My three cards.
I got stuck and then unstuck
I had to write an article for a newsletter, this article for this newsletter in fact, and I was coming up blank.
That doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I go to the well, and the well is dry.
In this case, I suspect it’s because I’ve been drawing on a lot of my creative reservoirs recently. The new podcast and newsletter for Change Signal. The webinar I ran on publishing a book with Jesse from Page Two. Digging into how we plan to celebrate The Coaching Habit’s 10th birthday a year from now.
All good juicy stuff, but also needing me to think and create.
So, the well is dry. What do I do?
I get up. I put a wash on. I try to slot a few pieces into the jigsaw we’ve got going (these ones are really cool btw.). I make an espresso.. I “solvitur ambulando” (even when it’s really snowy and cold outside, and going for a long walk isn’t that appetizing.)
And when that’s all drawing a blank, I’ll dig out Brain Eno’s Oblique Strategies deck.
I pulled three cards.
Turn it upside down.
I read this to mean, you can break the rules, you can do the opposite of what you normally do. Maybe even not send a newsletter. Or an article that’s less than 10 words. Or ask someone on Team MBS to create it. Maybe, and this is what I went with—go meta about the struggle.
Change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency.
And, well, there you go, Michael … put out the damn newsletter.
In total darkness or in a very large room, very quietly.
I’m not sure what to do with this prompt. It didn’t help.
Just … don’t panic
Getting stuck is part of the process. If you’re never stuck, you’re not doing anything thrilling, important, and/or daunting.
Be patient, be kind, and rather than focus on where you’re stuck, do something to shift the stuckness.
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