Read time: 4 minutes

MCC #83 – 27 Nov 2023

Welcome!

“Where has my creativity gone?” I wondered with some sense of despair.

You know I haven’t been feeling it the last few days.

Nothing.

I catch myself staring out into the beautiful blue sky, wondering why my mind can’t feel so clear like the sky.

I’m feeling more run down than I can ever remember, to the point that I’m crashing out on the couch in the afternoon, even after a double shot of espresso.

That is not usually the case for me!

And I’ve never felt this demotivated. I’ve felt trapped in a muddy swamp land with no way forward. The harder I struggle, the more I feel trapped.

I reached the ultimate low point when I couldn’t even bring myself to stand up in the shower.

What is going on here?

Sleep deprivation.

I’ve just had five weeks of sleepless nights with our newborn baby.

It’s hard cause he’s so cute and sweet. But the no-sleep thing is a real kicker!

It’s excruciatingly painful being woken up every 2 hours to a crying baby. And then you get so frustrated you can’t get back to sleep in the little window you have. 

You finally fall asleep…

And then “Waaaa waaaa”, here goes the cycle again.

The struggle compounds, and all you can think is:

“Sleep… I need sleep. Please give me sleep.”

And so it was ultimatum time with my wife. We can’t go on like this. One of us needs to sleep well. So we’re trying a new routine. 

And so last night, I was the lucky one.

And today?

I feel amazing!

My first good night’s sleep in weeks.

What a difference it makes!

Still no rest

Next, the commander’s voice appeared inside my mind:

“Hey, you gotta write a letter for this week!”

He wasn’t gonna let me off so easily. 

Now, I’ve got many fantastic ideas stored in my idea bank for a rainy day. But I wasn’t feeling them for this week.

You know when you’re feeling flat, and nothing seems to excite you?

It’s like that inspiration at the time came from another place, a place which I am no longer in now, so I don’t think I will do that idea justice right now. So it sits on the shelf, collecting dust in the back corner of your brain.

But soon, I found that moment of inspiration.

I was scrolling my inbox when a newsletter from my friend Chris, of the Slow Down Club, caught my eye: “Expect The Unexpected”.

Now, Chris’s topic caught my eye:

He was exhausted. He’d pushed himself too hard. And now he didn’t feel like showing up creatively.

So what did he do?

Here lies a stroke of genius. And it’s something you can do too:

You simply write about the thing you don’t feel like doing:

“Also, I wanted to share something with you. 

I almost did not write this letter today.”

But he did.

He just wrote about the struggle in front of him:

“Because I felt that at the moment I am not in a place to bring the same value. I was thinking: Hey, you need to follow the structure of the last two letters. Hey, you need to tell one of the many, many stories that happened this week. And if not, you need to tell another one. But it has to be good.”

You know that inner critic, too, don’t you?

Always pointing out where you aren’t meeting some ridiculously high standard.

But remember:

Those standards are completely made up!

And you have the power to change them.

An insight emerged for Chris:

“When I look at it now, I realise: I was presented with a great reminder to become aware of my own judgements. And of my own expectations. So many of them.”

Perfectionism was getting the better of him. And he fell into a pit of self-made suffering.

But rather than check out and wallow in his pain, he started writing about it.

That’s where the magic happens. It’s such a paradox as you feel far away from any sense of creativity. You’re exhausted. 

But once you start moving, you gather momentum.

Why?

Because what you’re writing about is emotional. It’s real. It’s coming from the struggles in your heart.

And you know what?

That is the best writing.

It connects with people.

You can paint a vivid picture and articulate the problems in a moving way that resonates with the reader. 

And so, I challenge you today, when you don’t feel creative, do this:

Just start writing (or talking) about your biggest struggle right now.

Insights will emerge.

The creative fire will light inside.

And before you know it, you’ll be on your way!

Cheers,

Matt

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P.S.

Do you struggle with creativity?

• You can’t find good ideas
• You never know what to write about
• You doubt yourself
• You’re scared of putting yourself out there
• You think it’s too much work for little gain

I’ve struggled with all of these, too. And it ate me up. When I’m not living a creative life, I feel unfulfilled.

But you know what helped me move beyond them?

Designing a system for performing at my creative best self.

You might be interested in my upcoming workshop:

Systems for Creativity: Unleash your creative intelligence

I’ll be dispelling some limiting beliefs around creativity and teaching you how to design a creativity system so that you can reach your creative potential. 

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