A creative dry spell is a blessing. Truly. When your mind is swirling but can’t land on something that feels right, you are getting insight on your creative state-of-heart. If the path you’re on no longer lights you up, it’s a sign a little down time can help you get re-centered and make a shift into what’s on it’s way into your life next. Most importantly a creative dry spell can also show you that you are ready to expand into something bigger than you feel prepared to take on.
No matter what a creative dry spell signals for you, it’s so much more than a hurdle to move past – it’s an invitation to see what you might be missing, giving you time and space to realign your mind and heart.
When all your energy is focused on the steps to get you through life rather than what you want to create, a dry spell is not only imminent, it’s essential for your long-term creative health. It’s how you can take a path pointed at burnout and turn it around towards creative rejuvenation instead.
The Creative Dry Spell and Mindfulness
To stay mindful during a creative dry spell, embrace it. Be open to seeing that it’s a temporary state of being that’s essential in helping you come back clearer, stronger and more focused on a heart-centered path that supports your mind, body and spirit.
Calling on mindfulness during a challenging creative block is the most powerful way through to the other side. To help you glide through a creative dry spell, look at simple ways to dive deeper and understand the gifts it’s offering you instead.
1. Respect the space between creative insights – it’s all part of the flow.
Being in the creative flow doesn’t mean you have a shower of non-stop amazing ideas. A true, healthy creative flow leaves room for natural downtime, space to amp up your self-care or a simple change of scenery to re-spark your imagination. Creative expression is not linear, and creative blocks are an essential part of your development. It’s one of the most powerful ways to carefully consider if the path you are on still serves you, so use a creative dry spell to re-evaluate what you didn’t even realize wasn’t working until now.
2. Embrace a slower pace.
You don’t move directly from thing to thing without ever sleeping, so why should your creative inspiration be any different? A slower pace with expanded space is not only natural, it’s a necessary tool for reflection. A river bends and flows around what’s in it’s path, it doesn’t try and fight it. Take advantage of a slower pace to take a deeper look at what you are really fighting. This will allow you to return to a state of flow around the things you consider obstacles by seeing them for what they are – simply something to go around.
3. Treat Yo-Self.
It’s easy to blame yourself when a creative dry spell hits, so treat yourself instead. No use in piling self judgement on top of the frustration you already feel – take time to administer a little self love. It will help you remember what it’s like to feel appreciated and replenish some good, supportive energy back into your system. Get a pedicure, massage or bake a sweet treat just for yourself. Frequent little treats during a dry spell makes good use of your creative time and is an essential part of a good self-care practice.
4. Get Connected and Talk with a Like-Hearted Soul.
Never underestimate the power of conversation to heal and soothe a creative dry spell. Talking about a challenge in person or in an online forum takes it out of your head where it gets spun up and seems bigger than life, moving it into an objective space where you can see it from a fresh perspective. Not every challenge needs to be “solved”, but it does need to be acknowledged in order to clear out the emotional gunk built around it so you can move into something freer, fresher and more expansive.
If you are feeling stuck in a creative dry spell, congratulations! You have the perfect opportunity to try some of these suggestions or find new ways to pause, integrate and appreciate the space between. It really is all about shifting the perception of how to use a rough patch as a tool to move to the next threshold, rather than seeing it as an obstacle that’s holding you back.
Want to do a little more reading on how to break through creative blocks? Visit some of my previous posts; Why Creative Gratitude is Essential for Healing Creative Blocks or Ways to Keep Creative Faith When your Path Suddenly Changes.
Photo credit: Let Ideas Compete, Horizon, Elaine