[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness, and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:36] Welcome to a brand new episode of The Focus B show. Today's topic is around creativity and how you can release your creativity. It is such a fantastic topic. As you probably could tell, I'm really into creativity. I create a lot of content for my podcast, my blog, my YouTube channel, and therefore creativity is at the heart and soul of a lot of the activities I do. First of all, before we go into how you can release your creativity, let's look at probably why you're feeling stuck in terms of your creativity. Because I believe that if you're listening or watching this, then probably a part of you is feeling stuck. And the need to release the creativity that you feel is blocked. This is extremely common. So don't worry if you are a creative person and you're feeling blocked, this is so common. So let's look at a few of the key reasons why this might be the case. First of all, you might be going through a challenging phase in your life. Challenging emotionally maybe you're changing jobs, you're transitioning, you're moving, a relationship has ended, you've lost someone in your life. Any of these things can obviously really impact us emotionally and therefore can make it difficult for us to continue creating. If you were used to creating regularly and had many ideas all the time and you suddenly feel stuck, this could be linked to this challenging phase you're going through. So in those moments, just have that awareness and that acceptance that this is not your usual type of situation and that it's perfectly understandable that in these types of situations it is a struggle for you. That could be one reason, but there are many other reasons. Fear of imperfection, for instance, is a very, very common barrier and obstacle. So for those of you who are either high achievers or perfectionists, it can be very challenging for you to tackle a creative project because perfection and creativity don't go really well together as you might have tell. Whether you're writing a book or doing a painting and a drawing or any other type of creative activity, creating content online, any of these things can hardly really be perfect. There'll always be room for improvement, for a different word, for a different image. It's never quite perfect. So if you have a fear of imperfection, this could also be holding you back. Another reason, and I believe this is probably one of the most common reasons, is not taking enough time to rest or to play. Because if you're always acting on that left brain and functioning on a logical perspective and go, go and thinking all day and not having any mental space or rest, then your brain is overcharged and can't have the room for creation. You've probably noticed that you get your best ideas in the shower or when walking. This is because your brain is finally resting. So if you're not resting at all, it is not a surprise you're not getting any creative ideas. Also, if you're not playing, which is different, and this means taking time out to just do something fun, just quickly do a drawing, reading a novel, anything that enlightens you and you find fun. Doing some sports, going out with friends, something that you find enjoyable. So rest and play. And the last reason why you might be feeling stuck creatively is if you've just gone through a big creative period. I know this has already happened to me many times where I create a lot of content in one go and then my brain just sort of saturates and blocks and I can't seem to have a single idea for another post, another video, another podcast episode. This again is perfectly normal because creativity is energetic. So you've released all that energy and now you need to break, wait, rest, and then it will come back. So if you're in that phase where you've created a lot, but you're feeling that now it's stuck, that's okay, breathe and it will come back. Let's go through now a few key ways that you can have and use to enhance to release your creativity. The first tip is to journal. And the reason why journaling is so powerful for creativity is because it helps you to overcome that fear of imperfection. While you journal, you just release all of your thoughts, ideas, emotions, and it really gets the juices flowing. The tool that I specifically recommend is morning pages that Julia Cameron talks about in her book The Artist's Way. And this was really powerful and transformational for me and helped me to make huge progress on the book that I was writing every morning, writing three pages, stream of consciousness. And this will release a lot of things. They'll release stress or pressure, things that you're dealing with. It will help you to be more clear on what you want to accomplish during the day. It really just sorts out all that stuff in your head. And it's recommended by Tim Ferriss and many other people in the personal development world. It comes up time and time again and there's a reason for this. It is so powerful to journal in the morning or in the evening. And the morning pages is a great example to release that creativity and to release that control, because perfectionism and control go together. And therefore, when you're just journaling and not trying to control the response coming out, it will make it a lot easier for you to be creative. So that was the first tip journaling. The second tip, and this is pretty obvious given the reasons I mentioned, why you're probably feeling stuck, is to be restful. To take a rest, to take a break. And this is because, as I mentioned earlier, when we're working under pressure, when we're working continuously, then we don't allow our brain, the time, the mental space to regenerate and to get these ideas. So rest is super important. You might need to even take a weekend away or a long walk in nature for a couple of days or a week to really get all that creativity to come back. And last but not least, to seek new experiences or have new conversations with people, or even just listening to new podcast episodes or audiobooks or reading. I found that in the past, this has been one of the main ways that I have gotten creativity back, if we could think of it going. Although it never goes, of course. I have been inspired when I listen to other podcast episodes, when I read certain books, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, but getting inspiration from outside circumstances. And this can be just through new experiences that you're doing. A new walk, a new place, a new cafe, a new tea place, or through conversations with people or podcasts or books or anything that really inspires you and helps you to think differently and have new ideas. I know that in those moments, I like to take out my notebook and jot down notes because it always inspires me for new podcast episodes or blog articles. So this can be a fantastic way, if you're feeling a bit stuck, to get that inspiration and to get that motivation going again. So those were the three tips journaling, rest and seek new experiences to help you to release your creativity, especially if you're going through a phase in your life where you're feeling stuck and where you're feeling that your creativity isn't flowing as it normally does. I hope you've enjoyed today's episode. Please share it with a friend or a family member if you think it would be useful for them. And please put in the comments what was most inspiring for you, what you're going to implement, and share any other ideas or tools or tips that you have on this topic. Thank you so much for tuning in and wishing you a wonderful day.
[09:50] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Be Show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback. So let me know in Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.