Do you have a project you are trying to launch into the world?
If you do, there are probably limiting beliefs emerging whenever you hit an obstruction, to be seen and transformed.
I’ve written recently about the 14 day blog challenge which created the momentum I needed to free my creative process and see my blocks clearly. I’m going to share some of these blocks with you now, because although your limiting beliefs may be different from mine, they won’t be so different. Our creativity is unique and original but our blocks are predictably familiar. Blocks and resistance in the creative process arise on the whole because we have been wounded in the past and we’ve lost our confidence in the innate joy of creating; our egos take over to protect us and get in the way and ego has a limited repertoire.
Here are some limiting beliefs that have surfaced for me over this past week or two:
“Everybody’s so busy, I shouldn’t burden them with another thing to do.”
“They’ll see another message in their inbox as a demand rather than an interesting offer; they’ll see me as demanding and needy.”
“Last time I blogged regularly I mostly got a load of spam for my trouble, it’s too disheartening to keep writing and getting no response.”
“ Writing for the internet is a highly competitive field, trying to connect with the people who will want to read what I have to say is like looking for a needle on a haystack.”
“If I give all my ideas away I won’t have any left.”
To summarise, my resistance to my own self expression and desire for connection, went something like this:
“I’ve given it my best shot before, it didn’t bring me the results I wanted, what’s the point?” In other words I had resigned.
I further realised that, although these beliefs seem to be specific to this particular project of gathering a community of interest on the internet, actually they all originated in childhood. There was no space for authentic self expression, excited play or being different in my family. As a child I was mostly shut down, ignored or chastised when I became noisy or drew attention to myself. By the time I reached adolescence I had obliterated myself within my family as much as I could. I’d go elsewhere to giggle, have fun and be a normal noisy adolescent.
Now, despite four decades of concentrated personal and spiritual development and writing, and ten years of devoting my creative energy to the bigger cause of global transformation, I was surprised to discover there was still part of me stuck back there in childhood and this part was running the show.
Over the years I’ve allowed myself to write and publish but I’ve stopped short at going all the way with getting my books out to the world. I’ve had one foot on the accelerator and another on the brake. This has given me the deep satisfaction of creative work whilst keeping me protected from too much public scrutiny and reaction. I’ve managed to create without disturbing too many people, and then having to deal with the waves from that disturbance. While I’ve been in love with my books and programmes this core belief that I should keep quiet because nobody really wants to know what I have to say, has produced frustrating and disappointing results but it has kept me safe. I haven’t had to move too far out of my comfort zone, which was actually uncomfortable, but at least the discomfort I knew.
I wonder if you are identifying with any of my story? The details are particular to me but the essence is common. If you’re someone who has always wanted to write a book but hasn’t begun it or, started but never finished, or you’re involved with a new culture making project that keeps running up against limitations, or you have a business which never quite gets off the ground, the bets are on that there are some core beliefs lurking there that you haven’t yet been able to see yet and maybe don’t want to see because you fear they’re going to be big and ugly and scary.
When I took up the blog challenge and started to experience the joy of creative momentum and inspiration again, these old limiting beliefs revealed themselves to me, and I was ready to see how untrue they are. I know the more authentic I am the more people will resonate with my words. I know my writing has in the past made a difference to people’s lives and it can do so again. I know it is my responsibility to give my writing – which has been gifted to me by the universe – the best possible chance of connecting with those people who need this inspiration. There are no limits other than those I create to protect myself.
I’m not saying it’s necessary to communicate with huge numbers of people in order to be creatively fulfilled. Creative fulfilment can be a very private affair. What is important is to get clear exactly what we are committing to and what gets in the way of fulfilling our commitment. In this way we keep our energy free for what really matters to us. Driving with the brakes on doesn’t help anyone and tends to wear out the vehicle eventually.
I came into this lifetime as a very shy child – I hid behind my mother each time we met a neighbour in the street, much to my mother’s embarrassment. Alongside this innate shyness I’ve been blessed with a strong creative drive and so this question of how to feel safe and confident while standing in my creative power is a core issue I came in to solve. I know I’m not alone in this. If you are involved in a creative project that’s running with the brakes on, I hope my words have helped to shed a little light and encouraged you to look a little deeper at what may be limiting you.
October 18th 2015
