A movie from 1998 broke my crippling writer’s block

and it’s just one example of many with the same idea

I sat at my desk staring off into space…again.

The chill of the room sank into my PJs as the lo-fi beats pulsed through my being.

Minutes ticked by.

Nothing.

Or at least nothing that I thought was worth sharing or writing about.

How often have you found yourself staring at the blinking cursor waiting for inspiration to strike?

How often has something been thrown across the tracks in front of your train of thought only to have your critical mind snatch it back off?

Therein lies the essence of the problem: your fear that it’s not “original” enough to share.

Here’s my realization that helped me get over this mental block.

The cone of safety

If you’re old enough to remember the 1998 film “The Mask of Zorro” with Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas, then you may remember the training montage in it as the new Zorro is trained a la Yoda/Skywalker but with 19th century style and sass.

Come to think of it, what I’m about to share may also be in line with “The Empire Strikes Back” as well. (I’m a a sucker for hero’s journey stories…)

Anyway, the training circle is presented with a powerful and insightful concept:

Nothing exists beyond the circle until the instructor/coach/mentor/master states that it does.

Nothing.

It’s just you and your process…your thoughts…your struggles…

This does something magical to your inner critic.

It squashes it like a bug.

When it’s just you, there’s nothing to compare your thoughts against.

There’s no external influence or judgment to distract you from your ideas and your statements.

There’s only you and your training.

There’s. Nothing. Else.

…until you have completed the task or training and progressed to the boundaries of the circle and have understood the concepts.

Then, and only then, are you allowed to face the outside world.

Thinking back on this scene (and many others in fact), was what did it for me.

After reflecting on this, my reluctance to write about my own path on this endeavor has dropped to almost nothing.

I still get the occasional “nobody will read this crap” feeling, but it doesn’t stop me dead in my tracks anymore.

It’s all been done (woohooohooo)

I’ve recently begun to realize that it’s not worth wondering too much whether what I choose to talk about has been already presented by others.

It’s not the topic that has to be original, it’s your perspective on it that is.

Writing is, in itself, an action that reinforces learning and internalizing the lessons that we learn in life. Why else do we go through years of education, take notes, explore the disciplines that we choose? We learn to teach ourselves during this time, and this is one of the key skills that we cultivate.

Once we’re out in the real world, most of these skills seem to be cast aside as if they were part of the system we left behind.

Your skills that you learn don’t become irrelevant once you graduate!

What’s funny and sad is that the need to stand out becomes more pronounced so we cast them aside in an attempt to be unique, in effect throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Creative blocks for me mainly came from this self-limiting thought…

“Everyone’s already said it or discussed it. Why should I even bother?”

Learning to let go of this mentality has been one of the more liberating things for my creativity in the past few months of this writing journey. Ironically, not worrying about it leads to endless content as I share here.

This is either a mid-life crisis or a re-awakening of my inner child…still not sure where I’m at with this post-40s life adventure.

Sure, what I share may be old hat to others, but it’s the act of writing it that cements the discovery for me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll accidentally share a different take on it that hasn’t been considered!

The takeaway in a doggie bag

Writing is a two-way street.

You get a little something, and I get a little something.

You get to see how I learned a concept you may already know, and I get to share my perspective and my experiences as I learn something that is new to me.

Hopefully, it serves you in ways that I didn’t foresee in the process of writing a piece.

That, in my book, is the best kind of happy accident…Bob Ross style.

Thanks for reading to the end!

Remember that until the age of 4, kids are allowed to streak indiscriminately. No sharp corners in the house until they’re potty trained.

If you’re interested in more tidbits I dig up from my mind, feel free to find me on X or sign up for my newsletter.

P.S. I have a rather varied taste when it comes to movies. Netflix is the new cable.