Stop Sabotaging Your Creativity! (Part 2)

By Totemworlds

Whether you’re a writer, filmmaker, painter or music composer, the lessons in this article will help you become a better artist.

In the previous article we talked about creating art in a playful manner, keeping a regular creative habit, and seeing the value in being bored. Now we’re expanding into other mindsets that hold us back as artists, and prevent us from creating our best work.

Where you create is important

To create our best work, then we must create in a space that’s not only comfortable, but inviting. No matter how humble or impractical your space may be, it should feel like a sanctuary, a place that allows you to create with ease.

I want you to think about your creative space. Bring into your mind’s eye the place where you make your art. Is it indoors or outdoors? Is there a desk in front of you, or is it just your instrument? Do feelings of joy, peace, or excitement come up when you think of this space? How about your instrument? What kind of feelings arise when you think about it?

If feelings of anxiety or fear come up instead, something isn’t right. It’s normal to feel tension or resistance when you first sit down to create. But if these negative feelings linger, the space where you create may not be optimal. Try improving your space to make it more inviting: perhaps it’s a matter of making everything look neat and tidy, adding a few decorations or artifacts that inspire you; or perhaps the change must happen inward, by consciously working to improve our relationship with this space.

Above is where artist Xnuht records his music. He shares that even though his space is humble, it is also “full of magic.” And his work surely reflects that.

No matter where your working space happens to be, it is special. So always try to summon feelings of gratitude when you start working:

“I am grateful for having this space to create. This is an artist’s sanctuary.”

Say or think these words as you prepare yourself for a creative session. If you have an instrument then say your grateful for it as well. Practicing gratitude is a powerful technique that cleanses any form of negativity. This technique is especially helpful if you work at home.

An inviting working space will allow you to relax and…

Surrender to the process

Having an inviting working space is important, but so is our mental state as we create. In the previous article, I wrote about how we sabotage our creativity by focusing on the end product rather than the process. It’s good to strive for perfection so long as we don’t lose sight of what’s truly important.

Think about your latest work, and how it came to be…

When inspiration first struck you, it probably came as a set of powerful visions and/or feelings: abstract forms which you then gave shape to. Everyone’s experience is unique, but regardless of how it felt, this experience motivated you to put in the work.

And though the end product probably ended up looking (or sounding) different from its initial conception, the link to that experience remained. And what’s so great about your work is not the object itself, but the experience that propelled you to create it in the first place. Does that mean quality is not important? Of course it is, but artists tend to focus too much on the tiny details rather than the big picture (and the big picture is what your audience will first see).

The truth is, your audience will focus mostly on their own experience; they won’t be looking for the tiny mistakes you made, but their impression of your work as a whole. Therefore, you shouldn’t obsess over perfection but over that magical experience you felt when inspiration first struck you. Surrender to it. Let the process take center stage, let it change you as a person, and let the result of this transformation seep into your work…your audience will appreciate it.Your technique will improve in time, so don’t let it stop you from expressing yourself and those magical experiences that move and transform you.

“At its essence, art is an alchemical process. Alchemy is a process of transformation.” Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way.

End of Part 2

You can find the first part of this article HERE. Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for the third and final part of this series.

Follow Totemworld’s work on Youtube and Instagram.

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If there are other questions you want answered in a blog post, let us know at info@fourwindfilms.com. In addition, we work with a large, diverse community of crew and artists working in most aspects of the filmmaking process and are always happy to help make connections. And of course, we are always building our community! Send us your work for review or feedback.

Stop Sabotaging Your Creativity! (Part 1)

By Totemworlds

Feeling blocked, anxious, exhausted, lazy are all symptoms of a constricted creative flow. And like a clogged pipe that needs maintenance, we need to take care of our creative flow if we wish to create great art.

Perhaps you have amazing ideas already, but lack the support needed to realize them. Or maybe you have the time and resources, but you don’t feel inspired or procrastinate…a lot. Or maybe your process of making art stops being as enjoyable as before, and your doubts become numerous. If you find yourself in any of these situations, you may need to change the way you make art. Whether you’re a writer, filmmaker, painter, or composer, the lessons in this article will help you restore motivation and trust in yourself.

Get in the flow

Creativity is a primordial force that flows through all things. The flow is found everywhere in nature, in the movement of the planets, and inside each of us. I’m not trying to channel Master Yoda when I say that we are all one with the flow, but it’s true: to create is your birthright. So why do we often feel creatively blocked, uninspired, and/or anxious?

Remember the clogged pipe analogy? The truth is that we love to constrict the flow of our creativity. By focusing on the end product rather than the process, we often overflow our mental landscapes with insecurities and expectations.

Being out of the flow means you have trouble starting projects and not finishing them. Being out of the flow as a professional, where the stakes are even higher: it’s petrifying. Luckily there’s a solution: learning to create in an effortless, and playful manner.

Actually, it’s not learning but remembering how to create in said way. Back when we were children, though our technique was poor, our attitude was spot on. We treated work as play, and we made art in a pressure-free environment and in a peaceful state of mind. I’m asking you to choose that attitude as your default mode of working.

Start practicing by playing (and having fun) with your instrument or equipment in a pressure-free environment, let all expectations and self-criticism drop for a moment and get back into the flow. As Kenny Werner writes in his book, Effortless Mastery:

“Full-blown artistic creativity takes place when a trained and skilled grown-up is able to tap the source of clear, unbroken play-consciousness of the small child within. This consciousness has a particular feel and flow we instinctively recognize. It is “like tossing a ball on swift-flowing water: moment-to-moment nonstop flow.”

Practice bringing this playful and effortless attitude into your work and you’ll never feel uninspired again.

Keep up the momentum

To keep the juices flowing, practice doing something creative regularly, preferably daily. Don’t let this activity consume much of your time: it should feel spontaneous, simple, and quick. Anything goes as long as it requires you to be creative: keep a miniature journal, take a minute to snap a photo, find any object and interact with it as if it were the first time, etc.

The aim here is to bring more spontaneity into your life, which forces you to be more creative throughout your day. Doing them regularly helps you reinforce your playful attitude and build the momentum you need to take on larger projects.

See the value in being bored

To foster my creativity, I have tried psychedelics, long hikes, deep meditation, but to my surprise what worked best was doing nothing at all. Boredom is so underrated nowadays, but it’s been proven to spark, and I mean really spark, creativity and productivity. Don’t be confused. Being bored is not the same as relaxing, rather it’s intentionally removing all external input until your brain starts finding it uncomfortable. Don’t worry, it’s healthy for your brain!

Spend 10 minutes doing nothing (no phone, no music, no journaling, no meditation, do nothing at all) and expect some ideas to appear. Dare to do it for a whole day (a dopamine fast) and you’ll be even more surprised. The lack of input will force your brain to explode with a rush of ideas and solutions. These ideas and solutions were hidden before because you were too distracted, and good ole’ boredom brought them into the light.

Get bored. Stare at your floor! (Photo by jaqui from FreeImages.)

So try giving your mind a break from all external input whenever you get the chance: be bored during your daily commute, while you wait for the doctor’s appointment, while you wait for your food to arrive at a restaurant. Fight the itch to become distracted, let your mind wander, and you’ll be rewarded with ideas!

End of Part I

The next time you feel blocked or anxious, get back into the flow by surrendering your expectations, keep a regular creative habit to build momentum for large projects, and don’t forget to see value in boredom.

Be on the look for Part 2 :).

Follow Totemworld’s work on Youtube and Facebook.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -

If there are other questions you want answered in a blog post, let us know at info@fourwindfilms.com. In addition, we work with a large, diverse community of crew and artists working in most aspects of the filmmaking process and are always happy to help make connections. And of course, we are always building our community! Send us your work for review or feedback.