The Lulu Essey Podcast

Your Creative Block Isn’t What You Think | Creativity, Play & Mental Fitness

Lulu Essey

You’re probably not blocked, you’ve just forgotten how to play.
Forgotten that creativity is part of who you are, whether you know it or not.

This week, Lulu throws open the windows and lets fresh air flood in. Together, we reimagine creativity as mental fitness in motion: a daily act of presence that keeps your brain flexible, your heart lighter, and your hope alive. From AI anxiety to childhood laughter and play, this episode reconnects you to the kind of creativity that heals, awakens, and reminds you how alive you really are.

Discover why creativity isn’t reserved for artists or innovators: it’s how every human stays Mentally Fit, rewires anxiety, and remembers joy. Learn how micro-moments of curiosity: brewing tea differently, walking a new route, brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand - wake the brain, reset perspective, and remind you that consciousness is your superpower.

What You’ll Learn
 • Why AI can replicate tasks but never being — and why “being” is your creative edge
• How play and novelty build neural flexibility and calm anxious loops (with a nod to Martha Beck)
• The real face of creative block → disconnection, not deficiency
• How small disruptions pull you out of autopilot and back into presence
• Why creativity isn’t separate from Mental Fitness — it is Mental Fitness

Powerful Quotes

“Being is our superpower. Consciousness. Presence, and the ability to be moved to notice, to create meaning—that's ours."

 “Creativity isn’t something you have or don’t have. It’s something you do. It’s who you are.”
 
“The point of creativity isn’t the product: it’s the aliveness in the process.”
 
"Most creative blocks aren't blocks at all. They're perfectionism wearing a disguise."
 
"Creativity isn't separate from mental fitness. It IS mental fitness."


Try This Week — The Pattern-Disruption Play

Change one automatic habit. Take a different route home, stir your coffee the opposite way, rearrange something small, brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Notice how alert you feel when your brain wakes up to possibility again.
 
Timestamps: 
00:00 - Going full-tilt joy
02:07  - AI, creativity & consciousness
05:42 - What creativity actually is
10:09 - Creative blocks = perfectionism
16:19 - The pile-up story
21:22 - The pattern-disruption game
26:26 - Invitation to engage 

Join the Conversation

When was the last time you played just for the joy of it? Share your moody-sky moment or the most delightful way you disrupted a pattern. Follow on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave a quick rating so others can find this conversation and remember that creativity isn’t a luxury - it’s how we stay alive to life.

This is an inside job. Share this episode with those you love. 💛

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Thank you for being here. You are enough. ✨