by Carolyn Dube
You’re stuck. Your project has completely stalled out. No matter what idea you have, you know it isn’t a good idea, let alone the right idea. Creative paralysis settles in the longer you think.
When my mind is like that, I don’t create. It’s too overwhelming, as if I’m stuck in over-thinking quicksand. The more I try to think about what to do, the deeper I sink into the overwhelm.
There are ways out of that quicksand of pressure. The three-second rule. Give yourself three seconds to make a decision and go. That’s not a lot of time. There isn’t much room for thinking, let alone over-thinking, in three seconds, and that is the point: to stop thinking and start doing. Add the next swash of color. Start typing the next word.
In the video, you can see how using the three-second rule keeps me moving forward and not getting stuck over-thinking decisions. Whatever you’re over-thinking, whether starting something or a step along the process, the three-second rule can keep you moving.
You have only three seconds to decide, so there is a chance you’ll make a mistake, because the goal of the three-second rule is to get you moving forward, not to make it perfect in one step.
Mistakes are good things. They are opportunities. You’ve heard all the sayings: it’s a happy accident, every mistake leads to an opportunity, but how do you get out of the habit of beating yourself up for mistakes and near failures, let alone embrace those ugly and awkward parts?
One little word can guide you to embrace those mistakes for the gifts they are: OOPS.
That stands for Outstanding Opportunities Presenting Suddenly. Why is this word so powerful? It helps you keep perspective. You have to get out of the serious fearful feelings in your head and not take things so seriously.
When I first started saying OOPS, I said it in a frustrated, angry voice. After all, I was beating myself up for ruining an art journal page. I felt a bit ridiculous to say OOPS with that voice. That little bit of silly brought me the perspective I needed: to get back to creating.
Getting in the habit of saying OOPS reminds you with a touch of humor that there is an opportunity in the mistake, even if you have no idea what the opportunity is at that moment. That one little word reminds you to trust that it will be okay. It just needs another layer, another revision.
In the video, you can see how I use OOPS to keep moving forward even when something feels terribly ugly.
I do need to clarify. These strategies do not apply to heart surgeons or airline pilots. They need to take everything seriously, because lives are in their hands. But this is a paint brush or a typewriter, and no lives are at risk.
Next time you feel overwhelmed by creative pressures, try saying OOPS and using the three-second rule. Let those two strategies help you get you moving forward so you can keep creating and making.
Carolyn Dube is a mixed-media art adventurer who takes the intimidation out of supplies so you can find freedom through creativity. Play with every color of the rainbow, avoid rules whenever possible, and let the little kid inside of you free through art.
You can find her designing stencils for StencilGirl Products, teaching in-person and online workshops, writing articles in magazines such as Somerset Studio and GreenCraft, and sharing the message of OOPS through her YouTube videos and blog.