Getting Unstuck

This page explains why the rest of the site looks deceptively simple, and what it's all about. Which is: getting unstuck.

Most creative techniques are about getting unstuck. If what you're doing is working, then you probably don't need to get unstuck - but if it isn't, you probably do. Even if whatever you're doing is working you might wonder if there's a better way, but for now let's keep it simple. If you're not stuck, then keep right on going - but if you are, CPS helps get you moving again.

In most cases getting stuck comes down to not being able to let go of something. This comes back to the question 'what are you able to change' - and the answer, which is mostly just yourself. If something 'out there' is stopping you make progress, chances are you're not able to change it. If you could, you would have probably have done so already. What you can change is what you do, and how you respond to things. Coming to terms with that can be a challenge. You may have a belief that there is no other way, even if what you're doing isn't working. It may be that the alternatives are just too scary to face up to - you know what the other routes are, but can't face them, or even thinking about them.

Whatever is keeping you stuck, chances are that left-brain thinking is part of it. See the pages on "bicameral minds" and "why cps" for the reasons why this is so. Getting unstuck involves not doing the same things we've always done, and particularly not doing the things that got us stuck in the first place (again).

Fortunately, we have a built-in device to help us do this. It's our right brain. So most creativity techniques in one way or another aim to put left brain thinking on hold for a while, and use right brain approaches to move somewhere different, before trying again.

The right brain tends to use pictures, feelings, movement and physical things rather than words. In a world that takes words seriously, these techniques appear simple at first glance. The words used to describe the tools and techniques on these pages are simple, but they are not the skills themselves. Putting this into practice is the challenge. The words are simple: doing it is the trick. That's harder, not because the techniques are intrinsically difficult - they're not - but because it involves breaking habits, taking the risk that we might look foolish and doing things we don't usually do. Hence the precepts. It's about doing something different. If you can get over that, this stuff works. Just do it!