I was working on my next brain chain yesterday, and I hit a wall. I was groping for and snatching at ideas. The links didn’t feel as organic or as appropriate as those in my previous brain chains, and I balked. I sensed I was making a mistake, pushing. Forcing something that should flow.

Then I remembered:

Your unconscious can’t work when you are breathing down it’s neck.

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, p. 182

Creativity requires space. I do my best work when I relax, let myself play, and forget about achieving results. Better to step back and let my ideas simmer on a backburner while I make something else than to rush the cooking. The flavors are so much richer that way.

So, no brain chain…. yet. I’m going to look the other way so it can evolve unwatched.

What’s your preferred creative mode? Do you push for results, let things simmer, or do something in between?