Paralyzed in a Creative Block

I’ve found myself in creative limbo the past few days.

I want to create, but I can’t.
And when I do, the results are unsatisfying.
I stare out the window focusing on the community garden
I breathe in,
pause at the top,
then breathe out.
Ugh, nothing. (Ironically, nothing is the goal with that sort of thing.)

The Reality of Moving Abroad for a New Beginning

I won’t deny the romantic allure of leaving behind everything you know to chase novelty. To excuse yourself from the rat race and hop off the

hamster wheel and call another country home for awhile is such a high. But the truth is, there is always doubt waiting for you during these escapades.

It happened when I was galavanting around South America and Europe with all of my earthly possessions strapped to my back. And again when I was unexpectedly and inexplicably living in Tokyo.

When the “Emily in Paris” Honeymoon Phase is Over and Reality Hits

Sometimes this undesirable moment taps me on the shoulder several times—like now. I feel weighed down by the opportunity and freedom that I had once sought and now hold. Am I making the most out of this time in France? How can I make it a longterm change? Does a life or career pivot even include (or require) living abroad? What’s the next step in my career? What is my next career? What is the balance to strike between striving and self-care? As this seems to be a recurring visitor, I also wrote a post on feeling stuck in your 30s if that’s more your speed.

It’s a strange place to be, to have more questions than answers, when the answers can only come from you. I feel tremendous pressure to succeed, whatever that may mean. I’ve given myself grace the past few days to let sluggish days just be what they are. But today I’ve grown tired of sitting around waiting for mysterious forces to pull me out of this creative funk.

How I’m Getting Myself Out of this Creative Rut

Perhaps the solution is to push through the muck and messiness of the ugly and the imperfect. No map, no strategy. For now, I just need to get out of the woods.

Be it walking
Be it crawling
Be it digging
Be it swinging from tree to tree on a monkey’s back, ffs!

I’m lost anyway. Might as well just start going. And would you look at that—I’m one Substack post closer to getting my creative flow back already!

I was inspired by Drew Lynch’s TedTalk: Living Curiously vs Living Ambitiously

I owe a generous slice of my motivation to comedian Drew Lynch’s Ted Talk. He explores the idea of living curiously vs. living ambitiously, and how that shift in perspective has propelled his career in unimaginable ways, while navigating a stutter.

Here are a few of my favorite (loose) quotes from the video:

• [9:00-9:40] We’re conditioned to believe that if something doesn’t go the way we envisioned or the way we wanted it to, then we’ve failed.
• [15:52 – 16:04] I’m at my best when things don’t work out. And that I’m at my best when the Universe interrupted.
• [16:17 – 16:50] When you’re so dead set on a path, you aren’t able to zoom out and see that the Universe may be showing you yours.
• [17:35 -17:47] The less I’ve thought, the more I’ve done. And then more I’ve done, the less I’ve cared. And when you’re carefree, you don’t care about what you sound like, where you’re going, how you’re getting there. You’re truly just along for the ride.

I hope this was helpful for you! What are ways you get out of moments like these as a creative or traveling soul? I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Marie