Replenishing the Creative Soul
Doug Holck
RE-POST: 04.02.13
THIS IS A RE-POST FROM LAST YEAR, BUT I NEEDED TO READ IT TODAY, AFTER A GOOD FRIEND AND STAFF MEMBER LOOKED ME IN THE EYE AND SAID, "DON'T MAKE ANY LIFE CHANGING DECISIONS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!" WE HAVE JUST FINISHED PRODUCING THREE MAJOR EVENTS: MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE WITH A SEDER MEAL IN A BOX; THE WAY OF THE CROSS (STATIONS OF THE CROSS)—AN EIGHT HOUR EVENT STAGED AROUND AND IN OUR CAMPUS; PLUS FOUR EASTER CELEBRATIONS GATHERINGS AND ALL OF THE NECESSARY REHEARSALS. FIVE OF THE TEN SONGS USED FROM THURSDAY AND SUNDAY WERE ORIGINALS! I'VE BEEN RICHLY BLESSED! HOWEVER, MY INCREDIBLE STAFF AND I ARE DEAD! SO HERE'S PREACHING TO ME:
It's the week after Easter and after working
several weeks, going non-stop, with deadlines looming and a great expenditure
of energy I am facing what I have to know as the post-production letdown, blues
and even the blahs.
Following a prolonged expenditure of
creative energy, the body is like an empty bank account with nothing more to
spend. A positive balance must be
regained. Reserves must be rebuilt. Experience tells me this requires time
and intentionality. The same is true following a season of spiritual
victories or highs. The human body can't keep going at the same
pace—energy has to come from somewhere. When reserves are spent, they are
spent.
Constant spiritual highs are unrealistic,
giving a distorted view of our life in Christ, and put us at risk of being arrogant
because of our supposed superior or favored position with God.
The greatest challenge for us is the wall we
hit, or the pier we fall off of, following a season of heightened creative activity.
We have all been there and done that. If we are not careful one or
several things can happen: we succumb to temptations having lasting impact on
our lives and those around us; we burnout; we make wrong decisions; we make
unnecessary career changes; we suffer personality changes, becoming people we
do not like or are not liked by others, etc., etc., etc.
Being emotionally and even spiritually
fatigued following a creative season goes with being a follower of Christ. Even
Jesus had to get away to the mountains to pray and rejuvenate following moments
of intense ministry. God rested on the seventh day of creation. HINT TO
SELF: Don't try to be different than them!
Learn something else from God: He created
Adam and empowered Adam to assign names to the animals. LESSON: Ease the
creative fatigue by empowering others to be a part of the creative process.
After a production, be careful of succumbing
to an idle mind for it will be the devil's playground. Following spiritual
victories, emotional highs or a busy season, the enemy enjoys tempting me with
thoughts that are far from pure or realistic. Over time I've learned to
be on guard for them and even take measures to head them off.
Never make long-term life-changing
decisions, no matter how appealing, when emotionally or spiritually exhilarated
or fatigued. You will most likely make a wrong decision.
Slow down! For a period of time I want to
keep on going full-steam-ahead. GoingfromoneeventtoanotherwithoutanythoughtofstoppinguntilIcrash.
So
here are my thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for getting out of the
post-production doldrums:
Don't
forsake prayer and reading The Word (His Word I hide in my heart so as not
to sin against Him.)
Journal
your thoughts and return to them often. Listen to what God is saying to you
during this time as there may be a chance He is speaking to you because of your
heightened awareness of His presence.
Check your eating
habits. During production times people are bringing in wonderfully rich food,
including desserts. And fast food
becomes a way to survive. I can go
months without eating a potato chip, but at production time if you put one of
those puppies in front of me, I’ll fight you for the bag. I use both hands to stuff them in my
mouth! By the end of the production my
eating habits can be totally out of control.
Getting this area of life back in order is one of the most important
things to do.
Exercise. Go to the gym, walk, hike, bike, just do
something to get the blood flowing and pumping.
Indulge
in a hobby, okay at least indulge in some free time—you deserve it. Sometimes I
go fly fishing, cook, read, drive for hours, listen to music, or watch TV with
my wife.
Go to
movies (be careful in the selection, for they can become a source of
temptation); go to a concert and enjoy the moment without becoming caught up in
the technical part of it. (Applaud someone else's creativity, since you are
probably one of only a few who appreciate what it takes to make it happen
creatively and technically.)
Read a
good novel—not a book on leadership.
Find a
good book of prayers. Try ancient
writers or those from denominations completely different than yours. Their insight is rich and refreshing.
Memorize
a Psalm, or verses from several Psalms.
Throw
away an old leadership book I'm not joking—you're far too creative for one of
those books. Chances are you will only beat yourself up for not being more left
brain, and I believe that to be a sin, since God created you with right brain
tendencies. Embrace His creation here.
If you determine
anything during this it should be that you would be a more devoted follower of
Jesus. The world needs more followers of
Jesus than leaders!
Sleep.
Rest. Relax. Take a deep breath and slowly release it. Breathe in.... Breathe
out…. Do it twelve times and go back to sleep.
Enjoy
silence.
Go for a
ride. When our fourth Easter gathering was over, my wife Carol and I, along
with her mother, took a ride to Yosemite National Park, stopping along the way
to view the California poppies in full bloom, breathing in fresh mountain air
and enjoying a relaxing dinner in the bistro café at the Ahwahnee Hotel. The drive home was exhilarating and I slept
all night!
Intentionally
create space and margin: you have probably been running your life six columns
wide, in landscape view with less than a .25" margin. Going back to a
single column life in portrait view with 1.5" left, right, top and bottom
margins plus headers and footers is tough, but do it anyway! Everyone, but you,
knows you're not divine, so slow down the machine!!! (Sorry for the mixed
metaphor!)
Spend
time with family. Tuesday evening
following Easter, we celebrated Easter as a Holck family. It was fun as six
grandchildren hunted for Easter eggs. By the end of the evening our emotional
tanks were full.
Take a
Sabbath from social networking—you won't miss a thing and if you do miss
something important it will be re-tweeted enough times to pick it up anyway.
Enjoy
time with your spouse, who has probably missed having time with you.
Write
thank you notes to those who have helped you—they may be going through the same
thing! By sunset of the fourth day
following Easter I had written more than 40 thank you notes.
Guard
your attitude; it is an indicator of exactly how fatigued you are.
Mind the
gap between what your brain or heart wants to commit to and what your emotional
reserve or nerves tell you is possible.
Other
than your spouse, be careful of over familiarity with the opposite sex. Right
now you cannot judge the emotional stability of a mustard seed. So please watch
yourself here, I'm not kidding.
Be
careful of the over inflated ego! Yes, the response to what happened was great
but it's not about you. Remember: God gave you the creativity, the creative
ideas and the creative team! If there were spiritual victories it was because
of the Holy Spirit—not you! You were just a conduit. Conduits are usually
buried below ground and out of site, so keep the right perspective. Be humble
because pride will only trip you up.
Try
not to say anything you'll later regret. Words are like toothpaste out of the
tube, once said they can't be taken back.
Do not debrief while
emotionally and physically fatigued, because more than likely you will violate
the previous suggestion. It is too easy
to get going on what went wrong. Make
what notes you need to make and come back to them later when you’ve returned to
the human race. Your team will be happy
with you.
If you're
uncharacteristically out of sorts, angry, or on edge, you are probably
emotionally fatigued, and maybe even close to burnout. If you need to get
some help or take some time off, do it.
Learn to
savor the moment. Be thankful for it. Thank God for it. Thank your people for
it. Thank your spouse for their support.
Acknowledge those who have helped you—remember some of them are probably
going through what you're going through. Give them a break! Give them some space.
Find ways to build into their lives with notes, words of encouragement, and
"appropriate" hugs, and tell them you love them. It will fill your
tank in doing it.
This is not a complete
list of ideas for replenishing the creative soul, but a start and I’m sure you
have your own list. I would love to hear from you!
Keep creating,
Doug
