Fun fact: according to neuroscience, a peaceful stroll is good for your brain- and your creativity.
Confession: I have been suffering from a creative block quite some time. Good news: EUREKA! I finally got out of it!
If you’ve been led here, then perhaps you are stuck in a creative rut too. I know how frustrating it feels when you have a creative block that you don’t know how to remove. From the surface, everything feels fine, but deep down, you know something is amiss. You’re not in alignment with who you really are, and you can’t seem to access your greatest potential.
After a recent breakthrough, I thought I’d share my own journey of coming home to my creative self. And hopefully, it will provide a roadmap towards yours.
Here’s what helped me:
Take A Walk
In the last two years, taking long walks have been a sanctum for me. It helps me clear my head and allows me to stir my creative thoughts. Turns out that science backs this. According to neuroscientist Dr. Shane O’Mara, there is a direct link between walking and creative thinking. According to him, taking walks for as little as ten minutes can actually boost creative problem solving because it engages our brain, our bodies, and brings unexpected sparks from outside environments.
The key is to walk in pleasant spaces (through cityscapes, parks, nature, etc.), not stressful ones (like crowded, high traffic areas). Because humans are social animals, walking can be optimized when done with others. Pro-tip: if you’re solving a problem with your team, take walking meetings - it promotes dynamic creative collaboration.
So the next time you’re stuck on an idea, get out of your desk/house, and go outside—according to science, you’ll come back with more creative solutions once you ‘get out of your head’. Guess our girl Jill was on to something ;) Want to learn more? Listen to Dr. O’Mara’s podcast interview here.
Be Mindful of the Content You Consume
Speaking of podcasts and walks, I can’t think of a better duo! I get to move my body for exercise AND learn at the same time?! Every time I come back from a walk or run accompanied by a great podcast episode, I come back richer.
As a creative committed to my personal growth, I put myself on a strict media diet. I am intentional about seeking out the kind of content that I can either learn from or be inspired by.
A few of my go-to podcast favorites:
Instagram content that helps me be creatively brave:
@inspiredtowrite
@mattgottesman
@ghizlan_guenez_
My favorite podcast episode right now is Rick Rubin’s interview on the Jay Shetty Podcast, where he talks about his own creative process. Which leads me to the next point:
Make Art as an offering, not aS a performance
As creatives, we are often our own worst critics. But instead of thinking too hard about how it might be received, flipping the switch and creating with the intention of making something as an offertory or a devotional to a higher power (whether you define this as God or simply the world/society/community around you) may allow you to create and share your creativity with more peace. Listen to the Rick Rubin podcast episode above for his elaboration on this.
For example, I recently started creating short form videos on my Instagram. Instead of worrying about how many ‘likes’ the video would get, I focus on whether it will add value to others. I create with the intention of answering some of the common questions I get, and helping others figure out their own sustainable fashion journey. Some creators put pressure on their content to ‘go viral’ or get the external validation of ‘likes or comments’, but when I create with the intention of making it as an offertory for others, I'm at peace with it regardless of the kind of engagement it gets. As a creator, it takes a whole lot of pressure off, and it’s much better for my mental health, too.
Follow the Ease
I’ve been conditioned to think that great things are almost always a result of hard work. Which is why I always had this mindset that great art has to be like scaling a mountain (ie. writing a whole book, publishing an entire screenplay, etc.). While working hard is important, I’m also challenging that notion and recognizing that not all good things require intense labor. I’m in a place where I’m intentionally welcoming in softness and ease, and that’s the same for my creative process.
What feels natural and easy for you? What’s a small creative thing you can do that feels playful and fun? I unblocked my creative energy when I realized I don’t have to write a book, but instead, partake in bite-sized creative activities, like writing short pieces that allow me to flex my literary muscles (that I don’t even have to publish) for as little as 30 minutes a day, and creating those short form videos on Instagram that helps me experiment with another medium.
Some say that social media is frivolous, but for those of us who are intentionally creating there, you might know how fun, easy, and natural it feels! Most importantly, experimenting with video means I’m PLAYING again, and it feels AMAZING. What feels like play for you? Go there.
Financial Literacy as a Form of Self-Care & Creative Nourishment
I have to admit, finances were not my strong suit when I was in my twenties. As a young artist, I foolishly thought that prioritizing my finances was a betrayal to my artistic path. I don’t have many regrets, but the one I do have is not building my investment portfolio earlier in my career.
True story: once I was intentional about my financial health, it unlocked SO much inner peace. And guess what, that inner peace led to me being more creative because the energy that was once used to stress over my coins could now be redirected towards my art. I consider my accounting a self-care ritual, which I treat as a sort of financial spa (I seriously get all dressed up, spray my favorite perfume, put on lipstick, and sometimes pour myself a glass of wine or a warm cup of tea when I do my accounting because it makes me feel so luxe).
Rebranding my accounting activity in this way helps me to create a new association with it, which makes it feel like a luxury experience, instead of a daunting chore. Shout out to financial hype woman & comedian Bernadette Anat @heyberna for teaching me this trick! Berna’s got a new book btw, and its designed specifically for children of immigrants- and to make you laugh ;)
I can’t call myself an expert and I still have a lot to learn, but I can now say that I am good with money and that feels so empowering- for both me and my art.
I hope this helps you gets unstuck from your creative rut, and if you have something that works for you, I’d love to hear it. Wherever you’re at, don’t give up on your gifts. Because what I know for certain is this: creativity is my lifeline, and inspiration is not want, but a need for me to live and breathe fully. If that’s the same for you, keep taking the next step (or 10,000 of them, according to neuroscientists) ;)