Creativity is a Muscle (How to tone it into strength)

A week and a half ago a friend of mine came to me with this great idea (yeah, right). She suggested we do a 25 day health challenge where we set a certain amount of exercises each day and have no sugar. I agreed and so we started.

The only problem… my body isn’t used to doing daily workouts…

Can you see where this is going? For someone who’s not built up to doing daily workouts… they burn! It’s painful. You want to give up. There’s times when you think you can’t go on. You’re told to do 30 push-ups when you really don’t want to do one. They say hold the plank for a whole minute but I was in pain from the first second.

It. Is. Hard.

But what in life isn’t?

I could’ve given up the first day, but I didn’t. Why? Because I know I want to get in shape and be healthier in the long run. That’s my goal and motivation. But what’s your motivation for your writing?

Just as with a workout challenge, you have to know what you’re working towards — what’s your end goal. If you don’t know where you’re heading, then you don’t know why you’re continuing. And, in the process, you might feel stuck.

Writing can be hard. Especially on the days when you’re lacking motivation or inspiration. You feel dry and burnt out. You don’t know why you’re still going at this.

It’s like you’re in the middle of a plank. Your arms are burning, your abs are screaming, and everything in you wants to collapse to the ground. But, it’s in that moment, that you remember your purpose, your desire for this mission. And you persevere.

That is why I say creativity is a muscle because you can’t just pick up a pen for the first time and expect to be the next New York Times bestselling author. You have to work at it. You have to get in shape. And you have to know why you’re striving for this.

Is it publication? Is it for the benefit of family and friends? Is it a deeper reason such as a desire to bring light into the world through your stories? Or maybe you have a message to tell that only your story can say. You have to know what that purpose is for you specifically. Or else you will give up too soon.

Just like your body, your brain is something that has to be shaped and molded into what you want it to be. The first time you sit down to write, your brain might be a bit confused and like, “What is this new activity?”. At first you might find it very hard and feel as though anything you write is simply trash. You might even feel that way after years of writing.

But, in order to gain those muscles, you have to put in the work. You have to train your brain towards this new activity and stick with it. That’s the key, sticking with it. Because just as your body will go back to being unfit if you give up on your workouts, so will your brain go back to being unused to writing.

The more you write, the more you’ll get better. The more you write, the more your mental muscles will grow. The more you write, the more you’ll see yourself improve.

And, in the end, it will be worth it.

Your turn!

Do you feel as though writing is a workout sometimes? What do you do when you feel stuck? Do you stick with it or give up (a.k.a. hold the plank, or crash to the ground)?

Blessings, Allyson

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