It is quite easy to realize when your creative energy is at its lowest.
When this occurs, you feel certain symptoms:
1. The sensation that you’ve been in the same routine for quite a long time, like you have been running inside a treadmill. Of course, you don’t like this feeling.
2. Little or no pleasure in your job and many other activities.
3. A constant feeling of stress or anxiety, even without any apparent or real reason.
4. Disturbed sleep. Though you may feel tired, you often feel a sense of over excitation that prevents you from sleeping soundly.
5. A difficulty in concentrating and participating in high cognitive or mental activities.
6. Your sense of purpose in life is blurry. You feel as if everything you do is done in vain.
7. A lack of desire to set new goals, and no motivation to achieve the goals you have already set.
8. A realisation that your skills of imagination and visualisation are very low.
9. You get easily irritated or angry, even over very insignificant matters.
10. You withdraw from social events and you sometimes feel it is too energy-consuming to meet with your friends and significant other!
If you are experiencing more than half of these symptoms, your creative battery is probably running on low. So what should you do?
Give yourself a break!
Make a commitment to take some days off, or at least enjoy a long weekend. Use this time to go somewhere near nature. Whether it is a mountain, forest or by the sea, give yourself the time to stay close to nature and allow yourself the time to relax. Nature is very rewarding when it comes to energizing low creative levels.
While away, make no intense plans. Just be present. Mindfully. Use all your mindfulness skills to observe the landscape around you. Take time to simply stand in front of a nice view and observe the beauty that is.
Eat plain and good food. Sleep well. Take long walks in nature.
Read a nice and easy book that doesn’t challenge your brain too much.
Practice some meditation sessions.
If you are with friends or family, engage in some fun family games.
After a couple of days you will start to observe that your mood gets better, that your energy augments and that some clear ideas about future steps arise in your mind.
Of course, the longer you can prolong your holidays, the better it will be for the replenishment of your energy levels. A ten day vacation is, in my opinion, a very satisfactory period.
I knew an artist who took two months off her work and had a sabbatical in Paris (she was from Switzerland) in order to get her energy back and feel capable of setting her next goals. It actually paid off. She now has her own music ensemble and is very creative and successful in what she does.
In order to avoid energy depletion, you may consider having regular breaks from your routine. I recommend giving yourself a weekend of quality rest in nature every month and a three to four day holiday every two months. You can also do your best to put the Christmas, Easter, winter and summer holidays to good use.
Time off isn’t lost time! Many people unfortunately have a negative perspective on time away from what they consider work, especially if they already feel their productivity waning. But the truth is, time off is a perfect opportunity to boost your energy again and prepare yourself for new creative ventures.
Pursue as much time off and holidays as you can. You’ll be surprised how much it will pay you back in creative ideas and actions!
If you are keen to learn how to boost your creative energy-battery in order to better your life, you can contact me via email:
info@uplifepsychology.com or by phone: +30 6983 282 252 & +30 210 4675543 or by Skype.
My sessions take place at my offices in Athens and Salamina Island or via Skype and Hangouts.
After a longstanding career in research at the National Centre of Scientific Research of France (CNRS) and the prestigious Collège de France of Paris, I have spent more than a decade focusing my activity in the successful treatment of phobias, panic and stress disorders, as well as the personal development and reinforcement of personal strengths, soft skills and emotional intelligence. I am a trained and expert therapist of these conditions.
My therapeutic approach is based upon the application of scientific and psychotherapeutic proven techniques for a comprehensive and successful approach to dealing with the aforementioned issues.
I am a certified Cognitive Psychologist and a Member of the official Association of Greek Psychologists (SEPS). I am also a Certified Member of the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA), and hold a European Certification of Psychological Practice (EuroPsy) in more than 19 countries of the European continent. I am also a member of the International Society of Emotional Intelligence and Member of the International Network of Teachers of CEB (Cultivating Emotional Balance).
I provide Individual Coaching and Therapy for Personal Development and Self Awareness, EQ education (including for the professional field), Life Coaching for successful living and career, Meditative Techniques for Mindfulness, Concentration, Relaxation and Equanimity, as well as group seminars on the topics of Personal Development, CEB, Life Coaching for Successful Living and Goal Setting.
I would be happy to hear your story.
Panagiota
Last modified: November 23, 2018
