CREATIVE BLOCK

BY IJR

All morning long I’ve been racking my brain, thinking about what new thing I wanna write about so that I can bring to light the latest development in the underground and all that. Blah blah blah. The life of an artist can often be really hectic, and the lives we lead outside of our artistic pursuits can drain us of our creative flow and stability. Something that I’ve come to learn over the past year or so is that there’s no real way to waste a day. Sometimes you just don't have it in you, and some people (myself included), often feel like if they aren’t creating at least one thing a day, they’re failing themselves. Fact of the matter is, burnout is real, creative blocks are real, sometimes they only last a few hours, but sometimes they last a little longer. The point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn’t beat yourself up every time you don’t feel like creating, or especially when ideas just won’t come to you. Breath, go live life, inspiration will come when it wants. Remember to give your mind those boundaries that it needs from time to time, and remember that the best way to stay inspired is to keep your mind fed, in other words, never stop learning. Personally, in the worst of my creativity blocks I’ve taken that time and taught myself how to use photoshop, video editing software, music mixing, and a whole plethora of skills that might seem irrelevant to making music, but when you look at the bigger picture, you’ve taught yourself skills that otherwise make you more valuable as a well rounded creator. Anyway I don’t really wanna ramble too long, but I hope that you think back on this essay the next time you start to beat yourself up over taking a short recess from your creative process, so, keep it healthy, and keep creating. The world needs you!