Let Go and Grow

I continue to be more and more fascinated with the creative process.

At least to me, it has something to tell us about the goal-chasing process.

And, that’s an intriguing idea—that the creative process and the goal-chasing process may share some similarities.

Perhaps we need a little creativity to achieve our goals.

Let me explain…

Yesterday, I was struggling with my weekly newsletter. I sat at my computer for at least an hour searching for something to write about for the week. This isn’t my normal process—usually my day-to-day activities provide some fodder for me to explore and share. This week, though, there was nothing.

After an hour of nothing, I gave up.

Our second child is due any day now.

As such, Julie’s sisters put together a little “sprinkle” (oh, the things—terms—you learn about life through marriage and parenting) for her. The sprinkle was later that night and Julie had no clue.

I had a challenge, though—I had to keep it a secret.

The problem: a bunch of gifts.

Julie’s sisters had sent her a bunch of gifts and they were all sitting in the storage lockers where packages are delivered at our place.

My mission: I needed to get them out of the storage lockers, out of the packaging, and then wrapped—without Julie seeing.

Not too big of a challenge except for in this new work-from-home world, Julie doesn’t leave our place too often when I’m home in the mornings and the evenings.

As I shut my computer around 6am, I knew I had to get moving because the clock was ticking.

So, I started my stealth mission and headed downstairs to get the packages.

As I was walking back to our place, holding a stack of boxes in front of my face, it hit me: “That is what I’ll write about.”

It was clear as day—like a message had been delivered to me as a gift.

In working really hard to fix a problem—writing my weekly newsletter—I had nothing.

I was cramped.

I was stifled.

I was blocked.

However, by simply letting go and moving on to solve a different problem, the solution was right there.

Are you working hard on a goal?

And, maybe the better question: have you been stuck for an hour of nothing on your goal?

Maybe we can take something from the creative process.

Often, within the goal-chasing process, it’s easy to have a really tight grip on controlling the outcome.

This does nothing for us. In fact, it can lead to nothing…

…to being cramped…

…to being stifled…

…to being blocked.

Take a break. Shut down shop for a bit. Go solve a different problem.

This doesn’t mean you no longer care about the goal—you’re just simply opening yourself up.

And, at the end of the day, isn’t that what goals are really all about?

Let go and grow.