This is a continuation of a blog post about feeling idea-less and employing strategies to unstick myself.

5.  CREATE A SPACE PROTECTION AGENCY.

Protecting your creative space, the idea nursery, from vultures and violators and vacuum cleaners.  I forgot for a while that we are all creative people—it’s how we are made; we all have ideas.  But it’s been a challenging year, both professionally and personally.  And negative and bitter people at work have had the effect of hosing down my thoughtful spot with cortisol.  And disappointment, negative self-talk, and skepticism about the value of my ideas has essentially kicked my tiny toddling idea puppies back under the sofa.  And someone keeps vacuuming up all my legos. 

No more!  It’s time for Mama Bear to spring into action, fangs bared, claws unsheathed—not to injure or maim, but just to scare the interlopers off.  I must protect my cubs, from predators both internal and external.  I may even need to protect them from myself sometimes, from the voices I indulge or forget to shush.  It could just be possible that I have decent ideas and I’m devaluing them all on my own. 

With these mixed metaphors practices, I hope to find my idea maker, my muse mojo again.  But regardless, I will continue to show up at the page every day, even if it’s just for more self-conscious schmotz.  I want to already be there when the lightning strikes.

*The vacuum idea came from Tonia Hurst.  The puppies under the sofa idea came from Diana Glyer.