I’ve lost It!
I’ve lost it!
I don’t know how it happened, but like magic, poof! It was gone.
For the last few weeks, I have been in denial, thinking that it was only a temporary thing, but after a year, I now know better. Somewhere down the line, I have lost my creative writing muse. And it’s killing me.
The utter frustration of being unable to work creatively on the keyboard has left me with a life of frustration. For years, I have always sat at a keyboard and have been able to let my mind wander and come up with something, but now…no.
I realized that I needed help. So, logically, I turned to Google for the answer. What remedies I found to the creative block all made sense, but none of which applied, if that makes sense. That was until I found one article that really spoke to me.
In the article entitled “What Causes Creative Block?” by Lea Greenwood, the #1 reason for losing creativity was stress.
The ability to create is often linked to external circumstances, and when stressful situations arise, it can halt creativity.
I began to think about it, and yeah, I’m under a lot of stress. It all started when I was “ghosted” about a job I was hired for. For those who don’t know what “ghosted” is, it usually applies to dating. Ghosting is abruptly cutting off someone without warning or explanation. And that’s what happened to me. For all intents and purposes, I got hired for a job.
I quit my other job and eagerly awaited a start date that never came from an employer that disappeared. With no job and bills pending, I was stunned.
So what happens when you are stressed out? In the article “How Stress Is Eating Into Your Creativity And How To Beat It,” the author points to a 2005 study where, using video clips, the researchers studied how stress affected creativity.
- They showed the war film Saving Private Ryan to the first group for the first 30 minutes.
- The researchers showed Shrek, a lighthearted animation film, to the second group for the first 30 minutes.
- Then, the researchers gave participants of both groups a word association task that required the ability to think creatively.
- It was found that the group that had watched Shrek performed 39% better on the task than the group that had watched the more stressful war film Saving Private Ryan.
Their conclusion was that stress and creativity are inversely proportional. One increases while the other decreases. I’ve banked a lot of pressure these last few weeks, so I have withdrawn a lot of creativity.
Imagination fuels creativity. It thrives when there are lower levels of stress. Stress blocks our ability to dream, forcing us to think of nothing else but solving the problem. With our minds so distracted, where is the ability to dream and create?
In my research, I’ve learned that stress affects the brain’s structure; our brain neuroplasticity is reduced. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change its connections on its own. When this happens, creativity can decay. How can creativity swim in such rough waters?
In my research, I have learned that there are remedies.
- Meditate
- Be creative in other ways, like painting or learning an instrument
- Spend time with others
- Be easy on yourself
- Spend more time in nature
I must admit that the above things I have not yet tried outside of meditation. In fact, meditation has really been my only saving grace. However, I realize that meditation alone cannot wholly fight the problem. So with the others, I’m definitely going to climb aboard.
Maybe you find yourself in the same situation. If so, think long and hard about why your muse has disappeared.
Maybe you’ve lost your creativity due to another reason other than stress. But don’t assume that it’s all over. Do what I have done and find out just what is happening. Don’t give up. Your creativity is there for the asking. We just have to know the right questions to ask. It seems to be working for me, as this article proves.
I may not have gotten my muse entirely back, but now I know she is there.
