Creative Drought

For the past several hours, I've struggled with this week's message, the words, "what will I write?" screaming in my ears. I've felt like the princess who promises her first born child to the little man named "Rumplestiltskin" if only he will spin straw into gold. Unfortunately, I'm not a princess and Rumplestiltskin is no where to be found.

Finally, it dawned on me that the most helpful thing I might share this week is how vital it is to embrace the empty spaces that crop up in life rather than running from them. Creativity is a process that ebbs and flows. And if my past experience is any indicator, often times a period of stillness or seeming emptiness precedes a period of awesome creativity (I hope!).

So if you find yourself in a waiting period, a period of low or no creativity, a period when the ideas aren't coming, the creative juices seem to have dried up, I invite you to join me in celebrating the wait rather than cursing it. Do what you can in the interim, whether that's clean up files, return calls, balance your checkbook, walk the dogs or any of a thousand other necessary daily activities. Don't do them as a way of escaping the creative drought; rather do them mindfully, knowing that dry spells happen and in the meantime, life goes on.

It's also a time to ask what part of yourself may have become disconnected in the busyness of your life. Are you neglecting some aspect of your self care? Perhaps you were journaling and have stopped. Maybe you're involved in activities and organizations that no longer reflect your values, or you need to reconnect with friends or renew some spiritual practice. What part of your life have you disowned or misdirected? Take a look to see what you find.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. Thanks for allowing me to share a part of my creative journey that doesn't often get airtime. And remember these oft-quoted words, "this too shall pass."

Until next time,
Betty

***********************
Quote of the Week
***********************

"It's terribly amusing how many different climates of feeling one can go through in a day." ~~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Betty Mahalik has been coaching small business owners, independent professionals and leaders who want to achieve more but stress less, since 1996. Her background includes several years in the broadcasting and public relations fields prior to starting her own firm in 1987. She is an accomplished public speaker and corporate trainer specializing in communications, goal-setting and leveraging your strengths. Since 2001, she has written a weekly motivational message, free to subscribers, titled Monday Morning Coach. To subscribe or learn more about Betty's coaching and training services, visit http://www.dynamic-coaching.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Creativity Information:

Related Articles

Creativity
Creativity is the gift to mankind. This is not the thing which can be created by human beings.
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Think Creatively
You may have heard of Roger von Oech's book, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How to Unlock Your Mind for Innovation. It's as much fun to read as its title suggests.
Produce Creativity: 4 Ways To Motivate Your Melon
It was 8:00 PM and I'd hit a creative wall - hard. But there was so much work to be done! And I just had to get out of the office or else my article would never get finished.
Achieving Limitless Creativity
There are many out there who wish to help individuals achieve limitless creativity. Such a noble endeavor to help fellow man; some creativity coaches are indeed working to set out simple principles which can help any individual get to that space.
Creativity Management - Overcoming Blocks
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Problem Solving Techniques For Business And Life
Learning a few good problem solving techniques can improve your bottom line and your life.Do you ever run out of good ideas, or go around in circles trying to come up with a solution for a persistent problem? Maybe you just need to learn some simple problem solving techniques, and then start applying them.
Seeing Problems From Their Creative Side
Did you know that winning actually puts less wear and tear on the body than worrying? And did you know that you could worry yourself sick to the point that you'll end up in a hospital bed? And that, depending on the severity of the problem, when it becomes chronic and acceptable mode of conduct, it could lead to options beyond hospitalization? It could very well lead to imprisonment or interment!Dr. Charles H.
Our Limitless Quantum Reality
Modern science tells us that on a sub-atomic level -- nothing is solid. That the entire universe is really one big web of vibrating "energy stew.
Think & Grow Rich
All wealth is a product of mind. Some economists will try to convince you that wealth comes from productivity.
A Book About Faith and Love
With news about Iraq and London and even our own neighborhood disasters, we need something to encourage us to keep going. While browsing the net the other day I came upon the most wonderful way of preserving my HOPE.
Improvisation in Life and the Arts: What I learned from Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch
Can you be an artist while you're washing the dishes?In this article I share some of my learning and impressions from a chapter of the exceptional book, "Free Play", by Stephen Nachmanovitch.This subtitle of this book, "The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts", speaks of bringing the improvising we do as creative artists into our daily routines and interactions.
Connect with Your Surroundings
Clutter is one of my favourite topics, and I've written before about the many different types of clutter and how each affects our creativity and our creative expression.Clutter is just one part of our surroundings - our physical environment - that has an impact on our creativity.
Unlock Your Creative Secret Weapon
It seems like this week a ton of people have been asking me how they can become more creative. I even had one client jokingly accuse me of being in cahoots with the Devil in trade for my creativity.
Magic In Your Spice Rack
Variety is the spice of life, but spices, historically are the stuff of magic! A spell, after all is really just a recipe and traditionally many of them involve plant life or herbs. Magic doesn't have to be complicated to work.
How To Discover Hidden Talents Within You And Begin Appyling Them In Your Life Now
Have you decided it may be time to start creating some newexcitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be retired, or just now reaching those "golden years" do you feel your life has become a little dull? Uneventful? Maybe even a little discouraging?After all, when you reach this period in your life, yourroutine may have changed, your energy may have dwindled and even your drive may have simply slowed down a bit. So if you are not happy with this situation what do you do about it? Well here's something to think about that could just change the whole picture.
How to Generate Ideas for Info-products?
Dear friends the current study shows that there are morethan 50,000,000 registered domain names on the Internet(approx.)(Reference http://www.
The Elements of Creativity: Attributes Listing Method
Attribute listing is one of the best ways to generate ideas, whereby there any many parts to the problem/ challenge faced. If you are asked to generate ideas or solutions to a complex challenge, the first thing you can do is to list all the attributes of your problem.
The Elements of Creativity: What-ifs?
What if there is no toilet paper and I am halfway through doing the "do"?What if one of my team members decides to leave the project halfway and he happens to be the most knowledgeable guy there?What if I turn colour blind, how should I adapt to the environment?What-if, what-if and more what-ifs?The technique of asking What-ifs provokes an individual to think and to produce something new. At times, in order to find original solutions to old problems, one must take the leap of faith and ask 'crazy' and imaginative questions to get us out of the rut of stale, conformist routine.
Top Five Journal Exercises
Keeping a journal is a form of creative expression that enhances the creativity coaching process. Keeping a journal develops emotional awareness, reinforces self-esteem and aids in problem-solving.
Creativity, Innovation, and Market Performance
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
>