The benefits of creativity are more than a one-person show, an oil painting or the perfect punch line. It’s a tangible process, as in decorating in Brooklyn Provençale style with corn flower blue and orange sherbet walls, which later your friends admitted they thought was hilarious (aka – ugly) and are now emulating! Creativity is also intangible, as in reveling in an energetic flow where (great) ideas, solutions, compositions, decisions float in from the ethers. It feels soooo good.
 
The terrible opposite is feeling stuck, tired, frustrated, confused, stilted and lethargic. These obstacles to fully engaging your relationship to your imagination, talents and wisdom are just a few of the more excruciating states people endure from time to time. Compounding the pain is the fact that these discomforts don’t get immediate sympathy like the obvious agony of a broken bone, grief over a loss or the cost of an additional Botox treatment. They just tell you to get a cup of coffee and snap out of it.
 

 
These enervating “blahs” could point to any number of culprits – psychic and physical which are, of course, dynamically entwined. For some people working on a project leads them to feeling frozen and out of sorts at some point in the process. For others, the daze is triggered by dissatisfaction with the status quo and not knowing where to focus. And how do you even know if you are blocked? This might appear simple to answer, but it really isn’t always clear. If you are having trouble making a decision and are not “jumping into action,” is it procrastination? Lack of desire? The flu setting in? Time to take your ideas of transition seriously? Fear of success? Might it be best to heed the adage: don’t just do something, sit there!?
 
The Voice Dialogue response to the attitude heralded in Susan Jeffers’ Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway might be to feel the fear (because you can’t avoid it,) but not necessarily do it anyway. Voice Dialogue is a wonderful technique that directly explores your different, often competing aspects, to gain the larger perspective and access more conscious choice. Nearly everyone has experienced inner struggle when the alarm clock rings at 5:30 AM and a part of you wants to stay in bed, another part is responsible and wants to get out of bed, and still another part, the Inner Wild-child or the Inner Little Girl, will only get up to play hooky and sneak to the beach.
 
A classic dilemma is mysteriously, yet predictably, you don’t stick to your fitness plan, which you know is good for vanity, health and longevity. When I meet with clients I dialogue with the part that wants to “get on board with the exercise program.” I also facilitate the Inner Self who (is currently winning) who says “No, I hate Pilates!” You may assume the part resisting the workout is your Lazy Fool Self and needs to be bullied into submission. I disagree. Inner and outer tyranny is ineffective, except to assert and hurt. Take a minute to think of a possible GOOD reason to resist working out. Think harder. There really might be sound judgment involved. How about the part of you that is terrified that your current regimen will blow the remaining cartilage in your knee (and you forgot you swore a long time ago that you would never get side-swiped like your Dad when he took to the couch after his joints started failing?) Or the bored part that knows if you feel stagnant in too many areas of your life, you will get seriously depressed? These parts would be rabid fitness buffs if you alternated between pole dancing and laughing yoga (and your Inner Cougar would only benefit.)

These Inner Selves are often accused of blocking creativity and holding you back, but when they are genuinely considered, they usually offer innovative options that are enlivening and fun. This loops back to that radiant, youthful feeling of flow, which boosts the immune system and supports resilience and endurance. From my point of view, inner stonewalling may bridge your mature Selves with the fountain of youth, by preventing premature aging and other costly errors.