Blocks and drilling

Extracting ideas from the well leads to no ideas.

Writers block has been seeping into my journal recently. It has spread from my focused writing - the writing that I want to be doing but have struggled to make time for. The writing that is more than just pouring out my thoughts and then walking away. The kind that you actually have to proofread. And edit.

My journaling is very personal but recently I have been feeling that pressure to “do something” with it - I can usually keep those pressures out of the Zone of Whining (aka: my journal). But this pressure is spreading even farther than that - my journal, my long ramble text messages, hell, even thoughtful comments on Facebook Groups, I feel like I should somehow capitalize on them. I get stuck thinking that every output must be productive - and productive in a very specific way. I must mine every output and refine it into a salable good. 

Is my mind is an oil field? And “success” is draining it dry?

Surprisingly, this is not the healthiest or even the most productive way to approach creativity, because I just get stuck. Once I try to extract all the possible drops of creative oil, I get too busy gathering and trying to figure out how to maximize their potential. Or I get fixated on each idea and how to cash in on it, so my creative output grinds to a halt. I start trying to figure out how to use each idea before it's even fully formed. I am standing at the gate of my brain trying to reach in with my net. Or vacuum? Pump? Whatever. I have clearly lost the thread of this metaphor. 

It doesn’t mean I can’t use ANY ideas, but when I am set to Scarcity Mode, I’m frantically trying to make the most of every idea and I end up spinning my wheels and running out of gas. I frantically chase down every idea, but am unable to explore any single one.