{"id":307,"date":"2012-05-08T19:33:49","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T19:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.workplaceinteractors.com\/theinteraction\/?p=307"},"modified":"2012-05-08T19:33:49","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T19:33:49","slug":"dealing-with-creative-frustration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.workplaceinteractors.com\/theinteraction\/2012\/05\/08\/dealing-with-creative-frustration\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with creative frustration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Find the idea, by Khalid Albai, via Flickr Creative Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Had a chance last week to practice with the idea I mentioned in my last post<\/a> that during creative work, the feeling of frustration signals the brain to try a different approach.\u00a0 Since that hit-the-wall feeling is my least favorite part of creating something new, I was interested in what would happen if I interpreted it as a helpful phase, rather than as a torment or as a sign of my particular inadequacy.<\/p>\n

Well, I spent several 13-hour days last week working on a new, exciting project for one of our clients.\u00a0 Lots of design and writing; lots of puzzlement and fog before it comes clear.\u00a0 But this time, when the frustration hit,\u00a0 I thought, “Good! This means that my brain is about to throw the problem over to the right hemisphere for a different kind of problem-solving.”<\/p>\n

And it actually worked that way!\u00a0 I stayed quiet for a bit, and then I could feel a different way of thinking start up.\u00a0 The room looked brighter; I began to get a sense of how we could work out different elements of the design.\u00a0 Pretty soon the flow of ideas was back.\u00a0 I could see a clearer path ahead.<\/p>\n

This pattern happened a number of times during those long days.\u00a0 And it was nothing new — I’ve noticed the on-again, off-again rhythm of problem-solving for many years.<\/p>\n

But what was different — and tremendously valuable — was the sense that my frustration was an inevitable, even welcome part of the process.\u00a0 So instead of becoming angry with the impasse, or fearful, or self-doubting, I waited it out.\u00a0 It didn’t take long, as it happened.\u00a0 And in the meantime, I wasn’t wasting all that energy on being frustrated about being frustrated.<\/p>\n

I chose the illustration for this post because it shows the idea as the central point of a labyrinth.\u00a0 I’ve loved labyrinths for many years, because despite complicated meanderings, each is actually a single path to its center.\u00a0 Getting there is inevitable, no matter how hopeless it may seem on the way.<\/p>\n

It reminds me that our minds are made for creativity, if we follow the path that’s already there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Had a chance last week to practice with the idea I mentioned in my last post that during creative work, the feeling of frustration signals the brain to try a different approach.\u00a0 Since that hit-the-wall feeling is my least favorite part of creating something new, I was interested in what would happen if I interpreted …<\/p>\n

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