Creativity Rehab!

A Guide To Recovering Your Creative Soul Through Life’s Simple, Guiding Principles

Epiphanies have their own timeline, crashing into our lives on their own, bold terms. Sometimes they jolt us awake in the middle of the night, sometimes they shake us up hard while we’re strolling down the canned food aisle. Mine showed up as I stared into my computer screen one Sunday morning, my mind a complete blank. My creativity had come to a standstill, the words that used to flow so easily through me were locked up and I couldn’t find the key. Nothing I typed made sense and more importantly, I was completely uninspired and frustrated.

The frustration I was feeling wasn’t new: For more than two decades (Twenty. Long. Years.) I had a practice of starting—then stopping--my artistic endeavors. Books, macramé, painting, sculptures: project after project started, and sadly left half-done. If you’re a creative type, you know how excruciating this is. The deepest part of my soul craved a life of creativity, but something was missing, forcing me to stop every time I got mid-way through. I couldn’t understand why others succeeded in their creative pursuits, but I stopped short every time I get close to success. Why was I better at supporting YOU in your dreams over my own?

Then, the answer finally hit me: What if I wasn’t fulfilling my creative potential, because I hadn’t applied the guiding spiritual principles of my life to my creative self? That afternoon, I sat down to wrap my head around this link between spiritual principles and creativity. Since getting sober in 2011, I’d committed myself to embracing the Principles practiced in many 12-step programs. I thought I had applied these principles of Honesty, Hope, Willingness and Perseverance (and others) to nearly every aspect of my life. When it came to you, or my job, or family, I had learned how to be honest and giving and forgiving. I fairly regularly (hey, I’m not perfect) checked and re-checked my motives and fessed up to my errors when I screwed up. I remained willing. But that morning at the computer, I realized that when it came to my creative pursuits, my Principles sat on the sidelines eager to play in the game. I knew then and there that the key to my creative fulfillment depended on me diligently applying my spiritual Principles to my creative passion.

I got to work, one Principle at a time, having fun (yes, fun!) asking myself probing questions as they related to my creative projects. The result? A clear understanding about which projects I wanted to continue, which ones needed to be put on hold, and the perseverance to charge ahead with new excitement.

This Creativity Rehab! series is for anyone struggling with finding their true creative purpose, or needs help re-igniting their creative passion. Whether you’re deciding on whether to start a new project, or are stalled in the middle of one, this series will help you apply spiritual principles to your creative journey to help you unleash your best creative self. Your spiritual principles might be different than mine—great! Take your own principles and start asking yourself how they apply to your creativity. The magic is in the journey.

Part 1: Willingness Definition of willing:

1: inclined or favorably disposed in mind : READYwilling and eager to help

2: prompt to act or respondlending a willing hand

3: done, borne, or accepted by choice or without reluctancea willing sacrifice

4: of or relating to the will or power of choosing : VOLITIONAL

During my first years of sobriety, my sponsor—a no-nonsense woman 20 years my senior who’d managed to stay sober for more than three decades--would often hold my hand during our times together and say, “Oh honey, just stay willing.” When I’d hear her say this, my frustration level soared. I was sure she did not understand my particular predicament. Stay willing? What is she talking about?Clearly, she doesn’t understand my “unique” situation. What does willingness have to do with staying sober? Doesn’t she understand that I just want a drink? I had so much to learn.

Over the years, I came to understand that Willingness was my personal key to everything: my sobriety, my relationships, my profession, my role as a mother and friend. I needed to stay willing to learn from others; I needed to be willing to let in a power greater than myself, and yes, I needed to practice willingness in my creative endeavors. But what did that even mean? What does willingness look like?

So what does it mean to apply willingness to creativity? How do we stay willing through writers block, or any other creative block? What questions can we ask when we’re feeling unwilling to keep trying? By applying certain questions around willingness to creativity, we can start to uncover whether we’re just temporarily stuck, or if this particular project isn’t something we’re interested in investing in anymore.

Exercise: Take out pen, paper or computer and start exploring the following related to your creative idea or project:

1. Am I willing to sacrifice my time? My energy? My finances?

2. Am I willing to say no to other endeavors (and people) in order to complete this project?

3. Am I willing to recognize and honor imperfections during the process?

4. Am I willing to collect feedback if necessary?

5. Am I willing to stay willing?

6. Am I willing to stay focused?

7. Am I willing to find the humor when things don’t seem to be going my way?

8. Am I willing to ask for help?

The questions above are a starting point to get your thoughts jump-started, and take you to a deeper level of understanding about your creativity. I’d love to hear what you think: Email me at alipat6@gmail.com with feedback.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Creativity Rehab! where we’ll dive into creativity and Hope. www.alicepatterson.net