Note: This is Day 1 in the “Recharge Your Creative Batteries in 31 Days” Challenge. For the rest of July, we’ll be posting different ways for you to get yourself on the path to living in a creative flow and reaching your writing goals. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any.
You know that stuff? That cold, icky, dark stuff that lives inside your head? Always putting you down, always telling you you’re not as good as you think you are.
You sit down to write, you get a couple paragraphs out and then something happens. Again.
That voice has come back. The one that says you can’t do this; you’re not a good enough writer and this idea sucks.
Before you know it the voice has grabbed hold of you and fear has set in.
Or maybe it’s not the voice that’s getting to you, it’s just the words coming out on the page are crap. You get an idea in your head, you know what you want to write, but when it actually comes out, it’s not what you expected. You just can’t come up with the right words.
Or maybe you came up with the right words, for a little while. But then suddenly it stopped. Your mind was blank and you couldn’t figure out how to get back into the flow you were in a few minutes prior.
Writing session ruined.
Stress, Lack of Energy, Day Jobs, Poor Sleep, Etc
The reason this happens is because the bullshit of daily life clogs your creativity. Things like not getting enough sleep, negative self-talk, a bad day at work, not eating properly, stress, etc., block your mind, making it hard for you to produce quality writing.
If you want access to the best ideas you have, you need a way to get those things off your mind and out of your head.
Daily Mind-Clearing Exercises To The Rescue
When you take the time to clear your mind on a daily basis, it will have ridiculous (in a good way) affects on your creativity.
You will suddenly be getting ideas for your writing left and right. You’ll actually need that notebook you carry around with you to keep track of them all. When you sit down to write, you’ll be able to get into a flow.
Mind-Clearing Exercises to Try
There are lots of ways to clear your mind. Some people go for a run or do yoga, for example.
Everyone is individual thou, so I always recommending trying different exercises to see which one(s) work best for you.
From my experiences so far coaching clients on their writing and creativity, I’ve found three mind-clearing exercises that work the best:
- Morning Pages—created by world-renowned creativity author, Julia Cameron, Morning Pages are: three hand-written, stream-of-consciousness pages you write first thing when you wake up, before you do anything else. You can also do them at other points throughout the day, but they are most effective first thing in the morning. There’s just something about still being half-asleep while putting words on the page that really brings to light stuff you didn’t even know was there. Here’s how to do Morning Pages.
- Morning Meditations—meditating is a really relaxing way to clear the clutter of your mind. You can do any meditations you enjoy and that work for you, but there are two meditations I’ve found that, when done together, create amazing results.The two meditations are Quick and Effective Creative Visualization and the Healing Meditation: Release Your Fears. They were created by Law-of-Attraction guru, Lilou Mace. She’s a bit quirky and has a very soothing voice.These two meditations will unclog your mind and, when done first thing in the morning, your entire day. Here’s how to do Morning Meditations.
- Journaling—it’s a soothing way to work through the ups and downs of life. Putting your thoughts down on paper gets them out of your head, which helps keep them from blocking you when you need to write and be creative. So get yourself a journal and write. Write when things bug you, write when you’re upset, write when you feel anxious, etc. Anytime you start to feel thoughts overwhelming you or taking over your head, it’s time to get them down on paper.
Share With Us
Which mind-clearing exercise did you try? What results did you have?
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