Do you find yourself stuck in a rut bogged down in the tweaking, finessing, revising, researching, rethinking, ripping apart, smashing against the wall routine of procrastination?

Do you hold any rigid concepts of what you must do, have or be in order to fully express yourself creatively?

Do you seek perfection in your work?

If your answer was yes, or even a maybe, to any of the questions above you may be suffering from analysis paralysis.

Your self adopted restrictions act as leashes that force you to circle like a tied puppy dog about a very small radius. If you look around, you will discover that many of your friends and acquaintances are similarly paralyzed. It is true, birds of a feather do tend to flock together.

Analysis paralysis shows up as Fear. Fear shows up as:

• Finding Excuses And Reasons
• False Evidence Appearing Real
• False Emotions Appearing Real

And my personal favorite:

• Frigg Everything And Run!

Analysis paralysis shows up as Expectations. Expectations show up as judgment and upset. An upset is a thwarted expectation or a mis-communication. Don't let the weight of your expectations of yourself and others get in your way.

Expectations are the "shoulds" and "supposed tos" you have placed upon yourself and others. Stop should-ing all over yourself! Let go of your expectations. They are most probably unrealistic anyway.

Analysis paralysis shows up as Attachments. Are you attached to certain ways of doing things? There is very rarely only one way to express a vision.

If you are struggling in any area of your life you are attached to thoughts and beliefs that do not support you. Here's a hint, a belief is called a belief because it is not a truth. If I tell you I'm wearing a blue shirt and you see that I'm wearing a blue shirt, I've told you the truth. If I tell you I'm wearing my lucky blue shirt; well, that's a belief.

Learn how to discern the difference between a belief you hold and the truth. Examine and investigate. Here's another hint: this examination is an inside job.

There is only one way to move beyond analysis paralysis is to trust the spontaneous creativity of your own nature. The real foundation for any creative endeavor is intuition, inspiration, trust and authenticity. In trusting your intuition and listening to that inner voice of inspiration you let go of your fears, expectations and attachments.

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Next: The Artist Soul Can Be Kidnapped by the Inner Critic

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Copyright ©2009 Valery Satterwhite. All rights reserved.

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