When you've been struggling to create as freely as you'd like, it can be all too easy to get stuck in a frustrating negative spiral, and lose touch with how enjoyable and rewarding creating can be.
Here are 5 powerful questions you can ask yourself to bring about that shift in thinking that can inspire your creativity and get it sizzling again: 1.
What do I tell myself that limits my creativity? All of us have negative and destructive voices in our thoughts, telling us we're not good enough, saying what right do we have to be creative and a whole string of other limiting statements.
These become so frequent that they take over as your "normal" state of thought, and you forget the damage being done.
So ask yourself, from an objective perspective: What do I tell myself that limits my creativity? Write the comments down and get them out in the open.
The first step to overcoming them is to be aware they exist.
2.
If I was creating at my full potential, what would that look like? Wherever you are now with your creativity, there have been times in the past where you've been freely creative, so you do know what it's like.
Maybe you've lost touch with those kind of feelings and experiences, so ask yourself if you were creating now at your full potential, what would that look like? What would it feel like, what would be happening? What thoughts would be in your mind, what would you be hearing? Get the details down as fully as possible.
3.
What do I need, to be more creative than I have ever been before? If being as creative as you can be - in quality and quantity - was a delicious main course in the best restaurant in the world, what are the ingredients you need to make it as tasty as possible? What elements are in place already for you to be freely creative? What other elements do you need to put in place to enable you to be more creative than you've ever been before? You know deep down just what you need.
Listen closely to yourself then write them down.
4.
What creative talents and strengths do I have that I take for granted and overlook? Do you often look at others and think "If only I had their talent...
"? Well, guess what? These people do exactly the same thing! And more importantly, people look at YOU and think "If I only I had their talent...
".
What creative talents and strengths do you have that other people see but you've been overlooking and taking for granted? Write them down, use them, celebrate them! 5.
What does creating add to my life that nothing else can? Imagine what your life would be like if you weren't able to create at all.
If you had no capacity for a single idea or imaginative thought or action.
Pretty scary isn't it! Turning this around, what does creating give you that nothing else can? How does it make you feel? Getting back in touch with these feelings naturally motivates you to create more, and draws you back to creating at your best.
Spend some time answering each of these questions, put the answers to one side and return a day or two later and ask again.
By the end of the process you'll have unlocked many routes forward for your creativity.
The next stage is to put this analysis into action and start creating!