Writers and other artists are advised to “get out of their own way” to more freely express their inner experience.
It is also potentially a strategy for personal growth and a core benefit of counseling or psychotherapy.
But what does it really mean to get out of our own way?
Dennis Palumbo, a writer and therapist specializing in creative issues, addresses the question:
“If I, the writer, get out of my own way – that is, put my ‘stuff’ aside so I can write – what’s left to write about? My stuff is the raw material of my writing.
“In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and just say it: There is nothing but stuff. Which is great, because that means I’ll never run out of raw material. As long as I’m a human being, I have an inexhaustible supply.”
He goes on to note that this does not refute the idea that “the most important thing a writer has to do is get out of his or her own way.”
Continued in my Creative Mind Newsletter post Our Inner Stuff is the Raw Material of Our Creative Work with quotes by multiple psychologists and writers.
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Photo: Maya Angelou – One of her quotes, about the kind of insecurity many artists experience:
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
– From my post: Gifted and Talented but Insecure.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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