That moment in time, when you’re staring at a blank piece of paper, the words have yet to fill up the empty lines. You’re preparing an important presentation, discussing the subject you’ve been working on for months. You’re picking up a paintbrush to start painting for that one important client. And you freeze in the moment. Fear creeps up your spine and takes a hold of you. Your creative juices stop flowing and your mind goes blank. Seems familiar? Keep on reading.

Creativity is such a wonderful thing, if you let it be. As a little kid your creativity and imagination made it possible for the garden to be a jungle, your bed to be a castle and the playground to be filled with monsters. Our little creative minds seemed to have no limits.

So, what’s changed? Why do we, sometimes, freeze. Are we thinking about failing? Are we wondering if we are good enough, unique enough, special enough? Are we doubting our abilities?

I once read that creativity requires courage. The courage to take the first step, the courage to make mistakes, to learn and grow, to fail and to succeed. And I totally agree, it takes guts to be creative. Creativity is such an important and awesome aspect of life. It’ll help you to get your mind off other things, to solve problems, think outside the box and develop your talents, to name a few.

Take the time to work through these moments of fear. Forget about comparing yourself to others. Remember that your thoughts, your work, your ideas are unique and special in their own way. Be kind to yourself and let yourself make mistakes, give yourself room to grow. Try doing something creative (something small is fine!) on a regular basis and build up your confidence. Start drawing again. Take music lessons. Bake a cake. Write a poem. Plant flowers in your garden. Start a blog!

Do you, be creative.