Do you ever feel resistance to doing the things you most want to do?
You truly long to be writing, but the dishes are a quicker win.
You want to work on developing your speaking career, but that client would probably be happier if you got back to them sooner.
You can’t stop thinking about a business offering you want to create, but it’s easier to order those groceries online (unless you’re me and ordering groceries online is the most perplexing conundrum of your day).
We’re often told that if we were truly meant for our purpose, it wouldn’t feel so hard to do.
Just get out of your own way, we’re told by every self-help guru, and even a few well-meaning loved ones and teachers.
But hold up—if we have to get out of our own way to do the work we’re born to do, then what self will be left to actually birth that work?
What’s worse, this advice roots us in the cultural myth that we are problems in need of fixing, which is a sucky myth because:
- We are human beings, not lamps.
- IT SHOWERS US IN SHAME
And shame kills our creativity.
Let’s normalize that we are not the problem.
Let’s normalize that we are the way.
We don’t need to get out of our own way, because that would mean eclipsing the very amazing and potent SELF that will make our work original.
We’re not blocked from our creative potential because of a personal deficiency or what is commonly referred to as ‘self-sabotage.’
We’re blocked from our creative potential because much of what we were taught to believe about ourselves and our process as creators is wrong.
You are not the obstacle! The obstacles are lies that are so embedded in the fabric of our culture and the air we breath that they prevent even the most evolved among us from acting on our most electric ideas and creative imaginings.
Here are the 10 of the most prevalent lies getting in the way of our creative power:
#1
The Lie: It has to be perfect
The Truth: It has to be true
#2
The Lie: You need permission
The Truth: You need courage
#3
The Lie: It has to be a war
The Truth: It’s actually a birth
#4
The Lie: You have to do it the way it’s been done
The Truth: You were born to evolve patterns, not repeat them
#5
The Lie: You have to go it alone
The Truth: We need each other
#6
The Lie: You have to know how its going to turn out
The Truth: The quality of your work is directly proportional to your ability to dive into the unknown
#7
The Lie: You can’t take a break
The Truth: You do not need to sacrifice your body and mental health to make genius work
#8
The Lie: You have to stick with one dream
The Truth: Your intersections are your superpowers
#9
The Lie: You’ll never be enough
The Truth: The Patriarchy has no place in your creative process
#10
The Lie: You are the problem
The Truth: You are the way
I’m curious, do any of these resonate? And are any of them getting in the way of what you are trying to create right now? (My answer = #4. And #7. And #9…)
If your answer is yes, you are so not alone—one of my Instagram followers wrote that she is writing these truths on post-its that sit by her desk. We need the daily reminders because these lies are not ours to carry!
Cultivating the revolutionary understanding that these lies do not belong not to us, but instead to a culture afraid of our creative power can be the difference between having an unrealized vision or idea you carry around with you for 20 years, and taking the next brave step toward it tomorrow.
I stand for a world where we each get to experience creative excellence without shame — where we feel free to act on our wildest ideas, so we can build a future that works for everyone. Are you with me?
In your practice this week, get curious about where these lies might be messing up your ability to create, and do whatever you can do to get them out of the g-damn room where it happens so you make your magic.
And I invite you to consider:
What if you aren’t the problem?
What if you are THE WAY?
