I haven’t written a stream-of-consciousness post lately, and now is a good time. Being authentic and transparent is key to being an effective communicator, and I realize that’s part of my job here. This entry may be more personal that previous entries, so this should either be rather interesting, or mind-blogglingly boring. (Feel free to use “blogglingly” in daily conversation.)

Roadblocks are Lessons

Let’s get to the point: Lately I’ve been battling with roadblocks to my own creativity. Creativity in general and this site in specific. It seems that whenever I want to sit down and finish writing the upcoming article about creating inspiring surroundings, I am somehow thrown off course. Of course, the slightly more hectic pattern of my life has served to put up plenty of roadblocks. In many ways, my life is in the midst of many subtle transitions, and it may take a while to calm down a bit. Well, perhaps “calm down” isn’t entirely correct. “Establish a new pattern” is actually quite more correct. (And yes “quite more” is now a grammatical construction. I invented it, and I can do that because English is colloquial.) Of course, this parallels the art of travelling, as well. When travelling, one inevitably encounters roadblocks and is sometimes thrown off course, but these challenges only serve as lessons to make us better people.

I asked myself: How does a person, seeking to benefit mankind in the best way possible through the use of his/her talents and unique abilities, best deal with roadblocks in one’s life? Should one feel guilty that they have roadblocks in the first place? Or are roadblocks simply a reflection of one not having completely mastered oneself yet?

Is there a larger pattern?

Over time, I’ve learned that the best way to deal with roadblocks is to SLOW DOWN and deal with each little life area one bit at a time — identifying the things that ought to be changed, the things that sap creative energy (i.e. ‘motivation’), and the things that fuel creative energy. For instance: clutter, arguments, and any kind of dissonance drains my motivation; but music with a positive vibe fuels my creativity. Of course, this is all common sense. The interesting part about this is that there may be a larger pattern here. Many creators on the net have seemed to slow down a bit recently, and taken pause. Perhaps this is anticipation for spring (in the Northern Hemisphere), perhaps it’s due to the SXSW conference… or perhaps it’s something more.

This time I’d like you, dear reader, to chime in on my rather unedited thoughts. Have you noticed any worldwide transitions lately? What do you do when roadblocks manifest in your own life? In the end, what could roadblocks teach us about our own perspective?

Now I must sleep to fight off a virus. I can’t wait to share with you what I have coming up next, but I’m going to take my time so it’s as good as it deserves to be. Thank you.

Post-Publishing note: A thank you to Lexi of the Carnival of Creative Growth and Pinkblocks blog for including this article in their carnivals.