A Note On Not Forcing Creativity

Coming back to write a blog post for the first time in 2 months feels like an age has passed. When you first start a blog or any creative platform for that matter, you might have visions of having a content plan and having a neverending stream of ideas that you want to share.

Sometimes this is the case. But sometimes it isn’t.

If there’s anything I’ve learnt during my content creation journey – both from a hobby and career perspective – is that creativity is something that ebbs and flows. It is a natural process. There are supposed techniques to spark creativity, from being in nature to journaling daily. At the end of the day though, forcing creativity is not something that I have found leads to my best content.

The best content comes from the heart. When nothing else feels right at that moment except to type away at the keyboard or pick up your camera or paintbrush, whatever it may be.

It is okay to take a break and switch things up.

Just like energy, creativity is something you need to recharge. If you force yourself to keep moving, keep doing, when your mind and body are screaming no, or you try to do the same as everyone else even when it doesn’t feel right, you start to enjoy things less.

With blogging and social media platforms as they are now, there are constant messages of how you should be using each platform, how you need this type of strategy and to be creating content for a specific niche that speaks to your audience, and the list goes on.

The pressure builds up. Posting on your little corner of the internet becomes more stressful. That feeling that you have to post something even if you feel like you don’t have much to say, you want to keep some experiences and thoughts to yourself, or simply you are just living your life. It is in these moments of forcing creativity when it just isn’t the right time that the whole activity of creating content – even if you love it – can become more negative or feel like an effort.

So, this is your permission to stop forcing creativity for the sake of having a new post up. Life changes, interests change, who you are changes. It’s OK to switch off and take a break. It’s OK if you want to completely change the type or topic of content you create. If you just want to create for yourself during those moments when things just pop into your head, that is OK too.

Getting creative again – Live. Explore. Discover.

Rather than sitting at your desk, struggling to come up with a blog post or Instagram caption, just going out and living your life could be the very thing you need to do to rediscover that creativity.

I had a phase in university where I took a 7-month break from blogging and when I came back afterwards, I was filled with new inspiration and ideas of what I wanted to write about – purely from experiencing more of the world.

There’s a scene from Stuck in Love, one of my favourite films, where Greg Kinnear’s character says “A writer is a sum of their experiences.”

This speaks to me on so many levels. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to go and travel the world or anything major to that extent. It could be as simple as reading more and sharing your thoughts. There is inspiration in all corners of life.

For anyone out there who finds them in a creative funk and needs to break out of the chatter of social media strategies, content plans and the ‘use this platform in this way’ sort of pressures.