Dan Goodwin : Creative Block: Why You Don’t Create More

Creative Block: Why You Don’t Create More and How to Turn it Around

By Dan Goodwin

Creative block — or artist’s block — comes in many different forms, but they all have one thing in common: they stop you from creating what you’re capable of creating and what you long to be creating.

The reasons you may be blocked can again be multiple, and this is why creative block can seem so overwhelming to even think about getting over. You feel like there’s so many ways you’re blocked, that even if you manage to fix one, there’ll be another dozen others that pop up in its place and stop you dead in your tracks again.

Which is why we’re going to look at the one underlying reason that causes all this block, and help you to turn it around.

When you create, you have a certain motivation, an urge to create. If you didn’t have, you’d not think about it, you wouldn’t have any ideas pop into your head, and you wouldn’t worry that you’re not creating, and haven’t been consistently creating for longer than you want to remember.

But however strong this motivation to create, it comes up against an opposing force that feels greater. So you simply don’t create, or you create a tiny fraction of what you’re capable of creating.

So what is this opposing force and how can you overcome it?

Creative resistance. Creative resistance is the one name we can give to all the thoughts in your head that combine to stop you creating. They may be fears about messing up or projects not getting finished. There may be worries about running out of ideas and never being able to create anything new again. There might be old tapes of voices from your past telling you have no talent, or your creative work is just a silly hobby or you’re not a real artist, only an impostor.

It’s more likely you have a combination of all of these negative thoughts and more swimming around in your head, all adding up to major creative resistance.

Now, this point is crucial. What these negative thoughts and voices are there for is simply to try to protect you. It’s your mind’s way of trying to keep you safe, to make sure you don’t get hurt, or upset, or disappointed. In other words, behind all these negative messages that you’re hearing, there’s a positive intention.

The positive intention behind all your creative resistance is to keep you safe and protected.

By acknowledging this simple fact, you automatically change your attitude to being blocked. Instead of wrestling with it like a vicious nine headed fire breathing monster, and most of the time retreating in fear, you can instead look it in the eye, tickle its tummy and say:

“Dear Creative Resistance, I understand why you’re trying to stop me from creating and that you’re only doing it to protect me and keep me safe. I thank you for your concern, and I’m going to carry on and create anyway, because being creative is a fundamental part of who I am and what I do.”

Once you’ve acknowledged this resistance and told it quite clearly that you’re going to carry on creating anyway, you see the whole dynamic of being blocked in a new light.

And the more you say this and take on this new perspective, the easier it becomes to create. In fact, by saying this a few times a day, within a few weeks, your creative resistance will still show up each time you go to create, but instead of giving a terrifying roar, is more likely to say “Yeh I know, you’re going to create anyway, I’ll get out of your way. I still need to show up though and say Hi now and again... Any chance of quick tummy tickle before I slope off?”

Use this simple yet profound technique to approach and overcome your creative block in a new way, and you’ll find your creativity levels increase dramatically. •

© Copyright 2007 Dan Goodwin

About the Author | More by Dan Goodwin
Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin is the author of “Create Create!”, a FREE twice monthly ezine for people who want simple and powerful articles, tips and exercises to help them unleash their creative talents. Sign up right now and get your FREE “Explode Your Creativity!” Action Workbook, at www.CoachCreative.com.

11/05/07