What’s the #1 thing that gets in the way of creativity?
Fear. Of course it’s fear, right? Apprehension takes many forms and uses a myriad of sabotaging tactics to keep you from noticing the cause, assessing its validity and determining whether or not there is something truly dangerous about acting on whatever creative inclination set off the alarm.
But I’m not here to talk about fear today.
I’m here to talk about what I’ve noticed about what we often use, other-than-consciously, to keep that obstacle called fear in place and just outside the realm of your awareness where you could actually do something about it.
Clutter.
Over the last two decades of coaching creative people who’ve become stuck in some sort of holding pattern, like an airplane circling above the airport waiting for clearance to land. Clutter is a common and effective impediment to taking significant creative action toward your dream. Yep, clutter.
Just to be clear, I’m not talking about a creative mess. You know, when you’re deep into a project, or actively engaged in playing and making things with all your artsy supplies. Art does get messy.
What I’m pointing to is the jumble of stuff, the disarray, and the heaps of things that illicit feelings of heaviness, dread, confusion, overwhelm or numbness. You might not even notice it anymore, but the accumulation of items, objects, gear, artifacts and yes, rubbish, that you’ve gathered into your home, office or studio may be serving to literally and energetically block the flow of your creative energy.
So, here we go. You can already see the solution. But rather than the obvious remedy, “just get rid of stuff,” let’s look at it another way.
To free up your creative flow in the short term, try this.
Let’s play with this axiom from one of my favorite wise guys, Albert Einstein: Nothing changes until something moves.
Grab a large bag or a box. Set a timer for 21 minutes. (Why 21? Because you don’t need to to this all afternoon, and I like the number 21.) Go through one area of your living space or work room and gather up items that you know gotta go. Put the trash in the trash, and take your full bag of good-enough-to-give-away discarded items out of the house. Your can go in the garage or even into your car for a direct trip to the thrift store for donation.
Those unwanted, no-longer-useful items have been keeping stagnant energy, YOUR creative energy. And when you move them out of your space, something creative has more room to happen.
For the long run, a more lasting shift, use your imagination.
Visioning is key.
Because when the inertia of items laden with who-knows-what make it hard to move them out, you’ll want to have the vision of what you long for present to pull you forward.
Pause for a moment and take a breath. And a few more to relax into connection with your body, heart and present moment. Imagine how you really want your space to feel. Do you want to feel free, light and happy? Calm, inspired and confident? Cozy and serene? Awake, jazzed and alive? It’s up to you. Maybe different parts of your environment will be designed for different energies, but for now, conjure up an overall feeling that you want to experience in your place. Allow yourself to actually feel what you imagine.
Trust whatever comes to you.
It may a color, a memory, a song, or a place in nature that embodies the feeling of the space you’re going for. I encourage you to find a way to give your heart a touchstone for what you’re working toward. You know that I love a collage, but you can keep it easy with a single image or object that reflects and anchors your vision.
For example, the lotus flower speaks to the feeling I love in my office space. The colors, collage and candle show me that energy and support my creativity.
Put your “vision touchstone” in a place you’ll see it often (wallpaper on your phone, screensaver on your computer, on the cover of your journal, or even on the door of the room where you what your creative spirit to feel more free and at home.
If you feel too stymied even to allow yourself the room to connect with your desire, please start with the short term purge task. You might be pleasantly surprised that by creating just a bit of spaciousness, your imagination can breathe that much more.
