Here we are friends, at the end of another calendar year. How are you feeling?
Full transparency: I’m COOKED. Crispy. Well done. Burnt. Stick a fork in me, turn me over, I am DONE.
That all sounds dire, but I’m choosing to see it differently.
For this year hasn’t been about a ‘return to normal’ (or even the start of the fabled NEW normal)… it’s been about RECALIBRATION.
Today’s Creative Urge is dedicated to how to integrate unwanted challenges and turn any leftover strong emotions into something useful to carry you forward.
You can be more than one emotion at a time
When you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to travel… UP! Unless, of course, you get stuck.
Sometimes we don’t choose to stay down, either – sometimes there are forces beyond our control that keep us there. Like trauma. Or anxiety and depression.
There were moments this year that pinned me to ground. No matter how hard I tried to pull myself up, I just couldn’t.
But that didn’t mean I GAVE up – no, quite the opposite. Yes, I did moan and withdraw (who wouldn’t?!), but I also wrote my way through it all:
I felt creatively cursed despite achieving a lot
I found myself in the ‘shit pit’ (more than once!) and
I battled feeling anxiously bored in the face of living my digital nomad dreams.
My point is you can be BOTH down and up at the same time – and that’s perfectly normal. You can be doing your dream job and be miserable about it too.
But there’s one thing you can always turn to, no matter the circumstances, to help you stay afloat: your creative practice.
Your pain needs to be faced, not forced down
After an horrific accident, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was bed-bound, unable to walk, enduring nightmare levels of pain.
Her mother bought her paints and a modified easel to put on her lap to give her something to do.
Little did they know that this one simple act would yield one of the greatest, most authentic artists of the 20th century.
Now I’m not suggesting you go get yourself beat up and start making work about it, but you can take the same sentiment and apply it to your life.
What could this look like?
Lost your job? Turn the job hunting process into a ‘choose your own adventure’ style game with side quests, hidden treasures and a diverse series of characters you meet along the way that tell you secrets of the Universe. When we lose something there’s a gap beginning to be filled with fun and joy.
Feeling isolated and lonely during the Holidays? Send one person you know (or want to get to know better) a short text or email sharing something awesome you’ve watched or listened to lately. When we feel lonely, we’re missing connection – the easiest way to get it is to offer it up first.
Just had a breakup? You might like to volunteer for a local organisation (like walking dogs at a shelter) or donate items to charity. One of the fastest ways to move through any heartache is to give.
Your 3 greatest assets as a Creative
I was listening to this episode of The Mel Robbins podcast and she said that there are 3 things we need to monitor and manage, which are our:
Time
Attention, and
Energy.
Her context was business, but the same rings true for creativity – especially if you’re exiting a difficult year.
How you manage your energy affects how you use your time and what you pay attention to. So if you can think of this triad whenever you feel stuck or blocked, you have a better chance of pinpointing how to break free and get back in flow.
I’d like to go a step further and say this: energy really is everything. I’ve been at the mercy of a rather brutal bout of burnout for the last few months and let me tell you, I miss my regular high-vibe energy.
That being said, if you’re distracted and allowing the world to pull you in a million different directions, you can kiss your time and attention goodbye.
Remember: Creativity is a slow moving spiral – even when you feel stagnant, you’re still moving
In a world that’s moving at warp speed, moving slightly slower can feel like you’re at a standstill.
Don’t let the conversation online derail you from making progress on your creative projects and practice.
Creativity isn’t going anywhere and it needs you to be energised and focused so the right ideas can come through.
I hope you’re starting to wind down for the year and have a restful break ahead of you – and if not, perhaps this is a sign to take your foot off the gas for once and breathe.
Creatively yours,
Dr Maz xoxo
PS: If you wanna see how I turn my pain into something beautiful, watch the Creative Mornings Melbourne talk I did in April last year. The theme was KISMET, which perfectly describes my life thus far!