There’s this quote about the greatest loss is a creative who doesn’t create. I can’t remember the full quote and I also can’t find it after googling it, so TAKE MY WORD FOR IT — there is a quote like this. And it’s true. When someone feels the call to create, and they don’t listen for a handful of reasons, it is truly a loss.

Today, my goal is to give you a little tool for busting creative block. One of the biggest things that stands in the way of creativity is BEING IN YOUR ANALYZER. I use the word analyzer to describe the part of our brains that thinks, plans, wonders about the how, criticizes, taunts, and generally gets in the way of creativity. This is the voice inside your head that says things like, “This isn’t good enough. Nobody will like it. Why are you even doing this? You’re really bad at this.”

How can we side step the analyzer? The analyzer’s role is to facilitate the how. How will we finish this? How will we write this? How will we paint this? How will we get this published? How will we practice creativity every day? While the how is important for completing a project, it can stop you right in your tracks.

Instead, think about your why. Why am I [insert creative act here] this? And go from there. Find that rich vein of joy, pleasure, and fun you get from creating. Do you love how a sentence rolls off your fingers as you type it? Do you love exploring character? Do you love shaping clay with your hands?

So that’s my creative challenge for you today: think about your why.

This is the first post of a series about creativity. Try this tool out and tell me what you think!