“Every choice and perspective on each experience in our lives has the power to add to the magnificence of who we are expressing in each moment.” Dr. Helen Lee
There are few things more damaging to our creativity than stress. Whether the genesis is fear (I’ll never be published!), frustration (Rejected again! What do they want from me?) or writer’s block (I can’t write. And I’ll probably never write again!), stress takes the life from our writer’s soul and leaves it an empty shell.
But given that stress and its causes are a fact of life, it’s critical that we discover ways to manage it, overcome it and, to some extent, make it work for us. And, as writers, we do have a bit of an edge in this regard because our imagination is always “on” anyway.
Each day, before you start to write, close your eyes and zero-task, letting everything fall away. Then, take a few moments to breathe into your own reality — breathe into what is happening right now that has you so wired you can barely function. Don’t run away from it but look it square in the face.
Next, close your eyes and keep breathing, and with each breath, relax your body, your mind, your spirit. Don’t hunt for answers or solutions, just breathe.
Finally, pick up your pen or go to your keyboard and free-write for 15 minutes: on the cause of the stress, on what you wish was different/better/easier in your life, on crazy inventive solutions to your problem.
Let your creativity overcome the stress, use the stress and turn it into a source of inspiration rather than a barricade to imagination.
No comments:
Post a Comment