Posted: August 15, 2018
Whether you are a professional writer, student, businessperson or lawyer, if you are someone who has to create, chances are you have at some point experienced a creative block. Few things are more frustrating than sitting down to produce a piece of work, only to be met by a completely blank mind with no inspired ideas. For writers, creative blocks vary in length and can last from a few minutes to hours, months or years. A creative block, or “writer’s block,” as it is unaffectionately called, can leave you wanting to quit, and it is often the reason that people never start in the first place.
Every creative person (and every person is a creative person) deals with an occasional block in creativity, as creativity is an energy that waxes and wanes. While creativity doesn’t flow at all times, there are certain activities and states of mind that stimulate creativity and promote flow.
The research is clear: when we are under stress, we are less creative. The mind needs to be free in order to create, and modern neuroscience demonstrates that the brain is the most active when we are doing nothing. So next time you feel blocked, try out one of these activities, relax, and let the inspiration flow!
1. Just do it
The great writer H. Jackson Brown Junior once said, ““Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” Often, what holds writers and artists back is the fear of starting. In fact, the fear of failure and imperfection is one of the primary causes of procrastination. If you feel blocked, notice whether you are avoiding the task at hand, and whether you are actually blocked or just feeling fear. Trust me, once you start you won’t want to stop!
2. Go for a walk
If you feel stuck while sitting at your desk, get up and go for a walk. If possible, go outside and walk in nature. Often, a change of scenery and movement of the body is enough to stimulate new ideas. Sitting at a desk and feeling frustrated by a lack of ideas can do the opposite of promote creative flow. Walking outside in nature stimulates the body and mind and relieves stress. When you return to your desk, you’ll return with a new perspective.
3. Talk Out Loud
This might sound a little crazy, but one of the best and quickest ways to stimulate new ideas is to talk out loud to yourself. Verbally speaking your ideas, as if someone is interviewing you, allows you to find the words that you are looking for, and helps you get out of your own head. Of course, talking out loud with another person is even better!
4. Meditate
A relaxed mind is essential for stimulating creative ideas, which makes meditation an important tool for overcoming creative blocks. Not only does meditation relax both the mind and body, but it activates the entire brain and increases grey matter, which research shows is connected with greater creative potential. A regular meditation practice tremendously increases creativity, and can prevent long bouts of creative block. Not sure where to start? Find a Sahaj Samadhi teacher near you to learn how to sustain a daily practice.
5. Sleep on it
More than likely, someone has at one time or another suggested that you “sleep on it” before making a big decision. Research shows that REM and non-REM sleep, the two main stages of sleep, cause the brain to make connections and find unrecognized links. While sleeping, millions of neurons fire in the brain, memories are integrated, and important chemicals are released, activities which do not happen in waking life. So if you are feeling stuck, make sure to get a full night’s rest. You’ll wake up knowing exactly what you need to do!
6. Exercise
Studies show that exercise enhances both creativity and mood. Exercise increases positive feelings and an overall sense of well-being, which is associated with enhanced creativity. What’s more, exercise sends fresh oxygen to the brain and throughout the body, helping to form new neural pathways and increase energy levels, both of which are connected with creative thinking. So whether you get up from your desk to do a few push ups or spend an hour at the gym, make sure you are moving!
7. Be with nature
Spending time in nature is an excellent way to enhance creativity and relaxation. Studies show that being around nature stimulates curiosity and recharges attention, allowing us to return to our project feeling refreshed and refocused. From a spiritual perspective, nature is the embodiment of creativity. Nature shows us the entire life cycle, from the sowing of a seed and the process of growth, to the plant’s withering away and return to the soil, all to start the process again in due time. Nature demonstrates the basic truth that all of life emerges from creation, and that creativity is our natural state. Being with nature helps us return to our instinctive flow.
8. Free write
Often, when we feel blocked, it is because we are judging our own ideas and preventing ourselves from even starting. You can kick start your own inspiration by stepping out of your analytical, judging mind and writing in stream-of-consciousness; you may be surprised by the ideas that strike.
9. Read a book
Taking a break from our own work and sitting down with a book is a reliable way to jump-start your own creative ideas. Creating is a process of output, and like any system, input is needed in order to maintain a productive yield. Rather than feeling down about creative blockage, see it as an opportunity for research and inspiration through the writing and work of others.
10. Take yourself on a date
Creativity expert Julia Cameron suggests that all creators take themselves out on a weekly “artist date,” which she describes as a “once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you.” Cameron swears by the artist’s date, and asserts that it is as important as the act of creation itself. Don’t worry - you don’t have to spend $100 on a five-course dinner! Rather, choose any activity that sounds fun, and witness your own creativity fire up through the new images and inspiration that come through your senses.
By: Lucia Whalen
