I want to start this post by saying I was pretty hesitant to share it. I don’t like sharing negative vibes around the internet, but I think everyone experiences a struggle in their creative lives. Also, I know how beneficial these types of posts were to me a year ago ( when I thought it was sunshine and an infinite flow of ideas for those I look up to ), so I wanted to share this for anyone just getting started who may feel like the rain just won’t stop. So, now that I’ve completely drenched this post in negativity already ( and weather analogies, yikes! ) let me just get to my point…
It was somewhere between ten and eleven last night when I got up from the couch to head to bed. I had had a strange day yesterday, but powered through, because that’s what we do during strange days, right? However, as I got up to head to bed I felt utterly defeated. Though I had started the day upbeat and happy ( partially thanks to the sunny, warm weather ), I couldn’t get that feeling to stick around. By mid afternoon I felt like I was in a slump, one that ( surprisingly ) even a new nail polish and some chocolate didn’t seem to fix.
When I finally got started on my design work last night, it seemed that those “meh” feelings had taken over the work, as well. I worked endlessly for hours on a moodboard that never felt right, had no creative post ideas for today ( hence this post coming to you mid morning ), and laid in bed knowing I have client work to be delivered both today and tomorrow that I need to feel pumped about.
However, as I was searching ( and searching, and searching ) on Pinterest for the right things for the moodboard, I came across two quotes. One was the quote above, and the other was, “Sometimes you just need to slow down, stay calm, and let things come to you.” So, that’s what I did. I shut down my computer, got up, and D and I went to bed. Feeling utterly broken and defeated as I laid there, I hoped that I would wake up with the peppy attitude I’d had for the last few weeks that suddenly had gone missing. And, can I be honest? I think I did, but I can still feel that slump is around here somewhere.
My point for this post is that even though we all appear to live these beautiful curated lives, we still struggle. We still go through creative slumps, and sometimes we even go to bed feeling like the day defeated us. But that’s okay. In those moments, when you are struggling, just remember that we all deal with it. Then you kick it those feelings by having some chocolate, your favorite meal, or maybe even putting on a song you can’t help but dance to and let it pick your mood back up.
I’d love to hear from you – what do you like to do when the struggle creeps into your day? Let’s compare in the comments!