I hope your new year is off to a great start! Do you enjoy the freshness of a new year? Are you a goal-setter or resolution maker? I've been in part-time hibernation mode this January - having soup and reading until the rain stops.
One of the concepts I share in creativity coaching is allowing a lull.
lull: noun a temporary interval of quiet or lack of activity.
Synonyms for lull are respite, hiatus, interlude, and intermission.
Many creative people are harsh on themselves if they are not working consistently on their art. They feel as if they are lazy or unmotivated when they may just need a break.
Think back to when you attended a play or a concert. The intermission is a welcome break for the performers and the audience. Sometimes, this interlude is necessary to allow for costume and set changes. There may be a pause in the action, but laziness is not involved.
For creatives, a lull can provide incubation for new ideas and visions. You are creative and imaginative, even when you're not making something. Sometimes, your creativity needs space to work in the background, similar to a set change taking place behind closed curtains.
What about procrastination or laziness? On the outside, procrastinating or being lazy may appear similar to a lull or intermission. On the inside, these feel very different.
Procrastination and laziness contain a feeling of resistance. Procrastination implies blameworthy delay. You want to do something, but you can't make yourself take action. When you are lazy, you are unwilling to work or use energy. In both scenarios, you resist the next step, which feels crummy.
(By the way, procrastination is one of the biggest and most destructive creative blocks around. I'll save that topic for another day.)
In contrast, a lull feels gentle, nourishing, and peaceful. In this time of creative intermission, you can refuel your energy, express gratitude, explore new ideas, and tidy up your art space.
Adopt the pace of nature.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
A creative interlude is a perfect time to ask yourself small questions.
How can I be kinder to myself today?
What would refresh my creativity?
How can I have more fun in my art?
Pick one of the questions above, or choose your own, and ask yourself this question daily-ish. No need for an answer. Your mind will automagically work on the answer behind the curtains.
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
ALBERT CAMUS
