Why Creativity Is Self-Care, with Julia Cameron

Well, I think the problem is that we do take life too seriously and we beat ourselves up if we're not being creative. And when we say, "Now, I want you to just try this tool," then you say, "Try? Well, that doesn't sound too hard." And when you find yourself saying "That doesn't sound too hard," then you find yourself saying, "Well, I think I could give it a try." Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Radio Headspace. So a few years ago I had a little bit of writer's block and I stumbled upon "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron, which is a guidebook designed to help anyone reconnect with their creative self. And I have to say it works. Now, one of the key practices is something called morning pages, which is a process where you write out the first thing that comes to mind. You do this every morning. So I invited the icon herself, Julia Cameron, on the show today to help us rediscover our inner artist. I really hope you enjoy this conversation. Hi, Julia. It's so nice to meet you and to have this conversation with you. I've been looking forward to it for a really long time. Well, I've been looking forward to talking to you, too. I love your name. Thank you. I guess we should back up just a little bit for the people that aren't familiar with "The Artist's Way," which is one of, I think, if not the most effective piece of literature that helps us in creating great habits. So, what inspired you to write "The Artist's Way" if you don't mind sharing? I came up with it through practice. I found myself living alone at the end of a little dirt road in a little adobe house. And I was lonely. And I had a table that looked out on Taos Mountain, which was a big mountain that changed weather every day. And I started getting up and I would look out the window at the mountain and I would write, "Today it's cloudy." Or, "Today it's clear." Or, "Today there's snow on the crest." And I found myself writing three pages a day and that they were a form of witness for me. I was no longer lonely. I had morning pages to talk to. And I think when people are blocked creatively, they're very lonely. Yes. They feel like, oh, what's the use? And when I say, well, the use is just try it. Yeah. And coax them into it. And what they do is they discover that they're interesting. And previously, when they were blocked, they were saying, "Oh, I'm so boring. I can't think of anything to say or do." And I would say, well, just try writing these three pages and see if something doesn't come up for you. Yeah. Julia, what was the goal of "The Artist's Way"? The goal of the book was to help, I thought, a small group of people...