Are you experiencing burnout in your creative life? Join me as I work through solutions for my own creative burnout.
More...
Excerpted from my purple Poppin “Anything Goes” journal on August 31, 2017
Spreading Yourself Too Thin
For once, I’ve decided on a title before having written the entry. I feel as if my creative fountain, my well of inspiration, has gone dry—stagnant even. I try to muster up ideas for content to share on my blog, mailing lists, YouTube, etc., but I feel utterly blocked.
Is it because all those audiences are different? Do they all require different sides of me and my life? Or am I spreading myself too thin and overthinking my interpretations of their expectations?
Is it because, in my efforts to satisfy others, I’ve lost the connection with who I really and really want for myself? Why do I feel I must cater to everyone else’s expectations of me? Why not offer up my pure, authentic self instead of conforming to what Audience A or Audience B wants from me?
Your Authentic Self
I realize that, to an extent, I must cater to the market, but ultimately, don’t people subscribe to my lists, videos, etc., so they can feel the privilege of knowing me and all the faces of who I am; not just the musician, the author, the entrepreneur, etc.? Why then must I feel bound to the labels I’ve placed on myself and have trained/conditioned others to place on me as well?
I feel pulled in so many directions that the stream of creativity has become nothing more than a few dried-up trickles. I’m no longer a united being; instead, I’ve become divided, a split personality without a unified mind.
Stand Still in the Storm
I’m reminded of Bible verses like “A house divided cannot stand (Matt. 12:25),” “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8),” and “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (separation, division) (Joel 3:14).” (See this post on my Substack about making decisions.) The Lord must be my unity. He must be the rock in my storm. A place to drop anchor and be safe in the tumult of the tempest.
The Lord will be my stay if I but only trust Him. He will direct and reorient my steps if I wait for Him in the storm. He will bring the calm, He will speak peace, He will still the waves. But I must make myself stand still with them. Only then will I see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord! (Ex. 14:13).
The Lord must be my unity. He must be the rock in my storm. A place to drop anchor and be safe in the tumult of the tempest.
- me
Featured Resources
Please disable any ad blockers to see certain resources below.
Why not Subscribe to Gleaning Words?
If you like content like this, why not subscribe to my Substack? Even if you become a free subscriber, you’ll be getting new posts like this, gleaned from my many journals, straight to your inbox on an ongoing basis. (Did I mention I have loads of journals from which to draw content?)
You can always become a paid subscriber—or even unsubscribe—down the road if you like.
Let Payhip host your books, products, and services
Disclaimer: Some of the links on the page may be affiliate links. These links allow me a small commission on every sale at no extra cost to you. So if you'd like to show your support for my work, feel free to use the links on this page.