When We Hit A Wall : The Creative Power of Stepping Back

Photography by Bruce Busia

In the realm of creativity and problem-solving, we're often told to 'push through' our barriers. Yet, there's an understated value in hitting a wall and then consciously stepping away. This isn't about surrender but about strategic retreat.

When engaging intensely with a problem, we deploy all our resources towards it, leading to a kind of mental tunnel vision. Sometimes, we hit a wall so hard that it may seem like the end of the journey. However, this 'end' is deceptive; it can be the mind's way of demanding a pause, not a full stop.

By stepping away, we allow our ideas time to marinate, to shuffle and settle into new patterns. Stepping back is often considered the opposite to ‘pushing forward’, but it is in no way a less active process than direct engagement.

Essentially, we have to distance ourselves in order to advance.

Given the necessary space, our peripheral vision expands, and often, the wall in front of us changes. What once seemed like an insurmountable obstacle might begin to show cracks, a doorway, or even dissolve entirely, not necessarily because it is weakened, but because our perception has been renewed.

Returning to the wall, we might find that it wasn't really an impossibility set in stone but rather a riddle, waiting for refreshed insight. In the dance between determination and detachment, we discover that not all is won by force.

Sometimes, the true breakthroughs come when we take a step back, breathe, and then look again with unclouded eyes.