HOW TO CONQUER YOUR GREATEST CREATIVITY- KILLER

WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST CREATIVITY-KILLER?  I AM HERE TO GIVE INSIGHT ON OVERCOMING IT BEFORE IT ZAPS YOUR CAREER.

How to Conquer Your Greatest Creativity-Killer 

By: Kel Amstutz
Friday, March 6, 2020

Oh - hi there.  Can you give me just a moment?  You caught me right in the middle of counting my many blessings...

The Fam

Alright  - so let me see... I am so blessed for my amazing husband... who has my back no matter what life throws our way... and is a great dad...

And... in addition to being my soul-mate, he is stuck in this parent trap with me, raising our two amazing girls: our 11-year-old daughter is astonishingly brilliant, beautiful, a focused young lady, and so kind and sweet and independent. 

Our 8 year-old daughter is equally as smart, strikingly beautiful, imaginative, beats to her own drum, is funny and kind and has a heart of gold.  

Gray Gables 2019

We took a gamble on an old house in the country, if you will, on five acres of pond, pole barn and field. There is little crime and traffic is minimal.  Winters can be brutal, which is a small price to pay for a sliver of heaven... and summers are cool with the lake effect breezes blowing through daily. 

Work? Well, it couldn't be much better.  My copywriting career is in full swing- working on writing web promotions and working on a romance novel as we speak.  

Life is great!

 ... so why do I get so down and DEPRESSED sometimes? 

Despite all that good going on in my life, I began feeling down in the dumps last week... out of the blue.

That's not good: For creatives like me - and for all copywriters, designers, and marketing pros - depression can be a CAREER KILLER.

When you are depressed, your energy flees, you lose your focus, and don't get me started on creativity... it has left the building - and if you don't do something about it (and quick!) - your income will start to feel the full effects and your reputation and career will follow... right down the tubes!

In short, depression is one of the costliest BUSINESS problems ANY of us has ever dealt with!

 

Conversely, having the ability to identify and neutralize depression quickly are two of the most valuable skills any entrepreneur or marketer could acquire: They empower you to add to your productive and profitable hours, days, and weeks of your year. 

If you're a writer or a designer, diffusing depression quickly lets you explode through the depression-driven creative blocks... create better promotions faster... complete more projects throughout the year... and- yes, you guessed it - get bigger winners, more often.

And if you are a business owner and/or a marketing pro, it gives you the extra pick me up to get things done, develop more ingenious product and marketing ideas, manage more effectively, and get richer... faster!  

Now, I am no shrink - but I AM pretty old... (don't say it... not older than dirt!) so I've had some time to think about this pretty thoroughly...

For me at least, creativity-killing depression comes from three places..

1. Too many drugs, so little time... And when I say "drugs," I am referring to my three personal favorites:  1) Diet Mountain Dew, 2) Ice Cream, and 3) Lays Potato Chips. 

See... Once upon a time, I could party late into the night. I could stay out on a Friday night into the wee hours of Saturday, go out on a Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday, get up and hang out all day on Sunday and still show up for work bright and early on Monday morning. 

Those days are long gone. There is not much of this type of lifestyle happening these days. This old body of mine insists... um, better yet, DEMANDS at least 72 hours to recoup from a weekend like that...  And it costs me with my husband, our friends, total strangers, my attorney, and my creative muse before they will even speak to me again.  

I mean, it goes without saying: Losing 72 hours of creative time EACH WEEK would make it nearly impossible for me to continue living the comfortable life that I have become so accustomed to.  And so, I've been forced into a life of abstinence...  

 

Caffeine is something else, altogether.  I can't get motivated with my Diet Mountain Dew.  The real problem is that it is the afternoon before I know it, and by that time, my get up and get moving - and the positive mood it washes over me - has got up and left me to crash. 

There is absolutely no mystery why: When it comes to energy, caffeine gives... and caffeine takes it away.  The first couple of sips give me that jolt of energy - but by the time I have finished the can it has taken it all back.  And as energy goes... it takes that positive mood I have had all day with it.

So, what is the solution?  Well... it's the dreaded "M" word: 

MODERATION. 

I find that when I switch to a nice glass of cold, crisp water after my first Dt. Dew - my mood brightens, my energy levels skyrocket, and my creativity oozes out of my every pore.  

So caffeine,  sugary snacks and salty chips are the big three depression-inducing drugs for me.  I'll bet you a dollar at least one of those will be behind your next down in the dumps mood, too.  And I'll bet if you recognize that and practice a little moderation, you will find that you are having fewer blue days, fewer times per year. 

On the plus side, there IS a mood-brightening drug that I can't recommend highly enough - and that I absolutely hate taking.  You don't need a prescription - in fact, you can't buy it anywhere at any price: It's free. 

I am taking about endorphins - you get them by doing exercise: think swimming, walking, running, those kinds of aerobic activities. 

If you do an hour of exercise in the morning before you begin working for two weeks, you'll be absolutely amazed at how much happier you will find yourself, how much more productive you will become, and how much more money you will be raking in! 

2.  Lies your brain tells you: What are you saying?  You don't drink too many caffeinated soft drinks, eat too many sweets, or dance in the club? There's no way a chemical is the cause of your sorry mood? 

The promotion you wrote and just knew would make you rich flopped flatter than a flapjack?  You're so broke and the bill collections won't stop calling? 

Hey - I've been here.  More times than I really care to talk about in my younger days. It's the pits. 

But it doesn't mean you have to suffer from depression-related brain-block, too! 

The simple fact is, you get to choose how you will feel in response to just about ANY event that happens in your life to you. 

A few years ago, a really smart guy figured out almost all of the things that happen to us in life are not really good or bad, but instead they are neutral events. 

See, everything that happens to you passes through a little "belief filter" in your brain - a conviction you've come to hold about yourself and/or the world surrounding you.

What comes out is a composite thought - the fact of the event plus the spin on it from your belief filter.   And that thought triggers an emotion - happiness or depression, for example.

These filters can be positive, as in "I'm brilliant," "I'm a winner," "I always come out smelling like a rose"...

... or they can be negative - as in "I'm stupid, a fraud." "I'm such a loser," "Everything I touch turns to dust." 

Here's the GOLDEN KEY: Nearly all the belief filters we have are utter NONSENSE. But because most folks have no idea they are even there and even fewer really ever examine them, we don't realize that they are little more than fiction. 

The objective truth is, nobody is ALWAYS a winner or a loser... creative or dull... brilliant or an idiot. 

And for all of our thoughts and hesitations, hardly any of the superficially adverse events we experience actually trigger the humiliations or catastrophes that our negative belief filters tend to foretell for us. 

So the next time depression has you creatively hog-tied, try this...

• First, identify the negative thought that triggered your crappy mood.

• Then, ask yourself, "Is that thought valid?" (99.9% of the time it's not!)

• Ask yourself, "Is the belief filter that triggered that negative thought valid?" (Again, almost never!) 

• Finally, ask yourself, "How should I change that belief about myself and/or the world to bring it in line with reality?" 

You will be absolutely amazed at how quickly even the lousiest of moods evaporates in the blinding light of the objective truth!  

3. Self-obsession: I learned this simple fact of life many moons ago - and even re-learn it all the time. 

The simple fact is, when my focus is on others' well-being, I am genuinely happier.

My husband is a prime, living, breathing example of this very principle.  Nearly 100% of his time is working hard to support our family or the needs of our family. That includes me. That includes our kids. His Dad. My parents. My grandma.

And 99.9% of the time, he has a grin on his face.

Conversely, I notice that when I'm trying to find things that will make me happy - objects, vacation plans, etc. - I am actually less happy than when I am focused on my family.

So where's your FOCUS?  Are you obsessed with your own feelings and the state of your life? If so, there's a good chance that those feelings are not positive ones.

Try doing something to improve someone else's life today - you will be amazed at how quickly your mood lifts!

These powerful insights are fascinating to me and I am so glad you stopped by to join in on the conversation.  If you have any great tips, please feel free to comment.  I am always looking for great productivity techniques, creativity enhancers, and of course, sharing the knowledge!

Thanks for the afternoon.  Have a great weekend!