Being a creative person is both a blessing and a curse. It means that you get to share your creations with the world, but it also means that people have high expectations for you to consistently create new works. One of the hardest parts of expressing your creativity and trying to continuously create is that eventually run out of inspiration. It's one of the most important parts of staying creative, but it's also hard to come by when you're running low. If you're reaching the point in the year where it's hard to find inspiration, I understand.
Creating for someone else isn't going to change the way that you feel. I wrote this article as a part of a final project, and I struggled to find just what I wanted to say because I didn't want to say the wrong thing. Writing something for someone else doesn't make your life any easier and neither does trying to create anything else for others expectations.
If you're reaching the point where you can't come up with new ideas, don't be so hard on yourself. It's most important that you're happy with what you're doing, especially if people are going to judge you for it.
After writing with Odyssey for a year, one of the hardest parts is constantly coming up with article ideas. With the deadline to submit an article every week, some weeks it's hard to come up with article ideas. If you keep pushing yourself to write for other people, you're going to run out of inspiration even faster than before.
Getting over a period of low inspiration, it's important to put yourself first. You need to go back to what makes you happy about creating. For me, writing has always been a way to express myself and how I feel about what's happening at the moment. Going back to my roots and writing about the things that matter most to me remind me why I do this every week.
Don't worry about having the right answer. When you're creating something new, you don't have to always get it right the first time or have one perfect idea. Creating is a process. During some of that process, the first idea or draft might not be perfect, but the most important part is that you've made something.
Starting the process is the hardest part. If you can start an idea, then you can work from there. Working on ideas that don't interest you makes it hard to stay motivated, especially if you're low on motivation. Believing that everything has to be done at once and be perfect the first time is another unrealistic expectation of yourself.
If you can't focus AND don't know what you want to do, just take a break. While it seems like you're giving up, you're eventually going to hit the point where you can't just be productive anymore. The longer you try and force yourself to work through it, the longer it will take you to get back to normal.
If you have a great idea but don't have the energy to do it, put yourself first. By putting yourself first, it's easier to get back in the swing of things. There are many ways to get out of the creative rut that you're in.
Try something new. Being creative is important for your health, but by doing the same thing over and over again can get you stuck in a rut. If you're a visual artist, try expressing yourself through dance. There's no reason that you have to commit to one form of art forever and changing up the way you express yourself.
Being a creative person can be hard at times, and it's most important that you take care of yourself and your creative wellness. You should be proud of everything you create, and it's important to do what's best for yourself in all circumstances. Not everyone understands what it's like to run out of inspiration, and it's hard to come back from that if you don't make some changes.