Feeling blocked with your creative process can be so frustrating and disheartening. Here are some ways to help open up the flow again.

You Can Try EFT Basics

You can use the usual formula for tapping by saying, “Even though I have these creative blocks, I want to love and accept myself.” And say that 3 times.

Then tap on one round of “creative blocks.” Then give them a voice, just saying out loud all the thoughts you have about it. And tap your emotional intensity level down to zero. And if that works for you, great!

But maybe it’s not quite that simple for you. Maybe you need  new approach to the whole topic.

A New Perspective

Consider a new way of looking at your creative process. You can let creativity come the way it wants to instead of boxing it in and controlling it. Give it room to breathe – maybe show up in sort spurts if that’s how it wants to do it. Let it have the perfect way to come through.

Make room for it to change. Quit trying to go back to what worked last time or what works for somebody else. Let it have its own creative expression.

Treat it like a precious child – it really is your baby, isn’t it? – with sweet encouragement and grace and openness of heart and let it take whatever form it wants to take.

Know that your creative process is working quietly in the background. Acknowledge it and thank it for that. Don’t try to bring it out into the light before it’s ready. If it’s not baked yet, leave it in the oven. Thank it for continuing to cook in the oven of your mind and spirit.

How To Tap On This

Setup (karate chop point)

• Even though I have these creative blocks, I want to love and accept myself.
• Even though my creativity is blocked, I want to respect and appreciate myself anyway.
• Even though I have these creative blocks again, the same way I’ve had in the past, I want to accept myself and all my feelings.

Tapping – The Challenge (tap around all the points)

• All these creative blocks.
• These blocks I can’t do anything about.
• All the anxiety and frustration these blocks bring.
• Blaming myself about these blocks.
• These painful creative blocks.
• I can’t come up with anything fresh.
• I feel totally blocked.
• How can I call myself creative?
• I’m afraid this will last forever.
• I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
• Who was I kidding any way?
• I don’t think I’ll ever feel creative again.
• I just get so darned frustrated.
• It sucks all the joy out of what I love to do.
• These familiar creative blocks. I am so sick of them.

OK. Now you’ve moved out some of the negative thoughts and feelings, and of course if there’s more left, continue tapping on it.

When you’re ready, move on to tapping some more affirmative phrases. Here are some to get you started.

Tapping Towards the Positive (tap around all the points)

• I’m open to new ways of experiencing creativity.
• I’m allowing myself to relax into it now.
• I’m confident that the creativity cake is baking now.
• I don’t have to hurry anything.
• I choose to let go of any worry about it.
• It feels so good to encourage my own unique process.
• I love that it’s changing all the time.
• That’s a part of how creative I am.
• The more I trust myself, the more creativity is available to me.
• I appreciate the way my creativity shows up.
• Sometimes in big waves, and sometimes in little trickles.
• The more I relax with it, the easier it all becomes.
• I’m excited to see my next inspiration.
• And I know I can trust that it’s on its way.

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Do you ever get really excited about a project, get the detailed plans lined out, find the people you want to help you? You’re all jazzed about it and really on a roll… And suddenly you’re dragging your feet. All kinds of reasons are showing up to do it later, slow your timeline, change your plan. I see it a lot with people who are feeling stuck – off to a good start, and then they lose momentum.

Here’s The Deal

When you set your goal and do specific planning, you’re making it all much more real. Getting clear about it stirs up all your fears and limiting beliefs. It’s the most natural response there is, and not something to avoid.

We’re hardwired to watch for possible dangers any time we head in a new direction. That reaction is our old reptile brain at work keeping us safe. So of course your system will fire off all possible reasons why you shouldn’t move ahead.

Ignoring those doubts and fears may seem like the best plan of action, but it’s not. In fact, ignoring them can give them strength. If you pretend they’re not there, push them down, or yell over the top of them with affirmations, they don’t go away. They fester and grow in the background, and can really slow you down – even bring you to a screeching halt.

Another Approach

You can pay attention to the fears and beliefs that show up. Be curious about them. This is simply information that’s coming up, and you always have the choice about how to respond to it.

There can be valuable messages in those doubts and fears. So don’t smash them down. Don’t push them away. Often your solutions and next steps can be wrapped up right there inside that fear or belief.

Here’s An Example

Linda created a product. The closer she got to bringing it to market, the slower her progress. The fear whispering in the background was, “What if this goes the way it did last time and nobody buys it?”

When she looked closely at that doubt, she could see that;

1. She was a different person from who she was 3 years ago when she last tried it.
2. Since the last time she had 3 years’ worth of education she was applying to her project.
3. She had outside help to ensure success.
4. She could make some changes if sales didn’t go as planned.

Shedding the light on that fear helped her recognize that she stood a much better chance of success this time. And it allowed her to create some alternatives to use if she needed course corrections along the way.

You’re Not Weird

So if you think you’re weird because you’re feeling more negativity show up as you get closer to your goal, think again. These fears that show up mean you’re doing a darned good job of seeing where you want to go. The clearer your vision, the more you stir up mechanisms that say, “No! Don’t rock the boat.” It’s so natural and it’s really a good thing. And you can use it to your advantage.

Once you see the negatives, you’re at a point of choice when you’re looking clearly and squarely at what your options are. You DO have a choice to quit pursuing that goal. You DO have a choice to acknowledge doubts and fears and decide to move ahead anyway.

When you see the negatives, you can make a deliberate choice from a place of real power. Because you no longer have hidden emotions driving your behavior and causing a distracting inner tug-of-war.

Once you’ve examined the limiting beliefs or feelings, EFT is the best way I know to eliminate them. And if you need some help with that, just let me know.

Some days you’re more motivated than others – to really get into your work or your project. When your enthusiasm is drooping a little, it’s not always clear what the cause is. Last week you were really charged up to move on that project. Today, however, is another story…

What’s The Deal?

Lack of motivation can happen for a lot of different reasons. Here are a few possibilities to consider:

• Distraction – If your attention is pulled in another direction, you may simply need to focus to revive your enthusiasm.
• You need a break – Motivation can be tough to sustain over a long period. It’s possible that a brief change in activities is all you need. Then you can return fresh to your project and be ready to go!
• Worry and fear – Sometimes you think it’s a lack of motivation, when the REAL issue is that you’re scared to move ahead. So you’ve pushed fear down to avoid discomfort. The problem is that your enthusiasm got pushed down with the fear. So it’s still there, but it’s just been temporarily squelched.

Getting The Boost You Need

You can use EFT to help yourself in different ways. See if any of these will work for you:

• Tap in affirmations to get the level of motivation you’re looking for.
• Listen for “yeah, but..s” or “tail-enders” when you’re doing your affirmations and write them down. Then use EFT on those objections to clear them out.
• If distraction is the problem, use EFT to tap in positive statements: I’m willing to put my focus where it needs to be; I’m willing to clearly see my next step; and I’m willing to trust my inner guidance. Then follow through on that guidance. Once you’re doing what you need to be doing, it’s likely your motivation will return.
• Check to see if fear is the real culprit. Then use EFT to eliminate that fear. When there’s no longer a need to squash your feelings, your enthusiasm will bounce back.

Get Rid Of Any Guilt And Blame

Whatever approach you take, be sure to let go of any guilt or self-blame about feeling unmotivated. For some people that’s a challenge. But the truth is that feeling guilty about being distracted just distracts you further! And blaming yourself for avoiding fear just creates an extra obstacle to regaining motivation.

So if you can just gently let those things go — guilt and blame — do it! If not, then use EFT to clear guilt or self-criticism. And remember: getting rid of those FIRST will speed up the rest of your tapping!

Try these tips and let it know how it goes — leave a comment.

(Rather listen? Turn up your speakers and click on the arrow.)

You’re right in the middle of your project or a client session, going full-out. Feels great, doesn’t it? Just being totally immersed in what you love. Almost as if you and your work are one — no separation.

On one level, that’s an amazing thing – the Zen concept of being one with your work. But on another level, fuzzy lines between you and your work can be a serious problem.

It’s about boundaries — where you end and your work starts. Keeping these clear is critical to maintain sanity and momentum in your business. You have to realize that you, the essential you, are separate from your work.

How this plays out in real life

Say you put on a workshop and just a few people show up. If your boundaries are clear, you know it’s the workshop that’s the problem. Some aspect of your workshop game plan needs improvement.

OK. Back to the drawing board. Time to examine what you did and ask for some outside perspectives. Maybe you feel disappointed or annoyed, but the world is not coming to an end. It’s just one workshop, after all.

But if the lines between you and your work are fuzzy, YOU feel like a failure. You think YOU’RE the problem. You feel ashamed or embarrassed, rejected, blaming yourself – all that crummy stuff that comes from believing that you ARE your work.

Now this personal failure takes a much bigger solution: a bunch of inner work to find and fix the issue that caused the failure. Meanwhile, your fears are multiplying about ever doing another workshop. It may be a long time (like maybe never) before that happens…

Do you see the difference? When you clarify that boundary between you and your work, some cool things happen. Like it’s so much easier to take a risk and try something new.

Because you’re not putting your soul on the line. You’re just trying a new thing. There’s not nearly as much at stake.

You can still give your best energy to the work you love. Just do it with the knowledge that you and your work are separate entities. Keep those lines clear and feel the freedom it creates.

What do you think?

(If you’d rather listen, turn up your speakers and click the arrow.)

“Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.” I love that quote from Glade Byron Addams! It has some real fire to it, and dreaminess, and hope — all great things to experience.

The chase is so romantic, isn’t it? It opens countless possibilities for happy endings. So many fantasies…

And that’s the problem. Those endings are just fantasies — always off in the future somewhere.

What If…

What would happen if the chase were over? If you actually caught up with your passion? What if you stopped running after it and grabbed it?

OK. Catch your breath now. I know it can be a scary thing to do, because I’ve been there and so have many of my clients. To leave that dream world and get real with your heart’s desires is a huge step. It brings on a big mix of feelings.

No Thank You!

You might resist ending this chronic reaching for dreams. The reasons lie below our conscious level of thought – making them more powerful. Here are a few of those reasons:

• You love the seductive sweetness of the longing and hoping that feels good and optimistic.
• You’re afraid of problems that could occur if you catch your passion.
• If you stay in the dreaming stage, you don’t have to find out if you can really make your plan work. You don’t have to risk disappointment (you think).

Look at the irony in those beliefs: Those feared problems ARE unsolvable because they’re not real – they’re just fantasies, too. By staying in chase mode, you’re SURE to be disappointed because you won’t see your dreams materialize.

When The Chase Is Over

There’s fresh excitement to grabbing that desire and seeing what it’s really made of. It’s a new kind of exhilaration to stop dreaming and start creating plans you can carry out. You can redirect all that chasing energy into taking concrete actions.

New fears may pop up now, too. That’s not unusual. But here’s the good news: These fears pertain to reality, not fantasies. So they will have real solutions to them. Other people have overcome these challenges before you. Their experience can offer you ideas.

So leave the chasing to the dreamers and the poets, and grab your passion and get into action!

With EFT, it’s totally possible to stay sharp and stay cool simultaneously. Is this hard for you to believe? If so, you’re surely not alone. Many people are concerned that they’ll lose their edge if they tap away tension.

What’s Your Version?

This misconception shows up over and over again in several ways. Maybe one of these has a ring of familiarity:

• If I release this tension, I’ll lose my competitive drive.
• If I let go of this tension, my dancing/singing/acting performance will be flat.
• If I don’t have this tension, I’ll lose my motivation to work/sell/whatever.
• I need this tension to make my speaking presentation really lively.

The Real Truth

Tension is constrictive and driven by anxiety or fear at some level. It’s separate from performance energy. Many people believe that losing the tension means losing that good energy, so they hang onto both. This myth is reinforced by teachers in the performing arts, athletic coaches, speech coaches, sales trainers…the list goes on. They just have never experienced anything else.

If you’re in that group of believers, I hope you’ll consider another possibility. With tapping it’s completely possible to release the constricting impact of the fear while maintaining that energetic charge of positive performing or motivational energy.

How You Do It

You can easily split your tapping up into three parts:

1. Tap away your concern or limiting belief that you’ll lose your edge if you release your fears.
2. Tap away your fears regarding the performance or event or speech or sale.
3. Tap in affirmations to strengthen your positive energy – that performance electricity that other people connect with.

Powerful Combination

Calm + performance energy = powerful magnetism. Once you’ve tapped away tension resulting from fears and anxiety, you’re left with a foundational state of calm. There’s no energy drain for you from the adrenaline of fear charging around your body.

The excitement energy that propels you forward in any type of performance is pure and strong. People just gravitate towards it. And your energy is strengthened because it’s all coming from a positive center.

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