5 Questions to Ask When You’re Creatively Stuck
posted: Apr. 10, 2023.

Creativity is both an expression and an extension of identity.

Whenever we sense blockages in our ability to access creativity or creative expression, this invites us to explore what parts of self might be repressed and need attunement and compassion. From this reframing of blockages as a “cue to self,” creative blocks can give way to internal exploration, emotional healing, and more authentic creative expression.

We all possess a creative part of self.

We were each created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). He who created all of time and space offers us the ability to create from a connection within our internal worlds. To not create is to detach from a treasured part of self and thus miss out on the fullness of our relationship with our soul and the Father’s heart for us. Getting “unstuck” creatively first requires getting unstuck in our minds, wills, and emotions, which occurs through bringing hidden emotions, wounds, or beliefs into the light of awareness.

Like David in the Old Testament, we can ask God in these times, “Search me and know me!” (Psalm 139:23-24). As we give Him access to hidden places, we also have the opportunity to extend compassion to parts of self that have remained hidden, afraid, or ashamed. As we meet these parts of self with compassion, as modeled by God’s heart for us, we are teaching ourselves how to regulate, integrate with all parts of self, and operate in wholeness. And what better place to create from than wholeness?

Helpful questions in getting “creatively unstuck” might include:

1. Take inventory of your internal world: Am I repressing or suppressing emotional awareness or healthy emotional expression in my life?
2. Why am I suppressing these emotions? Why does ________ emotion feel safer “behind closed doors” than in the light of my conscious awareness?
3. Am I allowing space for my physical, emotional, and spiritual needs to be seen and met?
4. Am I taking responsibility for how I feel, powerfully communicating my needs to myself and others, and attempting to get them met in healthy ways?
5. How can I powerfully meet one of these needs today?

We can express freely and genuinely through our respective art forms when we are grounded in who we are and can see, validate, and pursue our needs. Whatever we create is directly connected to how we view ourselves, others, and the world. Allow your creativity to be both a reflection of your inner world and a signal back to you about you as you listen to the Lord’s voice through artistic expression.

You were made for freedom, creativity, and wholeness.