When All You Do Is Try, Try, Try
Taking a different approach to moving forward on creative change
Maybe you've been trying to make something happen with your creative work in the world—perhaps it’s spending more time with your writing or art, playing more creatively, or sharing more of yourself or your work with those around you.
And, maybe, like me recently, you found yourself feeling frustrated, saying I just have to figure this out!
If any of this resonates, you might be trying too hard.
Wait, what?
Yes, trying too hard.
If you grew up in this Wester culture you likely learned that if you didn't get what you wanted, it was because you didn't try hard enough.
You needed more. More effort, more talent. More precision, more skill. More time or patience. More elbow grease. More leaning in. More luck.
You're probably exceptionally good at doing more. And that’s likely gotten you many good things in your life. Today though, I want to offer a unique way to invite change and to help your creativity flourish.
If things seem hard, it is because of one of two things:
Energy misalignment
Perhaps what you’re trying to bring into form isn't in agreement with your deeper self. In other words, it’s simply not what you truly— deep, deep down—want to create right now.
Often what you really want may seem so counterintuitive or illogical, you've already dismissed it outright. And then, your mind tries to keep you safe by deciding this other thing, this much more logical, clear, and attainable thing is what you really want. Really.
In this case, there’s an energetic mismatch. You can’t seem to “make it happen” because you don’t, on a deeper, more subtle level, want it to. You may have been able to push through something like this in the past, but it’s not working anymore.
Unconscious energy and belief systems
The second reason things may be feeling hard is because you have one (or more!) limiting beliefs standing in your way. They’re often wrapped in unconscious energy and play out in subtle patterns and the way you’re approaching what it is you’re trying to create.
These beliefs can be both conscious and unconscious. They might range from single beliefs like I can't make money doing what I love. Or it's too difficult for me. Or even I don't have enough time; or they could constitute whole belief systems, with lots of related thought constellations around money, relationships, or power, for example.
What nEXT?
If you find yourself in this situation, what do you do? Even though each situation asks for a different approach, initially, your first two steps are the same.
Take a break
The first thing to do is to simply stop. Stop doing or trying to figure out what to do - for a moment, a day, a week. Let things lay and walk away. Take a walk outside or pick up something unrelated to what you're trying to do. If you're trying to write, go on a scavenger hunt. If you’re trying to build a website, watch Life After Death on Netflix.
It doesn’t matter what it is, only that it is unrelated to what you’ve been doing, and it sounds fun.
Giving yourself a break and taking your mind somewhere else helps disrupt patterns and can reset your ability to see fresh information.
Then simply ask
After you’ve taken some time away, the next step is to simply ask your inner wisdom for more information. Take a few minutes to get quiet, ground and find your way into a meditative state. You then simply ask to be shown energetically what's standing in your way.
If you have trouble meditating or quieting your mind while sitting, it also works to take a short walk. You can ask the question at the beginning as you set out, and then let it go while you move your body and stay alert to anything that drops in.
See what new insight you gain.
Finding out why you might be stuck and resetting your course based on the insight you gain asks you to do less work, not more.
If you try this, I'd love to hear anything you want to share. Just email me at diane@innerwisdomwayfinding.com