Keys to Creative Flow, Part 3

Melissa Dinwiddie

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Do you ever get stuck? Feel like your creative taps are rusted shut? Well, never fear, help is at hand! Today marks Part 3 of a three-part series in which I share my favorite tricks for getting back into flow. Want the rest of the series? Just click for Part 1, Part 2. Enjoy! -Melissa

Over the last two weeks, in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I shared my metaphor of the Creative Sandbox, and the ten “rules” I developed out of desperation, to get myself out of perfectionist paralysis and back to the inherent joy of creating. The Creative Sandbox is a space where we can let go, experiment and play — an essential practice for creative pros, if we want to avoid the burnout that can suck us dry if all we do is client work.

Whenever I’m feeling stuck, I consult these Rules for the Creative Sandbox, which are truly my keys to finding creative flow again.

I covered rules 1 through 6 in the last two posts, and this week I’m wrapping up the rules with numbers 7 through 10. Onward, ho!

7. Take the riskier path.

You know that moment when you realize the piece you’re working on isn’t finished yet, but you’re afraid that the thing you’re thinking of trying will ruin it? In the Creative Sandbox, my rule for myself is to go ahead and ruin it, baby!

What’s the worst thing that will happen? Sure, I might hate the outcome, but I’ll probably learn something in the process. And because I’m thinking “quantity, not quality” (rule #3) and “tiny and daily” (rule #4), if I do ruin the piece, it doesn’t sting so much.

Plus the great secret of successful creators is that some of the greatest work is the direct result of a mistake! Your next “disaster” may take you in a bold, new direction that you never would have discovered if you hadn’t taken the risk and blown it.

The next time you’re afraid to move forward out of fear you’ll screw it up, take the riskier path and see what happens.

8. Dismiss all gremlins.

Ah, those lovely voices inside my head, the ones that tell me that everything I create sucks, that I should just give up already.

I call those voices gremlins, and I set them on notice that they are not welcome in the Creative Sandbox.

They will creep in, however, because gremlins exist to try to keep you inside your comfort zone. Weird as it may sound, the nasty buggers are actually trying to protect you!

The real problem with gremlins is that creativity always happens outside of your comfort zone, in the realm of uncertainty and the unknown, so staying in your comfort zone means stagnation.

Learn to recognize those nasty, critical voices as gremlins, though, and you’re golden. Put them on notice that your Creative Sandbox is a gremlin-free zone, and when they appear (as they will), send them off to get a pedicure.

(Note: You may have to do this several times an hour. I do.)

What are your gremlins’ “broken record” sayings? Write them down, and the next time one of those thoughts pops into your head, acknowledge it as a gremlin, thank it for its concern, and send it off to get a pedicure. Preferably somewhere far away.

9. Spring the Comparison Trap.

Years ago I went to an art workshop and shared a table with a woman whose work just blew my mind. “Her work is so cool and interesting,” I thought, “I wish I could make work like hers, instead of my dull, boring work.”

I was gripped by the jaws of the Comparison Trap.

To my astonishment, later in the workshop my table partner turned to me and said, “Melissa, your work is so cool and interesting. I wish I could make work like yours, instead of my dull, boring work!”

The lesson I learned that day: Someone else’s work will always feel on some level more cool and interesting than your own, not because it’s better, but because it comes from their unconscious, which is utterly unknown and mysterious to you.

Plus remember, your opinion about your own work is only that: your opinion. Other people may look at the work that you consider crappy and think it’s absolutely wonderful. And who are you to tell them they’re wrong? That’s just insulting!

Besides, there’s simply no way to see your own work objectively. To paraphrase a calligraphy teacher of mine, Peter Thornton, “Other people see your work for what it is. You see your work for what it isn’t.”

Stop comparing and just do the work.

The next time you notice yourself comparing yourself negatively to others, remind yourself that staying stuck in the Comparison Trap does not serve you. Spring the trap and get back to work.

And finally, the rule I consider the most important of all:

10. Treat yourself with compassion.

Human beings are imperfect and fallible. You are human; ergo you will stumble.

This is not an excuse to beat yourself up! This is an opportunity to practice my Golden Formula:

Self-awareness + self-compassion = the key to everything good.

To have self-awareness means to notice what is going on inside, what’s working and not working, and how you feel about that. Then, rather than beating yourself up, love yourself up! Treat yourself with the same kind of compassion you’d offer a beloved friend or a child.

Conventional wisdom might say that we’ll never achieve our goals unless we beat ourselves up, but scientific studies have proven otherwise. It turns out that people are dramatically more likely to accomplish goals of all kinds when they treat themselves with kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.

Think about it: if you know you’ll get a beating if you stumble, you’re more likely not to try at all!

So there you have it, my 10 Keys to Creative Flow. By following these rules and staying inside the (sand)box, I made over 150 finished artworks in 2011, and after a decade and a half of miserable stuck-ness, the last few years have been the most prolific of my life.

These keys are not limited to visual art, either; they’ve helped me with writing, songwriting, creating videos… everything, really! Whatever your own creative pursuits are, you’ll find something here that will help you blast through your blocks.

To keep these concepts front-of-mind, I created this poster, which hangs on the wall of my studio where I can refer to it often. (Grab your own printable copy here, and find a full-size, fine art wall-poster here.)

Let me know how my Creative Sandbox rules work for you!