Five ways to keep the creative cycle from being like a roller coaster

Have you ever felt that sense that you are a fraud? For creatives this is a normal part of the creative cycle.  And it can be very painful, but it does not have to be.

It is very common after a period of creative activity to feel like a fraud and a dilettante- The voice in your head starts berating you with things like, "All these fabulous ideas are silly and they are going no-where."  "You do not have what it takes."

​This can spiral into  a real morass of self-pity- as you look around and feel completely isolated- you have been so caught up in your own thing that you do not feel your sense of connection with anyone. You start telling yourself that you have been a self-centered egomaniac and everyone has gone off to enjoy each other and ignore you.

Ouch this is painful! Am I going over-board here? I may be stating it rather strongly, but for many creatives, be they small business owners, artists, writers, musicians it does feel like a seriously painful roller coaster.

First of all this is a normal cycle for a creative person, and maybe in-fact for all living beings- it comes with the territory- like the phases of the moon or a woman’s cycle- the tides- the seasons- there are times that are full of growth and potential, times of flowering, and times to drop the leaves and go inside and recoup.

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What’s more there are layers- we exist with many concurrent cycles- from short cycles like breathing or the heart-beat, to the need for rest at the end of the day, and our one singular life within the generations of our family. We have our own cycles and we exist within much larger cycles.

In the creative life of an artist, there is often a fall after you get your show or event up and over or a new piece created. But it may also be that you have just been in an exciting time of creative ideas, and seemingly for no reason, the bottom drops out. It can really throw a person off!

It does not have to be this bad- it is completely possible to live a balanced and happy life and be an artist- despite what our cultural stories of the suicidal creative genius tell us. You do not have to fall into a pit of despair in order to be able to reach your delicious and delightful creativity. And I would argue that it is really important to follow your creative impulse not just for you but because each of us has something important to offer this larger organism of our culture. We need your insights!

The trick is to pay attention to allow for all of the layers of cycle- not just the big ones. You need to breath throughout the day, and rest at night. This is both reality and metaphor.

So to balance out your creative work you need:
Connection- to balance the solo activities, to know that you are part of something much larger than yourself and you are not alone
Body awareness as grounding- to balance the fantasy life and out there creative activity
Release- some way to let all of this creative energy find a fruitful home.

These are a few specific ways to find your feet when the bottom has dropped:

1. Call a friend. Share your own feelings, and also let the conversation be about them. Let yourself be curious and interested, compassionate and kind. You need to feel the generous part of yourself which is not about taking up space with your stories, but is about making space for others- letting them know that you do care about them, and letting yourself feel the caring part of yourself, it is real and needs to be given energy.
2. Engage in your spiritual practice- walking in the woods, meditating, yoga, church- all of these things allow you to feel the deep connection that you have to a broader culture and to the earth and spirit.
3. Do some physical activity that gets your body really moving and your heart pumping and/or a physically based awareness practice like yoga or tai chi. This will help balance out all the frenetic brain activity and give you a better sense of grounding in your physical body and connection to the earth.
4. Take care of some mundane tasks. Mow the lawn, do the dishes, straighten up the living room. These things are ways of taking care of your home base- creating an emotionally safe and nurturing environment. They are the  very regular activities of tending to the home. It is shocking how satisfying, grounding and refreshing it can be to take care of that messiness that has been niggling at you. Not only is the result satisfying, but the process can be a great way to let the mind do its thing unencumbered- you may find that the answer the conundrum you have been chewing on rises to the surface more easily as you putter.
5. Give yourself time first thing when you wake, before attending to the long ever-present to-do list, to get your chosen material in hand and not know at all what you are doing with it. A quick study that is pure play and discovery. It is a release valve. It is also a way to get the creative urge that is pushing on you to feel real instead of like a fantasy.

The thing about being an artists or a creative of any sort is that the high of the creative time can mask out the other parts of who you are. And at a certain point your psyche will let you know that it needs other things too- the other parts of you need to be nourished as well. This is what it means to be balanced and the trick is to nourish those parts along the way so that there does not have to be a collapse of the creative part in order for your other needs to be met.

It goes the other way as well- the thing about living life is that it can mask out the creative life and suddenly it has been a year or two since you picked up the paint brush. If you do not allow yourself the luxury of creative time it will push on you in obscure and painful ways until you give it voice. If it has been a long time- be gentle and stay tuned- Join my mailing list and get some nourishing nuggets toward your creative passion.
 
Back to you! I am very curious about your story- does the bottom drop out for you? What triggers it? And what gets you back on your feet?

Can I help? 
If you would like to see what it would be like to get help so that you can get grounded and productive as an artist, click here to schedule a free introductory appointment.