A question to ask when we get stuck

If you ever feel stuck - either in art or life - you know that feeling of trying to walk through treacle. You want to get somewhere, but you're not sure where. You want to do something, but you can't find the motivation.

This comes up often for me in relation to my art. I can become very bogged down and it feels impossible to begin. It also comes up in life, when I am faced with what seems like an insurmountable problem. 

This week, I was chatting with Alice and she brought up a question that has really helped her. That question is 'how do you want to feel?'

Alice pointed out that if we're stuck, we tend to focus on that feeling of being stuck. If we feel defeated by a problem, we tend to stare at the problem.

However, she has found it more helpful to turn away from the stuck feeling and instead focus on what she can change. She will ask 'how do I want to feel?' rather than 'how can I solve this problem?'

I have actually experienced this myself - I have been in situations that felt utterly impossible, and then - by switching my focus - I have found the answer.

I have also experienced it over and over again in my art. If I ever get stuck, I know the answer is not to keep trying to get unstuck. The trying just makes everything worse.

The answer is to step back, switch my focus and ask 'how do I want to feel?' Not 'what do I want to make?' but "how do I want to feel?"

By focusing on how I want to feel, I can see some next steps. Let's say I look around my studio and it's a total mess. I might say "I want to feel I have the freedom to move around" or "I want to feel I can easily reach for the colour I want." In this case, it's time for a tidy up.

Or I might say "I want to feel free and loose and excited," in which case, I can some up with some ideas to make that happen. Perhaps I can spread a roll of cheap paper on the floor and throw some ink around. Or I can make a painting just to destroy it at the end. Or I can choose to make something completely different from normal. 

Or perhaps I want to feel calm and unpressured, in which case I might choose to do some drawing in nature, or work meditatively in a sketchbook for a while.

I think one of the reasons we get stuck with our art is that we haven't asked ourselves this fundamental question: what do I want? How do I want to feel?

If you've been feeling a bit bogged down in art or life, try it now and see what comes up for you.

(And thanks Alice!)