Obstacles to Creativity--Overcoming Them!

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Comment by stephen dijoseph on November 3, 2009 at 11:37pm

thesis-writing dijoseph here.

Comment by wiffledust on November 3, 2009 at 11:20pm

great question about moods creating inspiration or inspriation creating moods....! we have to get stephen dijoseph in this conversation, because he could write a thesis on this! can it be both? certainly when i'm inspired, my mood changes. and if my mood changes, i probably receive inspiration more freely or more restrictedly depending. i think if i had to decide for me inspiration might create mood. i don't usually think of inspiration as something created but rather something i get lucky enough to have access to...?

Comment by wiffledust on November 3, 2009 at 11:18pm

you know you have me thinking, janet. i used to be more like you. i had to get everything out of the way and almost sneak in the creative stuff. somewhere along the line i realized that not enough creative stuff was getting...well, created that way. i realized i was having the creative stuff as icing on a cake rather than BE the cake. creative moments were like dessert instead of the main meal. i don't do that as much now. now i try to use the everyday things as breaks..almost physical breaks. washing the dishes is a good break from writing or painting or computer work. it's physical and rhythmic and helpful. but i don't want it to define me. i'd rather the creative stuff does. i'm not sure when i made this change though.

Comment by Janet Stinson Therrien on November 3, 2009 at 11:14pm

Question to anyone and everyone: Do your moods create your inspiration or do you find your inspirations create your mood?

Comment by Janet Stinson Therrien on November 3, 2009 at 11:10pm

Yes Lisa, interesting and I'm sure it stems from an association that I was "conditioned" while growing up such as, "You can't go out with your friends until all your chores are done." "You can't have any dessert, until you clean your plate." etc etc. I must say that I had very supportive parents in my desires to "play" and "create", but I guess they were teaching me to prioritize my life at the time?

This is a condition that I struggle with daily. I feel I have to "earn it" to "have it". But you are so right, I don't want to die saying that I got the dishes cleaned and laundry folded instead of painting or creating that master piece that is jumbled up in the brain of chaos.

Comment by wiffledust on November 3, 2009 at 10:59pm

isn't it interesting, janet, that we think we have to get everything "done" before we can dive into that bliss as you so beautifully said? i have trouble getting into a focused place when i have a ton of chores to be done too. but what i have found is that there are ALWAYS chores to be done. they never end. so if i don't carve out time to create, it will just sit there and call to me, but the shower will always need cleaning. and i just don't want to die saying "well i had a clean shower!" with all this other good stuff in me. so that's how i try to think when the "chores" come to get in the way. but you described it all so well!

Comment by Janet Stinson Therrien on November 3, 2009 at 10:27pm

Guilt. Thinking I should be doing the chores or paying attention to the needs of my 5 pets and of course, my husband. So I rush through it all, feeding the dogs, tending to the cats, toss that load of laundry into the dryer, pile the dishes into the sink and let them soak, and yes, spread my arms opened wide to give my husband a great big hug. I find that by the time I've done all this "guilt duty", then I can begin.

I climb the stairs to my sanctuary of sanity and drag out all the brushes, paints, tools, papers, 3 paint palettes, two easels and buckets and buckets of water and dive right into that world of bliss.

Comment by wiffledust on November 3, 2009 at 8:57pm

Sorry, you guys! I had to restart this group for tech reasons. The theme here is the things you have done to get out of your own way when you are trying to create but get stuck. What helps you helps everyone!


Ok, I'll start. But I've had so many issues that it would take forever to talk about them. I'll break them down in little snippets as we go along if folks want to talk about this stuff. Sometimes , for me, all goes really smoothly when I'm "in the zone", but getting to the "zone" means blasting through some big walls that don't want me to get there. I have found that sometimes the fastest way is to force myself to take one step towards it as opposed to thinking about "it". Thinking about playing the guitar is not PLAYING the guitar. And this is a constant battle for me. Overthinking has never helped me with creativity. Getting my hands around the instrument, the microphone, the paintbrush..THAT helps....what about you guys?

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