Blowing up Brain Blocks

 Blowing Up Brain Blocks

 

We all get them. Those times when we feel stuck. Our brain can’t possibly function. Our work suffers. That project can’t seem to get off the ground or an email we should answer gets buried because we simply don’t know what to say. 

 

We often talk about “thinking outside the box” but rarely poke our noses out to see what’s there. We are creatures of habit. We get up at the same time, eat the same foods, and view the same programs on television. We do the same things over and over and we expect different results? 

 

I am a writer. For me, having a brain block means the story in my head never makes it to paper. The clever dialogue I created in my dreams gets lost somewhere between my brain and my keyboard. 

 

What to do when face with a brain block?

 

Step Away From It

 

Literally. I like to walk. I like to take advantage of these beautiful autumn days to get my steps in outside. But I find it doesn’t matter if I’m walking, riding my bike, or engaging in some other physical activity, exercise is the key. Exercise releases endorphins and endorphins make most people feel good. In effect, we increase our energy by expending it. What I find is that while I may be stepping away from my computer, enjoying the sunshine, my brain is continuing to work on its own. 

 

Change Your Routine.

Mixing things up a bit makes your brain work differently. Retraining your brain is healthy. It’s kind of like using a different piece of exercise equipment to build your muscles. You reach the same goal but grow a bit and become more flexible along the way along the way.

 

I am currently working on a suspense novel. It requires a lot of brainpower to keep the story for my protagonist, antagonist, and a couple of detectives working on a case moving in the same direction. I have timelines and calendars hanging all over my office. I needed to have something set my antagonist off so I had him lose everything—his home, his job, his belongings—everything. 

 

James Scott Bell once told me to create the most dire circumstances I could muster. When I give a character a problem, think of how I can make matters worse. This is for my antagonist as well as my protagonist.

 

Here I have my guy with no place to live and very little cash. He tires of sleeping in his car. He has this desire to rebuild some kind of life. But where can he go?

 

I have a route I take on my daily walks. I know how far the course is and how long it will take me to complete it. I was stuck in my story my story, so I set out walking. 

 

There is a newer subdivision behind my neighborhood. At one point there is a street that goes down a long, steep hill. I wasn’t sure where it led. If it was a dead end, it meant climbing back up that steep hill. Not all that appealing. But on this particular day, with a brain block on what to do with my antagonist, I decided to tackle the hill. Near the bottom of the hill, in this pristine subdivision with its big brick houses, some children had built a village using stripped bark from a wooded area in a ravine near their home. 

 

Teepees. Don’t send me messages about stereotypes or politically correctness. These were kids. They took what they had and created shelters of sorts. They put a “fire pit” in the middle of the village. It was actually creative and industrious. Two qualities I admire in young children. I took a picture.

 

I continued my walk, turning around at the next bend in the road and trekked home. By the time I arrived, my antagonist had figured out how to break in to a rarely used storeroom at the community college where he took a computer course. He pilfered a few items to make it more comfortable for him. He was, like the children on my walk, being creative and industrious, albeit illegal. Illegal is okay for an antagonist.

 

The point is simple, exercising…stepping away from the task at hand, and changing your routine can help you solve a problem. Those two activities alone can help destroy whatever is blocking your thinking and keeping you from getting out of the box.

 

But there is more:

 

Do One Small Thing.

One. Small. Thing. Whatever your circumstance, if you simply do one small task it is often enough to unlock your brain. 

 

Talk It Out. 

Find someone who will listen and talk through your dilemma. As you talk, you will often find your next step presents itself. 

 

Change Your Diet.

Spice up your life by spicing up your diet. Move away from sugar and carb overload that will only slow your thinking down to more interesting and healthy foods that will feed your brain. 

 

Play Hard and Get Dirty.

Remember the saying all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy? Well, it not only makes him dull, it makes him less productive. Our brains need activity. Personally, I’ve enjoyed a summer of “playing” in my garden. What I used to see as work, (weeding and such) was pure fun. Find something you enjoy. Something that gives you pleasure, and do it. Don’t wrestle with the guilt of spending time away from your work. Know that the time you spend playing is actually increasing your brain power.

 

Wow, this isn’t the post I set out to write. It’s a bit of me as a professor teaching child development and me as a writer facing down problems I created on a page. 

 

Hopefully, it is me as an encourager, offering a few tools to my readers so you can move forward.

 

Happy reading, writing, and living. Happy problem solving! And be sure to share with me your own experiences in solving the “brain block” problem.