How Can You Live Your Dream In A Small Way? Pt. 3: Questions for Creative Focus When Stuck

Here are some questions around my values I ask myself when I feel stuck, to see how I might want to move my creative life forward:

• Am I still enjoying creating/composing/writing? and…

• Am I still doing this for me?

• Do I have anything to prove to myself? If so, what?

• Have my values shifted? What are they now?

… And then I toy with some scenarios:

• What does worst-case scenario losing everything (creatively speaking!) look and feel like? What defines it as a ‘ground zero’? Could I live with that?

• What does a best-case-scenario big-win look & feel like? What defines it as such? Could I live with that?

• What would I need to put in place so I felt safe in either scenario?

• Do I need to look at re-prioritising what I value? What new decisions & actions would I take with re-prioritized values?

I then try & see it from more angles than the likely/unlikely, best/worst dualities. Some examples include:

• What would courage and conviction do?

• What would peace do?

• What would the angel on your shoulder do?

• What would the devil on your shoulder do?

• What would your saboteur do?

• What would your nemesis do?

• Which of these feel best?

• Which of these feel possible?

• Which of these align with the values I listed above?

I never discount the possibility that I have reached the end of the road with something. This happens. Sometimes it turns out to be temporary. Sometimes not. So:

• If I will never do this again, what does this look & feel like, & what will I do?

• Do I just want to live my dream in a small way?

• Do I just want to live my dream in a big way?

• What is the new value-system of this decision?