3 ways to get out of a creative rut

If you’re an artist or creative person, you’re probably familiar with the phase of “UGH.”

“Ugh! I just can’t seem to focus.”

“Ugh! I’m stuck in this job/relationship/situation, and don’t have any time to work towards my real dreams and goals.”

“Ugh! I’m so overwhelmed and tired that I just want to curl up and go to sleep for 3 days.”

If you’ve been there or are there now, you are not alone.

No matter how rough the “UGH” phase can get, it’s nothing that can’t be worked through.

Today I want to give you some practical tools to get through it and get your creative energy back in action.

I’m also excited to share my client Mary Massie’s Showcase video (below). Her story of getting out of a very stuck place and back into her creative flow was the inspiration for today’s article. In fact, the 3 tools I’m going to share here are exactly the 3 pieces that Mary said were most helpful to her throughout our work together in the Thriving Artist’s Program.

Get the tips and watch Mary share even more inspiration in her Showcase video!

3 ways to get out of a creative rut

1. Make space.

One of the simplest things you can do when you’re stuck in a rut is to literally, physically, make space in your environment and inside of you. Start by getting rid of clutter in your physical environment. Then make space in your schedule for some personal quiet time. Especially if you’re someone who gets addicted to being busy, this is key. Even if it’s only 20 minutes once a week, do it! Then you can start making space in your mind and body. You don’t have to “do” anything or force anything to happen. Just be still. Try the next 2 steps.

2. Dance.

Whether or not you’re a “dancer,” you can find movement in your body that feels great AND do it on your own terms in your own time. (In other words, you don’t need a formal dance class to get your body moving.) A regular movement practice will help you find joy, relieve stress, and feel free. It will get you out of your head and into your body, which is HUGE for getting creativity flowing. Try dancing for 5 minutes before you have to do any kind of mental work, and notice what a difference it makes for you! More focus, more energy, more creativity = YES!

Note: If you need guidance here, check out this quick video movement prompt from me and my Find Your Rhythm 6-week program, which is full of dance and movement prompts. The current round is already in session, but there are still a couple of late-comer spots open!

Find out more here: http://jessgrippo.com/find-your-rhythm/

3. Write.

Writing can be done in many ways. What I’m suggesting here, for the purposes of getting out of a rut, is to use writing as a way to learn more about the inner workings of your Self. Personal inquiry, if you will. You can write to the part of you that is stressed out or stuck, and then respond to see what comes through. You can write to your future or past self, and then respond from that persona. If you don’t think about it too much and just let the words flow, you’ll be amazed and touched by the wisdom that can come through you.

Sometimes witnessing real-life stories and inspiration can be the best help for getting out of a rut.

So I’m really happy to share with you Mary Massie’s Showcase Video - check it out below!

Watch and read more about her story, and please comment below and let us know what you found most valuable about the experience.

To letting it flow,

Jess

In Mary's words....

Some of the fears I worked through involved using my voice more, both metaphorically and literally and finding cohesion for my varied interests. I felt stuck in so many areas of my life and now I really feel like I'm finally moving.

I think there are three specific things that I will take with me beyond our sessions. One is the importance of physical movement facilitating movement in other areas of my life. I'm not a dancer per se, but I found a real joy in dancing in my room and knowing that I have so many options for moving my body. I see the power of getting out of my head and into my body whether that's through a walk, a yoga class, or taking a dance break. And I love that I have so many wonderful options when I listen to my body. I used to get hung up on say, doing yoga. If I didn't go to class, then I didn't think about having other ways to move. And I also reconnected to the little girl in me who would joyfully dance and sing along with the radio. Priceless.

I also found the power of writing in a new way. I've journaled a lot over the years, but Jess helped me hone in on asking the right questions and listening for my intuitive response through writing. I learned that I have the answers inside when I'm willing to ask and listen to a response. The act of writing keeps me in motion too and gets me out of my head. The prompts Jess suggested really helped me find clarity through the act of writing.

I also found the importance and power of creating space in my life through my sessions. Realizing how I physically take up in space in this world was so insightful! I became more aware of my need for space in my life in order to allow rejuvenation and creativity in.

I thought when I started working with Jess, that I needed to get back to painting as that used to be my main art medium. What I found though is that I kept taking photos and found the reasons why that's what I'm really loving at this point in my life. Sharing my point of view and focus is another way of using my voice. I'm also feeling freed up by having camera and my digital images.

The world is my studio and I don't feel weighed down by canvases and paints right now. I showed a photograph in a show in May. It was the first time in five years I've had a piece of art in a show and the first time I've shown a photograph. I created a tumblr blog online for my photos as a space to share my work.

I also made a piece of jewelry on commission and sold it last month. I used to make jewelry and sell it on Etsy, but hadn't done it in over five years. I used to love making this jewelry that incorporated drawing and found it so gratifying to reconnect to that part of myself. Connecting back to the visual artist in me has been so gratifying.

I'm putting myself out in the world far more than I used to. I feel like I'm on the other side of a huge block.

I feel like I'm finally getting comfortable and more confidant with owning my varied interests. I used to feel like a bit of a flake and apologetic that I couldn't just focus on art or on music. I'm now seeing how each informs the other, making me uniquely me and being appreciative of what each of my passions bring to my life.

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Feeling stuck in your life and need a boost?

Applications are re-opened for the Thriving Artist's Program.

Read more and submit yours here.

your creativity is not a luxury

Today’s message is short and sweet:

Your creativity is not a luxury to reserve for the moment when everything is perfect again.

Your creativity is your savior right now. Right in the midst of all the tough stuff and your busy schedule.

Your creativity is what will help you pick up the pieces, smush them back together, and present them back to the world in a new and unique way. In a way that is purely, genuinely, vulnerably you. In a way that will elicit emotions and connection from other human beings, inspiring them to feel something long tucked away.

It has the potential to change lives. To save lives.

Do not forget this.

It’s time.

Come home to your creative self.

If you don’t know how, just start somewhere. Do a dance. Draw. Sing. Make something.

(And if you feel lost,  I have an awesome GPS system that can help you find your true north.)

When have YOU experienced creative or artistic expression as a life saver or life changer? Has it ever helped you get through a rough time? Please share below!

you have arrived,

Jess

p.s. There's still time to apply to the Thriving Artist's Program. Did you check it out yet?

p.p.s. In honor of Father's Day coming up and the reminder that creativity is not a luxury, let my dad remind you to dance in the rain:

is it really never too late?

Oh, how time can be wasted.

The searching.

The indecisive flip-flopping in your mind.

The thousand of hours in front of a screen.

The obligatory dinners that happen out of habit.

The running from one thing to the next until you end up crashing.

Then that moment when you wake up.

Am I really happy?

Am I doing what I really want to do be doing?

Is what I want even possible - or deserved?

Is it too late to try?

If you’re asking yourself those questions, you’re probably an artist.

Not necessarily a paintbrush-in-hand kind of artist, but an artist at heart, no matter what medium you choose to use or not use.

There’s something in you that longs to be expressed.

You can ignore that calling, or you can follow it.

When you listen to the part of you that is unfulfilled, you start to understand what your life is truly about.

I get this reminder often, for example. It took me floundering all day yesterday, doing my work, attempting to write a blog post but feeling stuck, wandering, being stuck in my thoughts, and all the time feeling like I was missing out on something. (What was it?) The feelings of impatience, longing, and grasping for something that would satisfy.

Finally I landed at a dance studio at 8:15pm. I walked into the place and my whole body released. Home. That unmistakable feeling of home.

I stepped into the Afro-Brazilian class and the teacher had us walk in a circle while stretching and rolling our shoulders. We stopped and faced each other, reaching up to the sky and down to the floor.

And then. The drums.

The drummer started playing and I almost cried.

Nothing else mattered in that moment - not the time I had wasted earlier or the frustration I had been feeling - because I was there dancing to the drum beat.

And something interesting happened while I was going through the class -

I would think about people in my life and dedicate the dance to them. I felt my heart opening as I did that, and each movement took on even more meaning and oomph.

Some might say a dance unseen doesn’t impact the world, but I beg to differ.

And so on this Friday afternoon, I encourage you to dance your dance. Find your dance - your literal or metaphorical dance. Find your home.

When you find your dance, you come home to yourself, and you realize that it really never is too late. Because all that matters is what’s happening right now, on the dance floor and in your body.

If you are experiencing that longing, if you’re worried it might be too late to listen to the hole inside of you, if you don’t know where to begin, it’s time to reach out. Because you don’t have to flounder anymore. You don’t have to go at it alone.

Here’s the opportunity -

In July, spots will be opening up in my Thriving Artist’s Program, the creative coaching program I designed to guide you back home into the truest expression of your artistic self.

If you’re serious about making a change in your life,

If you no longer want to settle,

If you feel excited or terrified about the idea of connecting deeply to your artistic self,

Oh honey, this is for YOU!

Because this is such a unique and tailored experience, and because of how deeply I believe in this work, I’m opening up 9 spots for a complimentary Creative Guidance Session with me. Next Friday is the deadline to sign up.

We can talk via phone or skype, so it really doesn’t matter where you live. What matters most is that you feel ready to take action and that you desire a shift. What you’ll get is a 30-minute space focused on you, time to talk through what’s been holding you back, what you see possible for yourself, and the path we will take to help you get there more gracefully. I might even teach you a new dance move.

All you have to do is fill out this application.

If it seems like what you are going through is aligned for what I have to offer, I’ll respond as soon as I can and get you set up for a session.

If you feel like doubling back and staying safe in what you already know, it’s even more reason to take this leap and talk to me.

Those with the most fear and resistance have the biggest breakthroughs.

Apply now to claim your Creative Guidance Session and let’s get things in motion.

to the beat inside of you,

jess

creating through the ups AND downs

Euphoria!

Melancholy.

Pumped up!

deflated.

Flowing!

Sssstuck.

[bored]

And everything in between that.

Do you SHOW UP for yourself throughout all those cycles?

Do you make space consistently for connection to yourself and your creative expression?

If not, read on.

(If yes, then do a happy dance and let me know so I can do one with you!)

This week the message is simple - make space for yourself and your art CONSISTENTLY.

Schedule it into your calendar. Sign up for a class or program if you can’t motivate yourself to do it solo. However you need to, set aside that time.

Having space will allow you to FEEL what’s happening inside. It will help you take a break from the day-to-day and take a step inside of yourself. From that place you can get clarity about things and connect to your intuition. You can create something.

And, the consistent practice of coming to this place, no matter how up or down you’re feeling, will influence your art and your life in big ways. If you wait until you feel happy to make a dance or write a poem, you’ll only be tapping into one emotion. If you keep working on that dance or poem through all your feelings and states, you’ll access depth and authenticity.

Not having space can leave you feeling frustrated, lost, and out of sorts with yourself. It can leave you overly influenced by the demands and opinions of others. It can stifle you and make you want to jump out of your skin! (I know because I’ve been there!)

If you’re saying, “Jess, I get it but I have no idea what I’d actually DO if I created that space for myself...”

I hear you. The empty space can be a scary thing. So scary that we’d rather fill space with a bunch of other crap to avoid it.

If you need a plan of action, I created a quick set of instructions you can follow.

What to do in a creative session with yourself:

1. First thing’s first: Make the space in your calendar. Schedule it in. Rent studio space if you need to, or just clear out all other distractions for an hour or however long you need.

2. Start out the session with movement. Do the Dance Shuffle Solution or just simply play a couple of songs and let your body warm up and move intuitively. It doesn’t even have to be “dancing.” You can roll around on the floor or stretch or run around or whatever your body desires.

3. Next, go to your notebook and write. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do some free writing - about the random thoughts in your head, or about a particular theme that’s coming up for you in your life.

4. Then, lie down and do nothing. You can set a timer for this too - maybe 5 minutes. Allow things to settle. Call it meditation or just call it doing nothing. Most importantly, just do it and see what comes up. You might feel emotions. Great. Let them flow through you - cry, laugh, make sounds, or do whatever needs to come through.

5. Finally, make something. If you have a go-to artistic discipline, this step will be obvious - just go and do that thing (i.e. dance, paint, write, etc.). If you don’t have a go-to thing, then this is your time to experiment. The most important part is that you just commit to trying something.

6. Set up another time in your calendar for next week (or tomorrow) and repeat the process.

If you end up starting a project in this process, here’s how you can take it to the next level.

But you might not create an actual project. You might just come back to this process and let yourself play and feel and create things.

It’s a win-win either way. You come back to yourself. The world is affected by your expression.

Was this helpful? What are your favorite practices for making space for your creativity?

Please share in the comments below and let’s inspire each other to keep it flowing!

This is your life. Start creating it.

to making space,

Jess

p.s. If you’re ready to go deeper, check out this quick video that will help you connect to your rhythm and make space for yourself. There’s more info below that video about an awesome opportunity for you to work with me.

p.p.s. I’m also opening up Creative Office Hours this coming Monday June 8th only. Book a complimentary 15-minute time slot with me to jam on what's happening - or not happening - in your creative life. I'll give you my best guidance and laser-focused coaching to help you dance away from the call with a new perspective and motivation to do what you want to do.

There are 13 spots open - make one of them yours now.

if you're wanting external validation

It’s so great to feel external validation sometimes: Having people sign up for your event, buy your product, like your Facebook post, etc.

But what happens when they don’t?

What happens to you inside when the external results don’t match your expectations?

Some common reactions might be:

• Quitting - because it must mean that no one cares or wants what you’re sharing

• Hitting the downward spiral of self-doubt and beating yourself up for what you did wrong or for not being good enough

• Pitying yourself via pints of ice cream and “wa-wa” sessions with your friend

• Shitting on someone else’s success because you’re bitter that they are making it happen and you aren’t

All those make me scrunch my nose in disgust. Mostly because I’ve been in depths of each of them and it feels really crappy to think about being there again.

Quitting, Hitting, Pitying, Shitting = Not Prettying.

I’ve recently been challenged to go back there, though -

In both the dance classes and workshops that I’ve recently taught, I’ve averaged 1 or 2 people who have shown up to participate. My goal was 10 or more.

I could easily have made it mean that I’m just terrible at what I do, that I’m a bad business person for not being more proactive about marketing, that I might as well let other dance classes just take over the world because mine doesn’t really matter.

What stopped me from hitting that downward spiral?

Although I came close, and definitely started to hear those voices in my head, here are some of the things that were present for me and helped avoid it:

1. Emotional breakdowns. (I’ve been surrendering to cry sessions much more lately and learning that releasing emotions is an extremely powerful tool.)

2. My support network. (I have a coach and friends who have helped me stay true to who I am and recognize my value.)

3. The people who do show up. (When that 1 person walked into the dance studio, I just loved her up. I was in awe of her bravery and dedication to the process, and I learned so much from her as we went through the class.)

Here’s what I’ve learned from all of that:

Your internal state of feeling worthy, valuable, and loved trumps everything else.

Your internal state is responsible for the external results.

I still had that deep part of me that felt unworthy, unable to receive love/money/etc, disconnected from own value. I felt like I was trying so hard but not getting any results. The pushing/forcing energy was exhausting me and causing a lot of frustration, pain, and confusion in my life. It was almost as if that internal unworthy belief was creating the external results to reinforce it.

I don’t think something that deep can be removed in one moment, but I do think the shift has been put into motion in a powerful way. I already feel 10 times different: re-inspired in my work and excited to see what happens in the next month from this new energy.

It’s now my job to stay aware of when I shrink back into unworthiness - which is usually indicated by trying too hard, comparing myself to others' success, or feeling sorry for myself - and to take actions to love and accept  myself more and more each day.

The same goes for you.

If anything in your external results is not matching your expectations, take a moment to examine your internal state. Is there a part of you that feels not good enough or unworthy? If you were worthy of greatness and success, how would you act? What would you do differently?

Take a moment to share in the comments below:

Tell us about a time when something you created didn’t receive as much external validation as you had hoped for. The more we out ourselves about this, the more we can all just chill out, stop comparing, and start creating from a more authentic and loving place.

Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in you to create and grow something amazing.

Let’s stop pushing and forcing results, and instead start believing in ourselves from the depths of our being.

As Janis Joplin once said,

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.

from my inner world to yours,

Jess

don't feel qualified enough? try this.

A theme I hear repeatedly from clients is the fear of being not qualified or advanced enough to do the work they really want to do.

i.e.

How can I teach dance if I haven’t been trained formally?

Who am I to share my paintings on Facebook if I’m not a “real” artist?

Why would anyone listen to my songs?

Did you ever NOT do something because you didn’t feel qualified or advanced enough?

If so, your challenge this week is to not only do it, but to start teaching it to someone.

The truth is, you can learn so much more through teaching and sharing what you do know - even if it only seems like a little bit.

You’ll never truly feel “ready” - you just have throw yourself into the field and play, and trust that the right people will show up to match what you’re offering.

Here’s an example -

In 2008 I was living in Manhattan in my mid-20s. I had the experience of feeling isolated in such a big, tough city, and craved more community with other women. So I started a Meetup.com group and called it the NYC Goddesses.

1 person showed up to the first meeting. At the second meeting 3 people came.

Then I got contacted by a bookshop who wanted to host my meeting monthly at their cafe, and all of a sudden I had a dozen people or more every time. The bookstore was a New Age kind of place and interpreted my Goddess title as being focused around Goddess spiritual practices, which I was interested in, too, but didn’t know much about.

So I learned as I taught. I brought a new Goddess story each week and generated discussion around it. I learned so much from the women who came. I was opened up to a whole new world that influenced the way I approached my life, my coaching work, and my creative practices.

To this day, although I no longer run the meetup group, I’ve cultivated a sisterhood of supportive friendships in my life, and I practice ritual, follow the moon cycles, and feel that Goddess spiritual connection. If I hadn’t led that group and learned as I went, I might not have all this as part of my life today. And that would be sad.

There are actually endless examples. This blog is one. I didn’t start it because I was an expert on creativity, I started it because my soul was craving growth in that area and I knew I couldn’t do it in isolation. The same goes for my dance videos and teaching.

No matter what level you’re at, there is someone a few steps behind you that can learn so much from what you teach and share.

If you think you suck, you’ll never get better by not practicing and sharing.

If you think you’re good, it doesn’t mean anything unless you’re actually doing it.

Let your ego step aside, and just follow through with adding your splash of teaching and learning into the mix.

Someday you’ll look back and say, “Remember when I was too scared to do that thing? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

If you need a boost, here are 2 ways to get things moving with me:

If you’re in NYC, I encourage you to come to my Move Through It workshop on Monday.

If you’re not, I encourage you to join me on Instagram since today is the first day of “Dance A Day, in the month of May.”

Let’s do stuff. It’s too boring not to.

teaching and learning with you,

Jess

p.s. Did you ever teach something before you felt ready? What did the experience teach you? Tell us in the comment box below. I'd love to hear, and I'm sure someone else would, too

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