Writer's Block And Unlocking Creativity
So, there I was looking at the white canvas. I could do anything, but I chose to do nothing. Let me just tell you something. Writer's block sucks.
One hour later... and nothing.
Usually when writing posts, I usually have an idea and then start writing and letting my fingers and brain perform their magic. The past few days I have not had that trigger idea. Everytime I came up with something it either felt half-hearted or it seemed like a retread of a previous post I had without any new insight.
After exploring my typical methods of creativity, I decided to take a moment and just sit outside in the darkness, get some fresh air, and take in my surroundings. A quiet suburb in Ohio with no people or cars in sight. Everyone was most likely still awake, but hidden in their isolated homes to themselves. And at this moment, I felt somewhat liberated in my location and in my thought.
One of the worst things you can do with regards to creativity is to be perfectionist, because you simply will always fail to meet those standards. To bring up an idea from a post I wrote a long time ago, you simply cannot climb Perfection Mountain in a day. There are those who propose documenting one's experience rather than trying to create a grand idea (think Gary Vaynerchuk). So, I'm documenting my writer's block and my discovery of a small amount of creativity I found to write this post.
The idea to write this didn't come from any expected source. It came from exploring my situation and experience through reflection. And that came from changing my environment from a restrictive one (the house) to a more open one (outdoors at night). In order to unlock your creativity you need to have a varied experience and sometimes you simply need a change in environment to energize your mind from the daily grind.
I just wonder how many people are just stuck in their positions and are just unable or unwilling to change things up. Routines help to perform tasks efficiently but they really kill the creative juices. Well, I guess that is it. I still have writer's block and am still trying to figure out something to write about, but hopefully sharing these little tidbits of advice can help you to unlock some piece of your creativity.