kamakawida

I have recently come to realize that I have cycles of creativity.

I love being creative and dabble in a wide range of things such as painting, video, pictures, writing, ideas but especially music production. It allows me to express my thoughts and feelings, giving me a sense of accomplishment as well as releasing tension.

However as much as I love expressing my creative side, I find myself at a loss sometimes even for longer periods of time. Either from the fact that I am not able to express what I have in mind or then trying to force myself to be creative when I really can’t.

These periods or what I’ll call cycles of non-creativity, are highly frustrating and a huge blow to my self-confidence. I find myself very unmotivated and critical of my own work, essentially questioning if being creative is my “thing” at all to begin with.

It is only recently that I have figure out that these cycles of “in-ability” to create seem to be times when my body is recharging for the next round of creativity. So instead of thinking to myself that I lost my creativity because I’m trying to force myself which results in very unsatisfactory outcomes, I have learnt to take a step back and focus on something else for the time being.

This realization has made a positive impact in two ways. First off I waste a lot less time sitting in front of my computer or whatever other means I use to create. Secondly, because I don’t force myself to create when my head obviously needs a break, has lengthened the cycles of when I do create and I find myself being a lot more focused for longer stretches of time.

Although I have discovered a part of how my creativity cycle flow functions and behaves, I have yet to understand how long these cycles last for and what triggers the change in cycles. Also I have not yet figured out what the best activity is for the times when no creative juices flow though my body.

Anyway I am sure that there is a lot of literature on how these cycles work etc. But I am consciously trying to avoid reading on the subject area since I believe that every single one of us has a slightly different approach to creativity and thus I see that the best source of learning how you’re creativity flows work is by getting to know yourself better. I for instance am not confident enough to say that I know how my creativity works and functions and until the day I do feel comfortable enough, then that’s when I might look at literature behind it. But for now I would rather find out on my own and avoid outside influences which could mould my creativity into something that does not come natural to me.

I would love to hear your thoughts and observations regarding your own creativity flows and your ability to work around times when you feel less able to express yourself.