Instead of writer's block, try the idea tree
What do you do when you run out of ideas?
Seth Godin has written about the nature of writer’s block and the fact that it is invented. It’s a construct designed to let us off the hook when the going gets rough and we’re afraid to make something new – or afraid that we can’t.
It’s amazing the capacity of the human brain to rationalize and make up excuses for why we are the way we are and why we can’t do the things that we need to do, especially when they’re challenging. Indeed, it is the safer thing to do to not write, to not make stuff, to not put our ideas out there.
However, the natural state of human beings is to be creative. We can’t help it. No matter what, we’re going to have things we want to say. We’re going to have a point of view, and a pressing need to put our ideas out into the world. The funny part is, this happens even when we don’t even have any ideas. After all, writer’s block wouldn’t be writer’s block if we just shrugged and decided to go have a sandwich or get a nine-to-five job. It’s writer’s block because were desperate to create something, and we’re afraid of our lack of ability to do so.
So what if, given that writer’s block is a made-up thing, we decide to create a new made-up thing?
That’s where I propose the idea tree, limitless and overflowing. It is always in season, and it always bears the choicest fruits. From the idea tree, you can always come up with something that you can use. And if the idea you pick turns out to be something not quite right for today, you can always go back and pick another one. The ideas are fresh and abundant, never scarce.
When I set my intention several months ago to publish a blog post every weekday, it was easy at first. I had a backlog of things that I knew I wanted to talk about. I also had an intense drive to share my ideas with you. After several weeks, I started to wonder whether I might actually run out of ideas. The last thing I wanted to do was publish a daily post just for the sake of doing so, with nothing new, relevant, or interesting to share. What would be the point of that?
To my I surprise, I am coming up with more ideas these days, not fewer. The ideas, like the branches of the tree from which they issue, have a fractal quality. You can take one idea and split it into many, or you can follow the idea back to its source to discover a broader vantage point from which to investigate a concept. To use another, related metaphor, each idea, as it’s developed, becomes a seed from which new ideas spring forth. In other words, the act of collecting and developing ideas helps you to think of new ones. It’s impossible to run out, just as it’s impossible to run out of apples. As long as there’s a sun in the sky, there will be apple trees, apples, and then more apple trees.
The idea tree may seem gimmicky or contrived. But the idea tree there’s no more ridiculous than the idea of writer’s block, or the concept of a capricious muse who bestows insight only when she chooses, and withholds her favors as she pleases. Isn’t it much better, if we’re going to invent something, to come up with something that helps us instead of making our work more difficult?
Whether you want to make something or make something happen, you will have to put in the work. There’s no getting around that. However, the way we think about the work we do can affect our output and further, our sense of satisfaction with it. Making stuff and writing things doesn’t have to be a source of angst and anxiety. Instead it could be part of a normal day-to-day process that we manage as easily as going down to the store to buy new batteries, or planting bulbs for many future springs’ worth of blooms. Believe what you want to believe; why not believe something that will help you in your endeavors?
Hope you like this article. There’s more where this came from.