“I have found that sometimes it can be helpful to remove oneself from the creative process, and do work in the service of others.”

Nick Cave

Have you ever had that feeling where you can’t seem to achieve anything? 

You feel demotivated and completely stuck. Nothing excites you. Your creative spark is gone. All hope is lost.

How can we turn this around?

I read the musician Nick Cave’s fantastic The Red Hand Files blog, and his recent post on this topic resonated with me.

He wrote about an artist friend to who he dedicated a song on his new album. During the turmoil of the last year, Nick and Thomas conversed on their creative struggles.

Nick proposed an idea to break out of this pattern:

 “It was at a time when I was having difficulty getting the lyrics together for the record that would become Carnage. I had been sitting on my balcony in Brighton, with the world going to hell, and nothing in my head but a whole lot of dread and uncertainty. And so, over the phone, I made a deal with Thomas — if he painted me a picture, I would write him a song. I felt that this challenge might give him the impetus to create something… I personally felt I could write a song for my friend Thomas, even if I couldn’t write one for myself.”

Nick Cave

Even though he couldn’t write a song for himself, he felt he could write one for Thomas. 

This step forward broke the creative deadlock for both artists and unleashed some of their best work.

Herein lies a solution to our question above.

We need to help others to help ourselves.

Sometimes we focus too much on ourselves and our inadequacies, but this only contributes to becoming more stuck.

During these times, I have found it helpful to break from the project. I try to get out of my head and set of problems. 

An excellent way to do this is by offering to help someone else.

It’s incredible how much things can change by being of service to others. The floodgates open up, and that creative spirit returns. You now feel empowered and motivated after making a difference to someone else.

Reflection

• When stuck, try helping someone else. See what happens.