August 05, 2007

Defeating the Demons of Distraction: Brain Freeze

ADD Coaches Blog, July 17, 2007

Defeating the Demons of Distraction: Brain Freeze

            You have a topic. You stare at the page. Your mind is blank. You have what I call a brain freeze. Don’t panic! Whether your anxiety level is up, or your creative well is dry, in most cases, you are only facing a temporary block.  This is a common and expected situation for anyone engaging in a creative endeavor.

            You can react to this situation in one of two ways: productively or unproductively.  If you elect an unproductive reaction, then you berate yourself for being dumb and make comments to yourself such as, “This always happens” or “I’ll never be able to finish.”  Such negative self-talk places the blame and shame on you as a person and distracts you from moving from a temporary unproductive state to a more productive, creative one. 

            The productive reaction views a brain freeze as a challenge to be addressed.  This helps you focus on solutions instead undermining your self esteem. It helps you to gain control and not feel helpless. Here are some positive self-statements that will help you unfreeze:

  • “I’m temporarily frozen.”
  • “This happens to all writers and other creative people such as artists and composers.”
  • “I have been productive before and I will be productive again.”
  • “I know strategies, activities, and exercises to help me unfreeze.”

            Here’s an interesting example of brain freeze: while writing this blog, I tried to come up with an example from my own writing experience and couldn’t! How’s that for irony? I’m sure I’ll remember some concrete to use in some future blog entries. Stay tuned!

            Try this practical application during the next week:

·        Begin a writing task.

·        Become mindful of the thoughts or statements you are making to yourself about writing.

·        Jot them down.

·        Classify them into two categories: positive statements or visions, and negative ones.

·        Visualize times during which you have been successful and have overcome a difficulty.

·        Take one or two of the negative statements and convert them into positives using the positive energy gained from visualizing your past successes.

            Next week, we’ll discuss how to stop talking yourself out of writing. Until next week—don’t let those Demons of Distraction get you down.

Best regards, Geri

Check out my Web site www.managingyourmind.com for books and products about the Demons of Distraction.

Geraldine Markel
By Geraldine Markel
Aug 5, 2007 1:45:00 AM | Geri Markel

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