It’s inevitable, the go-to creative tools you call on daily get dull over time. Whether it’s meditation, physical exercise, writing prompts, visualizations, brainstorming, walks in nature or hobbies, the initial “punch” these activities offer can start to feel watered down long-term.
Regular use of any tool provides a sense of comfort, and it’s easy to fall in step with a common energy pattern that feels stabilizing. However, as you get more familiar with the impact of your go-to creative tools, something else very interesting happens. You begin to see similar results over and over that have a “lulling” effect but don’t challenge you or force you to grow. Going through the motions may feel as natural as brushing your teeth, but are you truly present while performing them? Are you still inspired and aware, noticing how a specific tool helps you dive deeper into your creative self, adding another level of inner refinement?
On the flip side, you can inadvertently start feeding the “expectation dragon”, looking to create similar results or increasingly powerful ones every time you call on a creative tool. Soon there’s a sense that the flow of ideas or insights “should” have a specific type of impact on creative expression, but it feels forced or causes you anxiety when results don’t meet certain criteria.
The truth is, no matter how talented you are creative tools always need a refresh. Becoming too familiar with a way of doing something easily takes you out of the present moment, out of feeling all the nuances of a creative experience.
Comfort Does Not Breed Creative Inspiration
Relying on dull overworked creative tools also limits what you can reach; the depths you can tap into for creative insights or reserves. The patterns you roll through daily make it easy for you to whiz along in same grooves, while it becomes harder and harder to start a new habit that will shake things up in a good way.
To keep things fresh you don’t need to toss out all of your creative tools and start from scratch.
Instead, freshen things up a little at a time to maintain your core creative process while also stretching your legs a bit. Some suggestions to sharpen your tools:
- Deepen or expand a current routine
- Join a group or forum to learn new tools and techniques or refine current ones
- Add a new creative tool to your core set-list
- Evaluate current practices and pinpoint weak spots to tighten up
- Change the time of day you do certain things, or break it up into shorter sessions twice a day
- Make a point of checking in once a month to evaluate your creative tools and how they are working for you
- Dont’ be afraid to change something – even it’s working well
- Be honest with yourself – are you being lazy or expecting too much out of your tools?
- Change up the music you listen to during creative time
- Update your tool-set; refresh technology or programs, connections supplies or resources
- Switch around your exercise routine or route
As you switch things up, make a note of how you feel before the changes and after. It’s not a necessity, but it will help you build mindfulness around when using a creative tool becomes too habitual and need of a sharper edge to be effective.
There is no right “pace” or answer aside from what works for you personally, but there is an effective path to your deepest creative discovery. When you are willing to mix up how you tune into creative callings without piling on expectations, you engage your muse and invite in possibility for insights and mindful creative expansion.
Need a little help getting past a creative block or finding motivation to change up your creative routines? Let’s connect to see how I can support you to reach new levels of creative expression.
Photo Credit: Stavros Markopoulos, Clonny