Morphing Imagination

I’ve been angry with myself lately because I’m spending a lot of my time and energy on one specific life problem. It often feels like my creativity is sucked out of me and I can’t concentrate on anything else. My mind is filled with questions, reflections, and concerns. I try distracting myself with what would usually make me happier: constructing plot structures, developing characters… But this mental block continues to plague me.

And dealing with it is itself an exercise for my imagination.

Let’s let go of our limited understandings of imagination. If we are in the process of finding creative solutions to our own problems, then we are imagining new and better worlds. It’s fine if you’re not spending time on writing a book, or a song, or coming up with your next big project. We can’t be irritated when we’re spending time on ourselves. And that process of self-care is itself a solid use of creative energy.

Being hard on ourselves for not being “productive” distracts us from the truth: finding creative solutions to our personal problems is still using our imaginations.