Day 14 - Ch 8 & 9 - Trust the Process

McNiff starts off the 8th chapter in section 2 with a reminder to his reader of the unique and individual styles of creativity.  Yet no matter what the style is, there will always be obstacles to impede the development which are similar in any creative process.   No matter what the creative block is, he suggests ACTION begins the process. Most of the blocks start with thoughts - “i can’t do this,” “I’ll fail,” “it won’t work.”  The “control tower” is only in the mind. Moving other body parts such as with drumming, may begin to unblock the mind into action. Unrealistic expectations, procrastination, depression, or low self-confidence, doubt, frustration and discontentment may impede the creative process.  It is through the action of stepping out of the mind-set of beginning and ends, to practice daily some sort of creative expression. He suggests visiting other creatives just as Picasso did and was welcoming to others to visit his studio. Creativity is but the appetite .. blocking it begins the malnurishment.  

In the next chapter, McNiff begins the HOW to nourish the creative self through a call to active experimentation with different roles in order to shift a person’s thinking.  It is through this action of doing something, with some consistency, does a move occur. As well as relinquishing the belief of any attempt to be perfect. He asks the reader to consider their type of creative on pg 84 such as “the solitary dreamer,” “the energetic team player,” “the organized planner,” etc.  He suggests when one of these types of creative characters takes over, it is usually when a person becomes stuck or blocked. An openness to recognizing the typed, and a willingness to experiment with other types, does one move more toward cultivating a better understanding of their own creative process. At the end of the chapter, he warns the reader to be aware of any inflexible attempts at change could harden the resistance.  The reader would need to be remain flexible, curious, and willing to explore what is behind each block in order to not to arrest the creative process.

I encourage you to buy a copy of Trust the Process for a better understanding of your own creative process.  Whether you're a master artist or beginning artist, this is an excellent book.

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