#notgoals // what to do when you are feeling like you are losing a desire to create

Hey y’all!

This is going to be a rather short post because I am an absolute psycho who has been struggling to complete things.

Woooooo it’s a party, y’all.

You might be noticing that I am posting this on Tuesday, but not a consecutive Tuesday. Last week was a rough one, to say the least. I didn’t manage to get it done by the time I normally try to have posts done. That and I had a slight mental breakdown.

I had a conversation with my dad about it after I had finished crying (because yeah that’s me) and he kept saying that I needed to be more careful focusing on my personal health over school work and extra hobbies like writing.

It was rather funny because I take care of myself (to some extent) but having to talk about it and go “hey, maybe I’m not” was helpful.

And let me be perfectly real, I get that society is probably struggling with this. But I don’t like how everyone is promoting not taking care of yourself.

I don’t want to dwell on this, because honestly other people have it worse. I’ve been working to overcome my natural anxious and perfectionistic tendencies, because they tend to overwhelm me and do more harm than good (besides the fact that giving in to them is kinda unChristian in some ways). But sometimes I don’t handle that well.

Fun fact: it’s because I’m handling it.

God does a way better job of that than I do, and I need to let Him do His job. XD

And yet, it is still our jobs to be the best, most healthy us we can be. Yikes, y’all. I haven’t been doing this well. AT ALL. (i say, as i stay up to finish this post the night before a final. It’s probably fine…)

I notice it is during these times that, when I want to do creative things, I physically can’t. Like, not joking, I can’t.

So, how do we take care of ourselves and keep our creative juices?

1. Sleep. Honestly, this is the key to most things in life. Are you tired? Sleep! (wow someone tell Maddy to create a book of proverbs because that was genius. “are you tired? sleep!” – Maddy 2k19) You can’t function when you are barely awake. No exceptions. I am going to get better at this in the summer. I am trying.
2. Want to produce good content? Ingest good content. This concept is sort of a reverse “garbage in, garbage out” type deal. If you are trying to write the world’s next hit fantasy novel, but you aren’t actually reading your genre… hate to break it to you, but it ain’t gonna happen. Same with life in general. Want to be happier and healthier? Do the happy/healthy things! Simple 🙂
3. It is 100% okay to say no. Dude, I struggle with this so much. I hate letting people/things/goals/ANYTHING down. But one human cannot, no matter how hard she may try, be physically able to do everything and make everyone happy at the same time. She has limits, just like everyone else. You are allowed to say no. You don’t have to bend over backwards for someone at all times. Make sure you are accomplishing what you need to have done. Then add the things. It’s okay. 😀
4. Pace yourself. Growth takes time. If you push yourself to the limit and past it every time you are creating things, chances are, after a while, you won’t want to anymore. Don’t do thaaaaat. Be mindful. If you need to go slow, go slow! It’s okay!

So those are a couple little tips on how to keep your creativity and mental health in consideration! I hope you found them helpful!

Also, I’m very sorry I missed last week! I’ll make sure I get one up weekly, especially since tomorrow is my last day of school!! (FREEEEEEEEEDOMMMMMMMM)

My creative juices will be restored to regular levels soon!

Now go forth, mis amigos and amigas, and smile. Your day is just beginning. Make the best of it. Don’t procrastinate. Work hard. Make me proud. 🙂

Love you all,

Madeleine ❤