How I Improved My Motivation To Create With One Simple Change

As someone who has suffered with depression and chronic illness for a long time, sometimes it can feel hard to gain the motivation to create. But recently after some interesting seminars during my studies I was encouraged to try journaling. For me journaling has always been too intense of an activity, writing thoughts down just encourages cyclical thinking and from there a spiral but I’ll share with you today a few simple, non-committal journaling techniques which really improved my motivation to write and to create.

When we think of journaling, naturally an image comes to mind of a pen and a notebook but journals don’t necessarily even have to be in a written form. You could keep a journal of art fuelled by certain emotions, a digital journal filled with text or images or even just make photo collages. But the point of a journal is just to have a physical space for expression without the pressure of having to create something to a certain standard. We make art mostly because we enjoy it so why not use it as a method of stress relief? Your mental health can affect your ability to create just as much if not more than physical health. That's why, even if only once, it’s worth giving some of these techniques a go.

Firstly, expressive writing, a technique coined by Dr James Pennebaker, acts as a way to take stressful thoughts from your mind and put them onto paper. And you’ll even find some of these works provide you with motivation. Expressive writing is about writing nonsensical emotion on the page,  not caring about spelling or grammar. I found that if I had one thought circling around in my head all day, writing it down really helped to alleviate the stress. When I would then look back on these pieces I was able to find beauty within the lines of despair and even used many of these emotions in my own writing. This is perfect for me especially who doesn’t always deal well with regular daily tasks and perhaps also perfect for you. You don’t need to feel pressured to write something everyday but just when something feels particularly stressful, turn that stress into inspiration. Not all of the things you write will inspire you but they might help alleviate some mental pain allowing space for creation.

Secondly, automatic writing. As a writer this really worked for me but depending on which artistic form you work with, you can adapt this to work for you. Automatic writing is the art of writing whatever comes to mind based on a small prompt. I find this really helps before starting a new project, as an artist perhaps you could draw a small illustration to start drawing before working on a bigger project. Or as a filmmaker, film a short clip about a random object. This skill really helps with allowing the creativity to flow and means that you won’t immediately burnout upon starting a new project. Examples of these prompts could be, ‘draw a character using only one colour’ or, ‘write with every sentence beginning with yesterday’ the opportunity is endless.

Bibliotherapy is an interesting therapeutic technique practiced most notably by a woman named Bijal Shah, her courses are available online and I really recommend looking into what she does. But this style of therapy focuses on the things that you consume to help promote healing and growth. And I don’t think it's limited to books and poetry alone. Sometimes it can be healing to know others are having similar experiences to you and to learn how they continue to preserve despite it. Fictional words are often the perfect remedy to a troubled reality as long as you can maintain the ability to distinguish and live in the two separately. Bibliotherapy is the art of consuming literature and media that helps you to think clearer and see the world in a more positive light rather than beginning your third Breaking Bad rewatch.

I hope you now also see journaling in a new light and as a great and useful tool for creatives. It really is a simple thing to incorporate into your life which makes such a huge difference on your mental health and your motivation. Sometimes the struggle in life can make you feel like you can’t possibly be inspired to create but journaling proves that the best inspiration comes from within, from the people we are despite our struggles and those we wish to connect with. And truthfully there is no consequence so why not give it a try?

If you are looking for more information about mental health and the impact of journaling, check out this Pick Up The Mic episode where we talk about breaking stigma around mental health - https://youtu.be/cg8p16HHl_c?is=IUVcsXWQfAcNz4dM

By Karishma Mistry