Writing & Creativity: The Power of the Blank Page

The blank page.

On some days it’s the most inspiring thing I see.  The possibilities are endless.  I can decide to be creative, authoritative, passive, inspirational, or disruptive.  I can choose any topic in the world and bring it to life.  On other days, the blank page is intimidating.  Ideas seem slow to come, or when they do, they are jumbled fragments of things not fully formed.  Then there are the days when the blank page is a comfort.  In each new journal I start, I always leave the first page blank, as a way to remind myself that we don’t always have to be saying something in order to be complete.  Knowing that is a comfort.

I am thinking about the blank page for several reasons today.  From a work perspective, I have been filling pages and pages worth of information.  It’s the writing of endless possibilities that drives me.  From a personal perspective, it’s quite the opposite.  All my thoughts seem fragmented and needing completion, so I’m channeling all the creativity I can muster to get to a result.  How do I do this?

1. Consider the blank page your permission slip- Much like when we were kids and needed a permission slip to do things, many adults fall into the pattern of not moving forward with something as if they don’t have permission.  Consider a blank page as your personal invitation to do something new, to disrupt the status quo.
2. Make the blank page an outlet to give yourself freedom to create-  Sometimes we live or work in a culture where we feel oppressed.  Consider the blank page your ticket to freedom.  You can rework any process, program or old solution.  You can create a completely new business.  You can inspire a person, a generation or an industry.
3. Use the blank page as a place where you list all your barriers, be it things or people, and strategically work to eliminate all barriers to your goal-  We all have barriers.   What I’ve learned is that those barriers only have power as long as we let them.  Write down all the things in your life that are limiting your capabilities to be the very best you and get rid of them.  It will not be easy, but it will be worthwhile.