Your Brain is a muscle too you know

Yeah Yeah, I know.  I can hear you now. 

You haven't written in days...

To be honest, I haven't written HERE in days.  And for a good reason. 

Good Reason:  I was friggen BUSY.

And in the midst of my whirlwind of chaos, I found myself having a conversation with another writer friend who was going through burnout.  She was tired.  Irritable. 

She was also beating herself up for not continuing to write, even though she has just come off a streak of finishing a couple of features.

So, this post could also be labelled as 'How to deal with burnout'.

Burnout out is inevitable.

Especially if you're creative.  Because, as a Creative, the burnout happens in the muscle that controls the way you see the world.  The muscle that determines your perspective, your moods, your overall sense of being.

That muscle is your brain.  And when it is tired from running a marathon of sorts (ie. writing a full-length feature in record time), it needs rest.

The last thing you should ever do is try to write again.  And part of being in the midst of burnout is being susceptible to thoughts from a tired brain.  Thoughts that make you anxious, or tell you that you need to write.

Thoughts that will play on your guilt like a Jewish mother yearning for grandchildren.

So, what you need to do is STOP.

Simply stop.

And rest.

Because until your brain has fully recouped from the marathon you've put it under, you won't feel like doing much of anything. 

And the last thing you want to do is circle the drain with the internal struggle of feeling that you don't want to do anything and thinking that you should.

It's counterproductive.  A time waster.  And just plain dumb.

Creative types often succumb to the anxiety of not creating.  But what they don't realize, is that their brain needs to rest too.  It needs plenty of sleep.  A hot bath or two.  Maybe a few nights out with friends.  It needs to recharge.  Reengage with the world.  It needs to be nurtured so it/you can feel happy.

I told my friend that if she were running a marathon, she wouldn't at the end, after months of training and 26 miles; legs exhausted as if they couldn't take another step -- and lungs burning for air... she wouldn't immediately fire up and start running another marathon.

That would seem ridiculous, right?

The muscles would need to take a break.  Soak in hot water.  Perhaps even do very little exercise for a few days.

And, after running that marathon, it would seem absurd to start to doubt your abilities as a runner because your legs were tired, right?

Are you following me?

I'm talking to you Mr. Creative-type who doesn't understand why he only wants to watch reruns of 'Deep Space Nine' for the next 48 hours.

Yes, you!

Your Brain is a muscle too you know.  So treat it that way.  Give it a break between assignments.  You'll find that a rest will immediately improve your mood (and your outlook) and make you less likely to cry naked in a corner reaching for an empty box of Kleenex while you watch Ghost for the 15th time.

Be nice to your brain, it needs you too.

And so, after offering this sage advice wrapped in a marathon metaphor, I chose to slow myself down just a wee bit.  Because burnout is a treacherous experience -- and if I can at all avoid it by pacing myself accordingly; then I'm already half-way through to the finish line.

OK.  Enough with the running metaphors.

Just remember -- if you're feeling down after busting out a script, or a lot of writing, chances are your brain needs a hot bath and a few beers with friends.

It really is as simple as that.

And for the record;

No.  You are not the worst writer ever born.  You are not a fake.  You are not 'never' going to make it.  You are not wasting your time.

Go call a friend.

I promise you, you'll feel better if you do.