The loss of creative mojo is a terrible thing.
For me, it was a season of mandatory and exclusive use of my left brain that did it. I'd been forced to leave my right brain - where creative mojo resides - unattended for far too long. It became limp and lethargic. It began to atrophy. It was dying a slow death. I didn't even realize this until I tried to write, and all I could get was three sentences. That's it. I was horrified and discouraged but not hopeless. Desperate is more like it, so what did I do to breathe life back into my creative mojo?
For me, it was a season of mandatory and exclusive use of my left brain that did it. I'd been forced to leave my right brain - where creative mojo resides - unattended for far too long. It became limp and lethargic. It began to atrophy. It was dying a slow death. I didn't even realize this until I tried to write, and all I could get was three sentences. That's it. I was horrified and discouraged but not hopeless. Desperate is more like it, so what did I do to breathe life back into my creative mojo?
 Step One: Step away from the chaos of life. I took two weeks of vacation from my left-brain job. I spent the first week with this heart-throb (sorry, I don't share - at least not this guy). |  And a few days with these lovable lovelies (a.k.a. my daughter and her family) |
Step Two:
Have a plan.
Bringing a dying mojo back to life is like caring for someone in the ICU. The doctors and nurses don't watch their patients in hopes that they'll revive. They make a plan. They follow through. They get results.
My plan was to take each morning of the second week and spend it in prayer and motivational reading.I'd heard a lot of praise for The Gifts of Imperfection by Dr. Brene Brown, so I bought a copy and saved it for this week. I highly recommend it.
I wanted to read the book from start to finish during that week, so I divided up the pages (126) by five and committed to read a set number (25) each day.
It was great. My mornings were wonderfully refreshing.
Have a plan.
Bringing a dying mojo back to life is like caring for someone in the ICU. The doctors and nurses don't watch their patients in hopes that they'll revive. They make a plan. They follow through. They get results.
My plan was to take each morning of the second week and spend it in prayer and motivational reading.I'd heard a lot of praise for The Gifts of Imperfection by Dr. Brene Brown, so I bought a copy and saved it for this week. I highly recommend it.
I wanted to read the book from start to finish during that week, so I divided up the pages (126) by five and committed to read a set number (25) each day.
It was great. My mornings were wonderfully refreshing.
Step Three:
Give your brain space to breathe.
Take walks around your neighborhood. Take walks on trails. Go for a hike or two or three. Sit on your deck and let your brain relax. Don't think. Just be.
Give your brain space to breathe.
Take walks around your neighborhood. Take walks on trails. Go for a hike or two or three. Sit on your deck and let your brain relax. Don't think. Just be.
Step Four:
Give your mojo a little exercise (but don't overdo it).
I I wasn't quite ready to write just yet. That involves the left brain. I'd given my left brain the week off, so I took up loom knitting (I don't think the hat is going to be a keeper). I also made a wall decor for a poor barren wall in our living room. This was a lot of fun, very therapeutic, and it turned out! Win! Win! Win!
Step Five:
Rest. Laugh. Enjoy. Love.
These three heal the heart, mind, soul, and mojo.
Give your mojo a little exercise (but don't overdo it).
I I wasn't quite ready to write just yet. That involves the left brain. I'd given my left brain the week off, so I took up loom knitting (I don't think the hat is going to be a keeper). I also made a wall decor for a poor barren wall in our living room. This was a lot of fun, very therapeutic, and it turned out! Win! Win! Win!
Step Five:
Rest. Laugh. Enjoy. Love.
These three heal the heart, mind, soul, and mojo.
Step Six:
Check your mojo out of the hospital.
By now, my creative mojo was breathing on its own and able to walk, though it wasn't 100% just yet. Healing takes time.
I am now writing again, but my right brain mojo is still in recovery,
so I'm not too concerned with writing well just yet. I'm just writing.
And it's so much fun.
Check your mojo out of the hospital.
By now, my creative mojo was breathing on its own and able to walk, though it wasn't 100% just yet. Healing takes time.
I am now writing again, but my right brain mojo is still in recovery,
so I'm not too concerned with writing well just yet. I'm just writing.
And it's so much fun.
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