We strive to reach greatness and we fall along the way, stumbling to reach the perfect version of ourselves that we have placed on a pedestal far away. This tends to happen with personal development, but more importantly, with artistic development. When we get a block or fall into an abyss, it is often hard to get out of it and find a way to move on.
Creative ruts are annoying and can take a lot of our time and energy. Getting out of them should be a priority. Here is how you can get out of your creative rut and start being proud of yourself once more.
Learn from Others – Find Inspiration
Creative ruts are often a blockade when we cannot move on from our own style and when everything seems stale. This can easily be remedied by looking at other people’s work for inspiration. But, one should not only look, but actually absorb what they are doing. Inspiration is easy to find when you see others doing something different. This is exactly what you might need to get out of your rut. A different note, a stroke from a different brush, a combination of various styles, anything can inspire you. Look outside yourself for inspiration, if you alone cannot do it.
Take a Break – Breaks Help From Burnout
Burning out is the worst feeling and it happens everywhere, with work, workouts, to professional athletes, drivers, and especially artists. Working hard and consistently is amazing, but you can only go for so long if the results are not there and if your schedule is too difficult to manage, emotionally and physically. Take a break, do not put so much pressure on yourself and you should be good after a while. You will most likely start missing your art and will want and desire to get back to it, with fresher eyes and a rested mind.
Work, Work and More Work
These two contradict one another, but are actually referring to different psychological states. Sometimes, we get into a rut because we are emotionally putting pressure on ourselves and we are basically hindering our own artistic expression. Sometimes, to get out of a rut, we just need to work on our art. Work on whichever technical aspect of your art you might need to improve. But, never forget the art side of art, the one that actually needs to express something. Express that rut and frustration, it is one way of moving on.
Getting into a rut sucks, but getting out of one is not as hard as we might think. Try and grasp what is bugging you and apply these tips, to finally get out of that rut and start heading into the right direction, one of expression.
