Yes, new poster, but long time lurker here, so take it easy on me please! (Think I’ve put this in the correct forum, didn’t use too many exclamation points, spelled reasonable well, divided into paragraphs, didn’t include any crazy conspiracy theories.)
I love to draw, paint and craft. Lately though I get all fired up to create but somehow by the end of it, the process doesn’t give me the same feeling of satisfaction it used to. I miss that feeling of enjoyment, pride, almost excitement - well that almost “high” sensation. I’m not sure if it’s just a phase, if I just feel overwhelmed with too many ideas (maybe I’m overwhelmed with the sheer amount of creativity I see online), or if I’m just getting old and jaded or what. I get the urge to paint, draw, whatever, then I find myself almost putting it off sometimes.
Maybe I need a new medium? I like watercolor, pastels, and cross stitching. I’m not a sewer or a sculptor.
What recharges your creative battery dopers?
Long walks.
As a writer, I go on long walks and hold lengthy imaginary conversations with my characters. This often helps me figure out their “voice,” their personality.
(My theory is that when you’re walking, blood goes to your legs and away from the brain, so the brain is slightly oxygen-starved, and so it goes into a partial shut-down to save energy. You get some of the same advantages of a short nap from a long walk. It opens up the unconscious.)
Other forms of meditation are also good: long showers, reading a non-challenging book, watching football, and so on.
This is something I have given a lot of thought to over the last several years. My problem is similar but not exact. I still have a creative hobby I am very passionate about, I have been passionate about it for two decades now with no sign of mellowing. I remain driven by it.
I would like to swithch channels as I feel like you, I am getting older and would like to experience a wider variety of things. I simply cannot swithch channels. I try things for a few days but always go right back to my old stand by.
It is a facinating phenomena. I believe it has to meet certain identifiable criteria to elevate us to that euphoric stage you mentioned. A lot of it we can trace back to our identity.
Speaking only for myself I seem to get a rush as long as I can maintain uniqueness. New discoveries wether it be in tecniques or style or performance. Not unlike the proverbial build a better moustrap mantra I find myself primarily driven by this.
Next is the validation that my theories and work is not only unique but worthwhile and appreciated. The social acceptance that goes with this is also a major rush.
Very similar to acceptance but at a higher level is the status we seek amoungst our peers and admirers.
You may very well have different motivators but whatever they are if you can eet the criteria they are powerful. Competition in nearly all fields today is numbing! Sometimes keeping things in perspective can increase ypur chances of a successful creative experience.
Keep the perspective that you may only choose to focus on a very limited number of aspects that might only appeal to a limited number of peers. The effect is the same.