Hey there —
Have you been distracted or pushed to different (unexpected) pathways —
and you want to change?

Is it bugging you that you’re not doing what you genuinely want to do?
Do you feel like you’re not in the place you want to be?

Ah, the flux of life. I love it, and I hate it.
I love newness, fresh ideas, and growth. I hate revisiting old distractions, revamping tired messages, dealing with stagnancy, and fighting through corporate mazes.

OMG, life can be so messy.

When life events take us into hard places, for me, it can be difficult to get unstuck. Oh, I “get” life’s “normal” detours — and can accept them… when there’s something small… when it’s “manageable.” But with more significant events, when life throws a big whammy, when the day-to-day stress doesn’t quit, and when detours are prolonged… Then I can be “not so good at this.”

I like (want) everything to be a straight line through the maze.

It’s never a straight line. (We know this.)

Whether our path interruptions are minuscule or extreme doesn’t matter. Being stuck can be disorienting. Disappointing. Depressing. Part of being human.

Don’t get me wrong. My pathway has been showered with incredible success. I’m grateful. But even then, “life happens.” (Right now, while typing this, I have Covid.)

Life’s many walls and detours fall on a Likert-type scale: incredible joys and thrills balanced with incredible negatives. We can be satisfied and unsatisfied simultaneously (with different areas of our life or even other color values within an area) — all ranging from one extreme to another.

Life fluxes in…
People Things… kid/partner/family issues, changes, and stresses.
Home Things… from redecorating/revitalizing rooms to tragedies like the California fire devastation.
Job Things… experiencing petty, uncomfortable relationship situations to toxic cultures and mean-spirited, unskilled leadership (oy!).
Health Things… from colds to COVID and, for some, debilitating illness.

All mazes to work through.

Walking into corners, palms placed against the walls, seeing the cheese
yet thinking there’s no way to get there — can feel awful.

My own past months (years?) have held some high walls and mazey dead ends, interrupting what I fondly call my Imaginary Timeline of Perfection. Where’ve I been? I’ve been in the maze, working it out. Like many of us. Yep. It’s common and normal.

I get it: Life meanders.

I know how it works: There’s no magic maze-busting laser to blast down the wall-like imperfections, inconveniences, issues, hazards, and tragedies with their ensuing scars. Situations, events, distractions, or disappointments can (will?) take us into maze corners and dead ends. It can be troublesome to horrible.

But.
However.
Nevertheless.
Life has so, so many joys — even if it’s not right where we are at the moment.
And no matter where we are, we can all clear paths to doing and being what we love and enjoy.
It’s humanity’s gift: the ability to have a new day and new way.

Creative to creative, here’s what I’m doing to refocus, redirect, and revitalize.
(So far, it’s working.)

Oh, and the four points below aren’t new. For most of us, they’re not revelatory. But they remind us:

Life ebbs and flows, rises and falls — pulsing, flapping like a sheet in the wind, and then laying still and quiet. Our days chill out and then heat up. Events come at us at an angle we didn’t anticipate. We weave and dodge. And sometimes, we simply must push into the flow, grab that flapping sheet, and tie it down.

(Okay, enough metaphors.)

Here are what I find to be four easy yet powerful steps to move forward.

1. Imagine your way out.

Take time to imagine — to dream.

As creatives, we’re great with imagination. Let’s use it.

What do I want?
If there were no boundaries at all, what would I do? Who would I work with?
And while we’re at it — why does a certain activity bring me joy? Is it worth pursuing more?
How can I connect with those who are on the same passion path?
To imagine the end result is to (eventually) know where to go, what to do, and how to get there.

2. Talk your way out.

Talking to others helps us realize what matters — giving new ideas and
a concreteness to what we think but are afraid to say.

As creatives, we’re great with back-and-forth idea-making. Let’s use it.

Find your safe person.
Ask them to connect and brainstorm with you.
Or reach out to people you might not usually reach out to. Connect.
Spend time talking through potential pathways, resolutions, and actions.

3. Write your way out.

It’s cliche, but it works.

As creatives, we’re great with writing. Let’s use it.

Writing by hand engages parts of the brain that otherwise wouldn’t be engaged — to process and find answers you and I didn’t imagine before.

Find a quiet place.
Communicate on paper to yourself.
Let your brain and hand find answers.

4. Walk your way out.

I’ve heard it said a thousand times: Just start. Move. Do something.

As creatives, some of us are great at doing,
while others struggle to act.

No worries.
The great thing about doing? All you need is one step.
Each day, just one. Because one step begets another.

Imagine. Talk. Write. Walk.
It’s almost too simple.
No matter where we are,
let’s say goodbye to the maze.

Cheers,
Erin


Erin M. Brown, MA, MFA, is the author of 18 books in multiple genres and has been a professional writer, editor, and speaker for 30 years. Erin has a terminal degree in Creative Writing (Genre Fiction), a master’s in healthcare, and a bachelor’s in education. She’s a senior writer, marketing director, and storyteller for global corporations and education and has served as a university professor and curriculum developer of writing, communications, and leadership for 17 years. Speaking to audiences on writing since the ’80s, Erin is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), Authors Guild (AG), Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and Romance Writers of America (RWA) — and is honored to speak to writers across the world many times a year. Erin has also worked with Hollywood A-listers in story development for TV and film and has judged numerous book and anthology contests and competitions. Espresso in hand and surrounded by her collies, Erin writes from Michigan. Visit IG @erinmbrownwriter.