SiteHow to Be Creative/Motivated/Nurtured in These Hard Times
This post is by Monica Bhide, who teaches our Introduction to Foodwriting course.
My email box has been overflowing with messages from friends, students, strangers all worried about the economy. If you think fear is a great motivator, forget it — in these emails I am seeing signs of panic. People are getting paralyzed with fear and in effect not able to take action. I quote from some emails (with permission)” “Is there really work out there?” “No one is answering my emails” “What is going to happen to me, I write about high-end luxury products, who is buying stories about that at this difficult time?” Yes, these are hard times. But it is more important than ever to be brave, motivated and at your productive best at this time. Like my father likes to say, “It is always easy to be a good manager/worker/employee/you-name-it when everything is going right.”
So how can you motivate yourself during this rough period? How can you nurture the writer side of you so that you bring out your best side and your best work? Here are some tried and tested ways that have helped me, my students and many of my friends:
1. Feel the fear. Pure fear has to be one of the most powerful emotions known to man and it is, I believe, important to acknowledge the emotion in order to gain freedom from it. Each step of the way in daily life — fear of failure, fear of the empty page, fear of lack of income — fear lurks. Fear calls my name many times in the middle of the night, fear has had me waking up in hot sweats. So how do you get over this fear? I don’t think that anyone really ever does. I love the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and I read the book in two days and then re-read it and then read it again. It helped me realize — I was not alone. This was a universal feeling and yes, people do deal with it. They make it part of their life.
So treat fear as a companion. In my case, it is my savior in matters of success (so my ego never can grow) and in matters of failure (so I know that he is alive and well). I cannot control my fear — the only thing I can control is my reaction when my companion, fear, rears his head in the morning. “Today,” he says, “today is the day when it will all come to an end. You will be unable to write/editors wont want to work with you/you will have to hide forever since you could not make this new career work.” My reaction had always been to do just that — go hide and sometimes even cry. Feeling the fear helped me to deal with it instead of wanting to go hide. Now, when he appears each morning, I leave the house. Go for a walk. Call a friend. Call my husband (of course, after a few months of these calls, hubby told me that for him to stay gainfully employed, I needed to get over my fear and stop driving him nuts). The best antidote, I have found, for my fear is to keep writing. As long as I am writing I am in a different world, a world that knows no fear. It is only when I stop that he reappears. Fear is here today as I write this post. I am drinking a cup of steaming hot coffee sitting here in Starbucks and he is peeking right over my shoulder and reading this as I type it. Read it, I urge him, I recognize you are here. Thanks for being there.
2. Whine. One of the best things about being a writer is being able to write — no, I mean seriously! So if you want to whine about the hard times, go right ahead. But here is the twist — don’t whine to a friend, a stranger or your dog. Instead, whine on paper. Open up a journal every morning and just write for 15 minutes non-stop. Artists swear by it. I do, too. It really works. Instead of calling a friend and complaining about the economy/weather/ whatever is bothering you and having them annoy you more (!), write it down. As Julia Cameron says “Put the drama on the paper” where it belongs and leave it there. Once you have un-cluttered your mind of fears and worries, it is time to start working. If the need to whine creeps in again at anytime time, go and write some more. My friend and guide Gwen Moran helped me implement this and it has been one of the best things I have done for my writing life.
3. Brush your teeth with the wrong hand. No, I haven’t totally lost my mind. How does this motivate you? Well, there is science behind it that says, new ways of doing things cause different receptors in your brains to connect — so take a different way home each day, read a book you never thought you would like, listen to your ten-year-old explain to you what recycling means, always do the crossword — or this week do Suduko — my point here is do something you don’t normally do. Not only does it break the routine, it offers your brain new ways of thinking. Worried about not selling luxury items? As I was brushing my teeth yesterday, with the wrong hand, I began to pay more attention to what was going on in my mouth and under my feet and I kept thinking of how cold the floor was, and pitched a piece on it. It is under consideration.
4. Don’t clean your house. Focus is critical during hard times. There are plenty of distractions around. I find that when I have market myself, try and find new editors or discover new writing venues, I will find seventy-six reasons to clean my kitchen at that very moment. There are plenty of distractions, self-created and otherwise. The key is to keep your focus each day and take constructive steps towards doing your work whether it is finding new markets, sending out letters of introduction, reading relevant blogs/newspapers/magazines to mine for ideas. This is work that will keep the flow of cash coming in. And don’t let anyone tell you that people are not buying food/travel stories — most food writers I know are busier than ever.
5. Get-butt-out-of-chair. When I coach writers who are unable to write, I always tell them to leave their writing space — at least for a while. Go out and explore. Pick up your favorite chocolate bar and head to the newest museum/bookstore/clothing store in your area (or even better, outside your area) and just spend sometime looking around. It is a great way to nurture the writer-side of you that is looking for new experiences to write about. Maybe while wandering the children’s museum you noticed the brand new systems installed in the bathrooms to dry your hands (NO JOKE), or the poor way a cross mother handled her son or the fact that the entire menu being served at the museum cafeteria is now organic — I am making this up but you would have never known this if you did not go out. One point here — this is something to do on your own and not with a kid or friend in tow. You want to give your mind the ability to think and look for new things not gossip about Clooney’s new movie or worry about your baby’s diaper.
To succeed you need to own your intentions. We all face demons and many of ours are self-created demons that are ready to defeat us at the drop of a hat. The biggest tool against the demons of doubt, anxiety, frustration, low self esteem (or insert your own here) is to stay focused on your work and to persist in the effort and not worry about the results. Good work always yields good results. Always.
A chef, whom I have interviewed often, has a saying which I adore and I leave you with it now – “Good luck takes a lot of hard work.” [Monica Bhide]
22 Responses to “How to Be Creative/Motivated/Nurtured in These Hard Times”
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Sara Aase
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 9:39am:This is amazing, Monica. Thank you for this. I am saving this. What a great way to start my morning! (I think it’s going to be Renegade Writer first thing, every day, from now on!) I have such a nice, calming visual of you walking around looking in shops and museums.
Gretchen Roberts
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 9:51am:Talk about motivating–your post was perfect. Thanks for the inspiration to stop worrying and start doing.
Charmian Christie
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 9:55am:Monica, you are always so inspiring.
You are so right when you say you can’t control fear, only your reaction to it. Often our panicked reactions (or allowing ourselves to become immobilized) make the situation worse. I might clean the house with my non-dominant hand while whining to the cats, but not for long. It’s a small place and I’m not much of a housekeeper.
I love the idea of getting out and looking for stories in the everyday. And oddly enough, I’ll be on the road tomorrow! Your post couldn’t have come at a better time.
Thanks for the reminders and words of encouragement.
Joy
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 10:38am:Would you believe this is the second time in two days I’ve been advised to brush my teeth with my non dominant hand? Well, I tried it out and I’ll report back when my brain feels rebooted!
lisa waterman gray
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 10:40am:Nice piece, Monica; especially the reminder to get out and/or do something different, when creativity is not flowing.
lisa
Naomi
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 10:41am:Good advice, Monica. Especially the suggestion of keeping whining in a journal (and limiting the amount of time spent on it). That could be good writing fodder, too — sometimes I go back to old journals to remind me of what I was actually thinking and feeling at the time. Thanks!
QuietRebelWriter
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 10:48am:Well written, and well done. Thank you for a great kick in the ass that’s needed right about now! I’m plugging away at marketing, and hitting up past and current clients, and while it may be a bit slower, there is still plenty of work to be done and to be had. I take comfort in realizing that, and in shutting my bad brain down with that fact.
BrandlandUSA
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 11:53am:good points monica…especially KEEP WRITING!
Garland Pollard
Cheryl
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 12:48pm:I didn’t know how much fear I actually had until I read this post. (Uh, thanks?) So much of it rang true. And my house is a mess so I must be doing something right. Seriously, though, I need to take some of your suggestions to heart. I’m completely stymied on a new project right now and I do believe it’s fear of failure that’s preventing me from moving forward. Instead of staring at my computer screen in an unfocused tizzy, the best thing I could probably do is to go for a walk or change my scenery. This wouldn’t have occurred to me before, so I appreciate the suggestion.
Amy Paturel
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 1:04pm:I love that quote: Good luck takes a lot of hard work. So true, so true. Whining is key for me, too. I write in a journal, usually before bed, and it helps clear my mind so I can sleep easier. On more than one occasion I’ve turned to said journals to write essays about a particular life experience. After all, half the story is already written there in the journal.
Great reminders, Monica. I’m going to try brushing my teeth with the wrong hand!
Erin Maher
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 5:10pm:My boyfriend makes a conscious effort to do a wide variety of things with his non-dominant hand. Some things - using his cell phone and writing - he does no problem, because of all of the practice. But recently I caught him trying to play Nintendo wii with his left, and it did not work out so much. It’s funny to see this tip illustrated elsewhere.
The cleaning one is a big one for me too. I move furniture. Rearrange the furniture so I can be more productive lol.
DianaBurrell
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 5:30pm:Brilliant and timely post, Monica, thanks for posting this! I’m so glad you’re part of our community here.
Although I have to say, when I’m feeling really stuck, I like to clean and organize. Whenever I give my office a good sorting, good stuff always happens — it’s like I have to make room for it first. Woo-woo, I know, but there you go.
Mary Ann Ebner
Said this on October 29th, 2008 at 5:42pm:Your focus points resonate regardless of good or bad times, Monica. Many thanks.
Tania
Said this on October 30th, 2008 at 1:11am:Very inspiring Monica, thank you! I’m not panicking yet re the economy. Perhaps I’m naive, but work is still pretty busy and while I’m taking sensible precautions and marketing hard, there are so many other things to worry about. I keep sane by figuring that if there’s anything to panic about in future, I’ll find out about it soon enough. No need to add suffering to suffering by anticipating it.
(A good writer friend always says “The things that worry you don’t turn out to be the things you need to worry about. It’s the things you don’t expect.” Cheery thought, huh? But she’s generally right.)
But I certainly get stuck in ruts, and non-specific fear plays its part in that - the paralysis you describe so well. So I loved reading your post, Monica, all the ideas, but especially “Brush your teeth with the wrong hand”. Anything to mix it up and get out of habitual rat-runs - brilliant! And I’d love to hear from JOY about how this works out for her too!
MonicaBhide
Said this on October 30th, 2008 at 11:54am:Thanks! I am glad folks found it helpful. Please do add more suggestions on what you do to stay creative.. i would love to read them and learn from you all.
Sarah
Said this on October 30th, 2008 at 10:35pm:Thanks for this post. I read the renegade writer blog all the time and I find that it is so helpful. I come at this idea from a different perspective. From what I have read, I believe that most of the people who post on this blog are published succesful freelancers. I am a newbie, I have sent out several queries in the last while and so far I am not published. I am still trying even though I am very much the underdog in this economy, so when you are feeling down or panicked about the economy think of me still plugging along! Good Luck all!
DianaBurrell
Said this on October 30th, 2008 at 10:44pm:Sarah, thanks for commenting and welcome to the world of freelancing. LOL, I’ve been doing this since 1996 and I still feel like a newbie every time I send out a pitch to a new editor. Join the venerable club.
MonicaBhide
Said this on October 30th, 2008 at 11:12pm:Yes, Sarah - welcome to the club
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Said this on October 31st, 2008 at 9:45am:[...] How to Be Creative/Motivated/Nurtured in These Hard Times. Monica says we can whine! Vindicated! …but then we have to get our ass moving. Ah, man! [...]
Rebecca
Said this on November 3rd, 2008 at 9:01pm:I wanted to thank you for such an inspirational post. The economy seems to just be getting worse by the day. Although, I found some trends on freelance writing jobs (http://www.odesk.com/trends/Tech%20Writer) that show a steady increase, so I found that quite uplifting. Especially with all the layoffs and downsizing going on. Who would have thought, we’d be the ones thriving.
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