One of the exercises in week 5 of the Artist’s Way involves drawing a cartoon of yourself indulging in your favourite creative block (or form of creative avoidance). What do you do to avoid creating, or evolving into the complete person that you were intended to be?
In her book, Julia Cameron offers some suggestions including:
- Over-reading
- TV
- Friends
- Work
- Rescuing Others
- Over-exercise
I’ll add to this list with:
- Eating (Snacking)
- Drinking
- Surfing the internet
- Over-Schooling (taking class after class in the field you want to enter, but never actually taking the leap)
- Filling up your time with tasks that are urgent but not important ** (I have a post that I’m working on about time-management that I’ll be publishing later today, I’ll explain what I mean in that post).
- Gossip and Unproductive conversations.
What did I choose? Didn’t take me long to figure out that my favourite avoidance activity is over-reading. Specifically, over-reading of self-help books. I will read book after book avout self-improvement, take detailed notes on the different principles and activities out-lined in the book, and then never execute all of the excellent information that I’ve received. Here are my illustrations:
Julia Cameron recommends that you explore the reason behind your creative block in your morning pages, so I did. This opened my eyes to something that I did not fully realize about myself.
I am constantly hearing stories about people who, after reading a book or coming across a quote/idea, had a “life-changing” realization that catapulted them towards success. I think my obsession with these books stems from my desire to have this moment myself. I’m on a never-ending quest for that book that will provide a quick-fix for all of my problems. That book that I will refer to in interviews: the book that changed my life. The problem is that I’ve probably already come across this book a multitude of times. It’s just that I haven’t acted on the informaiton that I acquired. The next step, for me, is to stop the preparation and the learning and just do. I need to find that special store of bravery that exists in each of us and jump, even though I don’t know what’s at the bottom. Week 5 is about rediscovering a sense of possibility, and I need to allow for the possibility that once I jump I could sprout wings and fly. Big change can happen all at once, or after a long period of time. It’s entirely up to you.
I’d like to wrap this post up with a quote I recently ready by Esther Hicks (Abraham). It really resonated with me, and maybe it will resonate with you as well:
“When people ask us how long does it take for something to manifest, we say, “It takes as long as it takes you to release the resistance. Could be 30 years, could be 40 years, could be 50 years, could be a week. Could be tomorrow afternoon.”
What’s your favourite creative block?
I do this too, I read endlessly before even taking a step towards creating something with that knowledge. It’s an academic mindset, thinking you need to know everything about a topic comprehensively before you can prove you know anything. It’s also a mental safety net against a fear of failure; ‘if I know enough, then I won’t make a mistake’. Sometimes its useful, encouraging you to explore and be informed, but on the other hand it can really hold you back if you know that footnotes don’t matter.
‘if I know enough, then I won’t make a mistake’ – that’s exactly where my mind goes. I’m glad I’m not alone in this. Moving forward I know that I need to spend more time in action, and less in contemplation and planning. It’s just that “planning” is so comfortable. I like it in that zone. “Doing” is a little, no a lot more scary.
When reading your post, I felt as if I was reading my own thoughts.
Really? That’s so neat. This goes both ways. It’s nice knowing that I’m not alone in these feelings, and that there are people who can relate to my experiences. Thank you for sharing.