Escaping The Dreaded Slump
We’ve all been there, whether it’s creatively, personally or professionally from time to time we all find ourselves in that dreaded slump. Sometimes it manifests as an unwillingness to change the things around you that you don’t like, that kitchen that needs redecorating or the garden that’s looking more and more like a jungle. In work it often appears as a diminished enthusiasm for the daily grind, going through those 8-9 hours a day in a zombie like state where the bare minimum is achieved with little mental stimulation. Creatives are often more aware than others of slumps but by no means immune to regular periods of blocked creativity and lacking that fulfilment that we all love about our creative endeavours. So how do we break out of these slumps and improve our mental wellbeing as well as our professional progress, whether that’s in a creative industry or not?
Awareness
Like I said, creatives are often acutely aware of their motivation levels, however that’s not to say they know how to reinvigorate themselves. For creatives the whole process involves so many intangibles that identifying the problem can be far more challenging than noticing the problem in the first place! That said most people, regardless of situation, find themselves identifying their ‘slump’ only when they are well and truly entrenched in it. It should go without saying then that when it comes to slumps the best cure is prevention! While that is in many ways as tricky as getting out of a slump what we can do is at least increase our awareness of our motivation/inspiration levels. Whether that’s in the form of a ‘wins’ log, taking note of each days high points, or just a weekly review of your work. This is one that applies not only to creatives, looking back on the work they have produced each week, but for professionals as well. Taking note not only of the productivity of any given week, but the enthusiasm levels for that week. Did you feel good going in to work each day or did you have that Sunday evening feeling at the start of every day?
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Getting Back On Track
Awareness is all well and good but this whole article is somewhat predicated on the idea of getting OUT of a slump, so lets focus on that instead of worrying about why we got there in the first place. Maybe that’s another post in and of it’s-self! Slumps tend to come from low motivation/inspiration levels. Anything that seems routine can easily slip into a slump, so the first way to get out of it is to make some short term changes to pick yourself up as quickly as possible. So how can you make big changes? Well first of all I’m not talking about changing your process, whether that’s as a creative or just in your day job. I mean changes to your daily life. Taking the pressure off a little.
Concentrate On Something Else
‘Don’t worry’, the worst advice to give anyone prone to worrying. It’s similar to saying ‘don’t worry’ about being in a slump. We all know we’ll work our way out of it, but that doesn’t really help us in the present. As opposed to not worrying about it tricking yourself into focussing elsewhere is never a bad place to start. For some people ‘Something else’ can just be a week off, putting your feet up a little bit and enjoying the things you don’t normally get time to stop and appreciate. For others that’s adding in an extra date night, or getting back into a long lost passion. Heck, it’s amazing how many times something fantastic comes out of these distraction techniques! The point is that when we pursue anything, creativity, a career or just a hobby, our progress and passion can’t continue along an upwards trajectory indefinitely. It’s just not maintainable, allowing yourself a little time off shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing! In fact this kind of variety in life is perfect not only for getting out of a slump, but also for preventing a few slumps in the future!
Strike A Pose
Have you ever heard of the superhero post increasing confidence? Some sciency types did a study on this years ago (I’m sure you’ll find it with a quick Google, I have a mind for remembering obscure facts but lack the patience to fully reference my sources…) which showed that standing in front of a mirror for a couple of minutes each morning increases confidence throughout the day. It’s just like waking up and getting yourself into the right mind-set from the outset. After a few seconds of feeling a little ridiculous you get over it! I am a big believe in the power of the universe, but I wasn’t always. In fact the beginnings of my belief that there is some kind of greater power at work was formed off the back of this kind of thinking. I’d heard all of those stories about ‘The Secret’ and other difficult to prove theories and didn’t buy it, what I did believe however is that if you can convince yourself to believe something, you’re focussing on it. By focussing on it your chances of success are surely increased? I’ll save you the whole story of my mental transformation but suffice to say the power of the mind is immense. Whether it’s the Superhero pose, or a ten minute meditation session, or even a little subconscious pep talk. Whatever gets you going is absolutely fine, it’s just a little kick start to get your day going the right way!
Be Arrogant
Sometimes when I feel like I’m in a creative slump it’s not the end of the world, I might have a few weeks until my next wedding and plenty of time to let the slump play out on its own. Other times I’ll find myself in a slump right before a wedding, the added pressure of knowing I have to get creative QUICKLY never helps. One thing that does help is being a little bit arrogant. I don’t mean outwardly arrogant, I don’t suddenly start referring to myself in the third person and acting aloof. I just try to remind myself that I’m good at what I do, I know that at least my next client trusts in my abilities as a photographer, so I certainly should as well. The same applies for anyone, in just about any job in the world! I’ll spend a little time looking at my past work and appreciating all of my creative triumphs from the past. It’s amazing how often I start to get down on my work, doubting my own abilities, and a going over a few of my favourite blog posts reminds me of all of the special moments I’ve captured in the past. Go over your greatest triumphs, remind yourself of all of your success at whatever it is you do. After all, if you’re in the midst of a slump the chances are you’ve spent plenty of time reminding yourself of all of your failures!
Work It Out
I guess that would have been a fairly easy way to make this post a one line joke but I don’t mean it like that. Even if you identify WHY you’re in a slump, that’s not always the cure. What I mean is WORK at getting out of the slump, don’t just treat your motivation like some mystical force. Sometimes, we’re fully motivated, feeling the flow and work/creativity comes naturally. Other times that flow seems to disappear, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still produce work we’re proud of. Whenever we feel like things are going well we are constantly learning, evolving and improving. It’s almost as if we’re storing all of that information for a rainy day. It’s ok to just embrace the slump and get down to work, pushing through these periods of low motivation with a steely determination to do more than the bare minimum. Sometimes there’s exercises we can use to get back on track. In terms of Photography I’ll often try to head out on shoots that I set as exercises. I’ve talked about these before but a few would be – heading out with just one lens, shooting at one aperture or even shooting at one shutter speed. It’s almost like training drills for my photography!
Don’t Fight The Fear
Slumps can be a tricky thing to manage, even if we find a good way of getting out of one there’s no guarantee that it will work every time and that’s ok! Sometimes it’s fine just to let a slump work it’s-self out on it’s own! That said, sometimes the slump is about more than just a drop in motivation. Every so often a slump is there to make us think about our current goals and assess whether it’s something we want to recover from, or just to escape from all together. Back in my sporting days I’d experience slumps every now and again, sometimes I’d take a break from training for a few days or even weeks, other times I’d push through and just keep going until I found my mojo again. Eventually I had a slump that made me question whether my sporting dreams were still a goal I wanted to pursue. For me, that slump wasn’t one that needed to be worked out, but one that needed to be acknowledged. When I took a step back I realised that I had lost my passion for the sport and that I no longer had the overpowering urge to get out of my slump at all. It was a scary thought, to have one over-riding goal in life then, all of a sudden, not know quite where I wanted my life to go. A decade and a bit later and quitting isn’t a decision I regret at all, it’s lead me to things I could never have imagined while I was pursuing my old dreams.
Appreciation
Chances are your slump is just that, a blip, an anomaly, something to overcome. Whatever you decide just take a moment to appreciate everything your passion and motivation has given you up to now. It could be financial, or it might be more spiritual than that, it could just be a series of life lessons that have made you into the person you are today. Slumps are all a part of the process, but just remember, you’re more than just one passion or interest, far more than just your job or title.
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Great post, and the photos are amazing!
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Thanks! Very much appreciated!
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Great images, story and thoughts. Thanks for sharing with us!
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Thanks!
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Absolutely amazing post man! This blockchain is super lucky to have you here!
Lots of people tell me that you have a finite amount of willpower at any given time, and you just get run down... so sometimes stopping and resetting is the best course...
Aussie Ninja the best guy in the world approves this post.
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Thanks dude! Think Steemit willpower ran low this weekend, two days and I'm so behind!!
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great sharing, Chris. I congratulate you
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Thanks Ceren :) always appreciate the kind words!
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Chris, you put a lot of effort into your posts and it really shows! ! The writing is awesome. Photography even more so -- every image is a joy to look at!
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Ah thank you! I always really appreciate your support :) great to hear the writing/effort comes across :)
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