. If you don’t know anyone you feel comfortable talking to, then join the Creative Explorers or book a cup of tea with me. It doesn’t have to be hard. If you can’t free yourself from being stuck, you do need help. So get some help!
Today’s inspirational words are by Abraham Hicks, and he says “
The greatest gift you can give yourself, is freedom from what others think
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“.
Today’s Creative Prompt: Try some scrapbooking. You can cut and paste, stamp and decorate to your heart’s content. Most examples of scrapbooking available are very romantic, pretty, and frankly quite girly (not a bad thing, but not my thing). The style you choose is completely up to you. You don’t have to go for the “romantic” look if you don’t want to. You can also do digital scrapbooking if that suits you better.
That’s it for me for today. Thanks for listening to the Creative Explorer Podcast. The next episode will, among other things, be about why making a mess is good for you. If you have any questions, just reach out to me at linda@lindaursin.net. Remember to rate and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
All excellent points. I use #2 the most frequently; I find that when I change my physical location, especially if that change includes fresh air, my brain “shifts” too, and that can often remove a block I’ve been trying to overcome 🙂
Yes, it does. I do that too, but I do the first one more. Just for the sake of experimenting though.
I’m so glad you shared this with our group. Not only are they great tips, but I found a new podcast to listen to. 🙂 Thanks so much!
Thanks Mary 🙂