Day 27- Getting Unstuck- A Creative Revival

Are you ready to get UNSTUCK?? So am I! Here's a list of 7 things to help nudge you along the way.

Welcome to DAY TWENTY SEVEN of our new 30-day COMMUNITY PROJECT where we make something with our hands every day in order to improve our mental health. We all realize that creativity heals...it's time to put that knowledge into action.

These episodes will exist here, marked with the days numbered, in order for you to follow along at any speed that you like. Miss a day? Doesn't matter. Just pick up right where you left off and keep making things. These episodes will give us all some accountability, but if you need more, pair up with a partner. It really does help!

Join our creative community by making something today, whether it's for five minutes or several hours—your brain will thank you. Let's do this thing together and turn all of this sh*t into something beautiful!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to day 27, and today's episode is about getting unstuck and having a creative revival. The list of things that I would recommend for getting unstuck is really long. So in this episode, I just decided to sit down and write down the first seven things that come to mind. And these come in no particular order, or you could just cherry pick, you could switch it around, you could do it the same order, you can choose only one of them. But these are the first seven things that came to

Getting Unstuck #1

SPEAKER_00 0:35

my mind. So, number one, if you want to awaken that inspiration inside of you, but you are having a time getting started moving or doing anything, here's a movie that I think that you should watch. Tick tick boom. Have you watched that? Holy crap. It's a story about Jonathan Larson who ended up creating the Broadway show Rent. And the movie was adapted from Jonathan Larson's one-man show that he wrote about his life as a composer in 1990 in New York City. So he did end up creating Rent eventually, but this is not exactly the story of that, but it is so inspiring. It's incredible. Like tears, chills, mountains of inspiration. And Andrew Garfield is so good in this. So number one, watch that flippin' movie. It doesn't matter what your form of art is, what kind of creative revival you want, this movie inspires like hardcore.

Getting Unstuck Idea #2

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Number two, I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again. Listen to the audiobook of Big Magic and listen to the audiobook of The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. Those two are the audiobooks that are responsible for me finding the courage to buy a microphone and start this podcast and launch it, even though I was just terrified. And it's it's responsible, they're responsible for a lot of things that I've done that have required courage. But if you find yourself on the edge of making something or putting something out into the world and fear is holding you back, these are the two audiobooks that I recommend to put an end to that fear.

Getting Unstuck Idea #3

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Number three is just super simple and it applies to anything. It's just sort of get out of your head and make something with zero stakes. Just choose something simple and creative, like finger painting or using a Polaroid camera, whatever it is. Just something that has zero, zero stakes. Not a lot of importance, not I've got to get this perfect, and play for an hour and see how you feel after that.

Getting Unstuck Idea #4

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Number four is something that I recommend anytime you feel stuck in any way, whether it's creative or what have you. Number four is move your body and dance it out. Dance it out, dance out the nerves, dance out the fear, dance out the self-doubt, any negative voice in your head, dance out just stiffness, turn up the music and dance. This never, never fails. Feeling sad, depressed, dance it out. Frozen with fear, go dance it out. If you doubt me, try it for 15 minutes and see. See what it does for you. I swear to God, it works wonders.

Getting Unstuck Idea #5

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Number five is get out and see some art in real life, in whatever way you can. A museum, an exhibition, a play, a recital, whatever. Even maybe go to the movies if none of those are available. Something where you're just going out and seeing art in real life and experiencing it. Remove the phone from your hands. Stop just scrolling through creative things or what have you, and go see something up close and in person.

Getting Unstuck Idea #6

SPEAKER_00 4:42

And once you've done a few or one of the activities, like the moving, the dancing, or the getting out and seeing something in public, you're ready for number six, which is pull the trigger and begin. Get your butt in the chair. I think it's Anne Lamotte who popularized that saying, or Dorothy Parker, um, writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat, is what Dorothy Parker said. But get your butt in the chair and start working. Plan on making a really shitty first draft and just knowing this is where we begin. It's going to be really shitty at first. Don't sweat it. Don't sweat the first pancake. We know the first pancake usually sucks. Just keep moving.

Getting Unstuck Idea #7

SPEAKER_00 5:35

And number seven is just a reminder that imposter syndrome is an excuse. It's an illusion. The moment you have done something just a few times, imposter syndrome begins to disappear. Everybody experiences it. It's the whole thing that comes with being human and starting something new. Don't keep it as your excuse. And remember, the more important an activity is to your soul's evolution, the more resistance you will feel. You're going to look for those excuses. And that quote is actually from Stephen Pressfield in The War of Art. But you're going to look for those excuses like imposter syndrome and whatever. But take a look around you. And if there is not something more encouraging on earth than seeing these clowns that are running our country, I don't know what is. If these people can run our country, then you can do this thing. Stop doubting yourself. Go for it. Do it. You've done all the research, you've read all the books, you've taken the classes, you've taken the courses. Now put this stuff into action and get going. It's time. The more important an activity is to your soul's evolution, the more resistant you will feel. If you have been feeling this resistance, it's important. And if it's important, you have to do it. You have to just finally say, let's go. It's time.