Welcome back to my 10 part series designed to help you blast through creative blocks and get unstuck when you feel like your creative work is turning into quicksand. After a small hiatus, I’m ready to rock and roll, so stick around til the end for a killer journal prompt to help you take immediate action.
I had good intentions – in fact, I had the BEST of intentions for this series. I was, as the life coaches say, LIT UP by it. AND YET… it’s been almost a month since part 3.
Sometimes, no matter how solid your plans are or how committed your heart is, life just gets in the way. But that’s okay – and I’m going to tell you why.
So today’s Creative Urge is dedicated to LIFE itself, when it gets too ‘lifey’ and completely derails your, well, LIFE.
When the plot twists
Forgive me while I throw my head back and laugh at the irony of part 3 being about distractions. I should’ve known what I was setting myself up for.
This Substack was meant to reach your inbox on February 19, but life had other plans…
I returned from a 3 week working trip to Thailand and Bali, only to fall into an extra spicy Menti-B about finances, which totally cock-blocked my creativity.
My dad started treatment for a rather agressive melanoma cancer (that has spread, boo).
I attended Southstart in Adelaide and a dear friend’s wedding in Sydney, all in one week.
The bulletproof creative routine I’d set up for writing The Creative Urge was kidnapped by life and has been held ransom ever since.
Sometimes the plot twists and you can’t untwist it – but there’s a valuable lesson in all of this.
When life takes you away from your creative practice, you can return to it
Rather than adding on a few weeks of internally beating myself up for letting it slide, I’ve taken my laptop to the laundromat today to write this while my clothes spin.
There’s no drama around it: I had other things that needed my attention. So my only job for now is to dive back in and pick up where I left off.
Life is always going to LIFE you – in good ways, in bad ways and in a million other ways you haven’t even thought of yet.
And while I didn’t set out to leave you hanging on my last word, I’m grateful you’re back with me in the trenches.
When things don’t go your way, continue on as you intended to start
This is the beautiful thing about creative work: it’s always ready and waiting for you. It doesn’t judge or chastise you for how much you’ve done, all it asks is that you continue to show up for it.
And you’d better believe I’ve got some great stories for you to come from all of my recent adventures!
Journal prompt
What parts of your life tend to dominate your attention the most? How can you address those parts swiflty and with the least amount of drama?
Creatively yours,
Dr Maz xoxo
PS: Do you work in the creative industries? Come along to this epic conversation between myself and Mitch Catterall about building better creative leaders. It’s hosted by the legends at Creative Natives, online and free to attend.