what to do when the well runs dry...

I've decided to sneak in a little post during my study break. (Muwahahaha!)

I've noticed that my blog has become a bit of a "to-do list" and not really a blog. Yes, I'm busy with school, but there was more to it. I was smack dab in between a complete loss of motivation, lack of creativity. I couldn't even look at my youtube channel, and don't even get me started on my facebook page. For some odd reason, I let that mean voice in my head completely zap me of my creativity. You know the one that sounds like this:

• Everything's already been done, why try?
• Are you sure you want to put yourself out there?
• What could you possibly have to offer?
• Do you really think you belong in this community?
• Your ideas aren't that great, maybe you should sit back and let people who are better at this contribute.
• No one is going to take you seriously, you're only sabotaging your future. 

And the list goes on and on. Does any of that sound familiar? Yeah, fear's a funny thing. It doesn't usually throw streamers and scream "I HAVE ARRIVED!!" I've read several posts on creative people having this really nasty voice, and I totally related to it. By the end of most articles, the common consensus was that fear was completely natural. ... Okay, but now what? I had a hard time figuring out where to go from there. I took a step back and started looking at what motivates some of my favorite creators.  Here are just a few of them:

• Fate. Some people felt like it was their destiny to do what they love, and love what they do. 
• For others, a creative outlet was a way to document their life's journey
• Vent art!  pouring tons of energy to make something new is a great way to get rid of tension, and emotions that may have accumulated.
• for representation. Maybe there was a lack of people/creatures/beings that could be related to, so they made their own characters
• Some people make things in hopes to find a community of people who share their interests. 
• And some people... are bored, and just looking for something to do.

I started to think about why I do the things I do. Why write? why sew? I would love to believe in fate (no, i . mean it. I really, really would love to believe in fate) I think believing in something outside oneself is an amazing way to have boundaries pushed. I, just don't believe in fate. (If you do, that's cool. I'm in no way saying that we HAVE to believe the same thing,)  I started to youtube because I was bored. I had a laptop, and some art supplies, and said: "Yeah, why not?" After a while, I started to connect with people, and it was super fun. I've mostly been doing vent art as of late, so I've dropped off the face of the planet.

The more I created, the more I wanted to create/ It's sort of like exercising a muscle. I wanted to create. There's something to be said about making things just for the fun of making them. I have a couple of side projects that I've done, and I thought about uploading my progress to youtube, but then decided against it. For me, burn-out comes from not setting boundaries, poor time management, and not balancing my creative input and output. If I consume too much of other people's work, I start to compare my work, or I won't even work on my own projects. If I have too many projects, the quality suffers.

Ah yes, but what does fear have to do with any of this? Well, most of those phrases I previously mentioned stemmed from a fear of... failure. That's right. I think we all have been afraid of failing every once in a while, right? Some people say that the negative voice is the brain trying to protect itself from failing. If I look at it this way, then things become a bit easier. I just ask myself a series of questions. For example, I've not written a song in over 3 months. Okay, would making a crummy song cause my house to catch on fire? would it endanger my loved one? Nope, and nope. I knew this bit of advice wouldn't be the cure-all, but it was a good start. I've started to make crappy songs and paintings to get used to having things not be perfect. Honestly, it has helped a lot.   I know that everyone is different and that these tips may not help everyone out there. It is, however, a great way to start thinking about how you can refuel your creative energy? So let me know what you think. Were these tips helpful, or not? Is there something you would add?