I had every intention of releasing a new Recovering People Pleaser blog every week. My original goal was to do it for a year.
But like most ambitious things I’ve set out to do in the past, I fell short.
By a long way.
Everytime I started writing a new post I couldn’t seem to get past the intro.
I tried over and over to write something but my writer's block continued week after week. Then writing fell down my priority list… and then it disappeared all together.
Life got in the way and there was always another excuse.
The harder I tried to think of topics to write about, the less I was able to find things that inspired me.
So despite the nagging feeling of guilt about not following through on my promise to write weekly, I took a break from writing about my people pleasing journey.
However, I didn’t stop practising setting healthy boundaries, saying “No” or giving my honest opinions - I just stopped telling you about it.
But guess what?
Finally, after six months of writing half-assed, half-finished blog posts, I’ve been struck over the head by the inspiration stick once again!
And so I’m back, baby! Thanks to the art of resting and reflecting!
Welcome to the next season of Confessions Of a Recovering People Pleaser!
Thanks to a “new year, slightly different me” attitude and a bolt of inspiration, I thought I’d explore an interesting question around motivations.
So, where did this inspiration come from?
Out of focus…
Do you often find that you have your best ideas when you’re not focused on thinking of ideas?
When you’re just relaxing? Letting your mind wander?
When you’re on a walk, or in the shower, or driving your car?
When I was going through my creative dry spell in these last few months I couldn’t find anything I wanted to write about.
I was struggling to find new blog topics about people pleasing, motivation, self improvement… all things I love talking about, writing about, and researching.
Yet I found myself constantly coming up against a wall.
I have a “note” on my phone with potential blog topics, but none of them were inspiring me to write.
I’d start one idea, and end up hating it.
I bounced some ideas around with Chat GPT to see if that would stimulate some creativity, and it worked with a mild degree of success. But ultimately, it proved to be a fruitless exercise.
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and one particular topic kept cropping up about how creative people in creative pursuits need some “looking out the window” time.
That is time to let your mind wander and let your thoughts gather. Giving your thoughts space to breathe before they turn into crazy ideas. Before they finally turn into fully fledged plans.
This topic kept coming up. Over and over again.
And when did it keep popping up? Usually during my “looking out the window” time…
It was like something in the universe kept trying to give me a sign. This is what you should look into! This is what you should write about!
So here we are.
The creative in you
I strongly believe that every single one of us is creative.
Creativity isn’t just reserved for painters, musicians, and writers. You can be a creative accountant, a creative parent, a creative data entry specialist, a creative couch potato.
Your creativity is with you all the time, every time you make a decision or solve a problem.
But to be the most creatively effective, your “creative mind” needs time to wander and be bored.
It’s in those moments where you’re most likely to come up with your latest and greatest brilliant idea.
You know our good friend Albert Einstein, right?
Well he once wisely noted "Creativity is intelligence having fun.” And neuroscience concurs with him.
We have a part of our brain called the “Default Mode Network”. This part of our brain is activated when we’re daydreaming, or when we’re “looking out the window”, and it plays a vital role in generating creative insights.
That’s because the Default Mode Network works in our sleepy subconscious, and without us even noticing it provides a mental playground where we can make new connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
When we make connections between unrelated topics, that’s where innovation happens.
The psychology of creativity also backs this up. It tells us to embrace divergent thinking - this is where we stray away from conventional thinking or ways of working and explore new ways to do something.
And the best way I’ve found to kickstart your creative process… don’t force the creativity.
Let your mind wander. Be bored.
Look out a window. Have a shower. Drive your car. Go for a walk. Read something you have no interest in.
Break the routine and let your creative genius out.
Side note, there’s an amazing book called The Creative Nudge: Simple Steps to Help You Think Differently by Kevin Chesters and Mick Mahoney about unlocking your creativity through “nudge theory” by using simple behaviour changes to retrain your brain and live a more creative and rewarding life: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Nudge-Simple-Steps-Differently/dp/1786279002
Not all those who wander are lost
Basically what I’m trying to say is, don’t beat yourself up if you find your mind wandering at work. Or if you find yourself staring out the window.
This is your way of massaging out all those hidden creative ideas that are floating around in your subconscious.
Who knows, this “unstructured creative time” might be when you have your next big breakthrough - the thing that propels you into the next phase of your life.
It might be the thing that unlocks your “Million Dollar Idea”.
As J.R.R Tolkien wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost,” we’re simply exploring inside our imaginations, curious to find out what comes next.
Or in my case, I’m going to use this as a convenient excuse as to why I haven’t written a blog post in months - I’ve been busy exploring my imagination.
Speak to you soon!
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