Life has ebb and flow, like the tide. Our writing projects, careers, and businesses can be growing, failing, or just staying the same. With all of these changes in our daily lives, how can we stay on the path of growth with the give and take of the creative process?

Take A Creative Inventory

In order to remain creative, we must know two things. We need to know what breathes life into us. And we need to know what causes us to become bogged down.

Do you know the answers to those two questions? They will remain the same no matter what is happening in our lives, because these are questions about who we are. The trouble is knowing what we need.

Are you tired?

Frustrated?

Feeling dull and uninspired?

Busy?

Where are you right now?

Once you know where you are you can work on what you need.

If you are tired, there’s nothing better than a nap or night of sleep. This may sound counter intuitive because you want to be productive, but there is a signification correlation between proper sleep and how well we function.

If you are uninspired, block off some time and give this question some thought. The answer may be in the recent past. What gave you motivation to dive into that project last year? What gave you the gumption to try a new form of writing? Was it a movie or a book or a painting or a classical soundtrack? What was your spark?

Test It For Yourself

Often we are unclear as to what we should do next. What we are looking for is the perfect answer, but what we need is a laboratory.

We need to listen our favorite album, take a walk in the woods, have a conversation, or a nap. Once we start to understand the rhythm of creativity, we will know what our next step should be.

Give you self some space today to answer these questions. Where are you at right now in your creative endeavor? What do you need at this moment to keep growing?

Remember The End Goal

It’s nice to test new theories and blaze new trails but we must remember our goal. We are trying to write a book, start a business, build a platform, etc. The lab is a place to test what works. We must use what we discover about ourselves and what makes us tick as a launching pad, not a home base.

Make sure you pick a point in your schedule to leap, and actually do it.