One of the problems many creative people have is the fear that they have nothing interesting to say. Many of us fear that we have no unique insights to share with the world, or that the ideas we come up with have been done before.

The truth is we all have a unique perspective on the world. We all have original insights that can be moving, informative or entertaining to others. But knowing this doesn’t necessarily reassure us as we sit facing the blank page, the easel, the camera, the garden or the scrapbook. The internal editor dismisses those ideas that do come as paltry, small, overused, uninteresting, or just plain rubbish.

So how can we overcome the problem of fearing we have nothing interesting to say. Journaling can help. When we get in the habit of free-writing whatever comes into our heads, we learn to switch off the internal editor. But there is one particular journal prompt that I find incredibly helpful.

At the top of the page simply write.

If I had anything interesting to say I would say…

Then begin to write. Somehow, this prompt sidesteps the internal editor. Somehow, by admitting that we fear we have nothing interesting to say, we allow the ideas to flood out unhindered. Somehow, it seems like you are writing someone else’s ideas rather than your own, something deeper comes through. Somehow, something magical happens, you move deeper into the psyche and find out what you really wanted to say all along. This journaling prompt can help you find out the true purpose of your art and life, kicking the internal editor to the curb and allowing some other part of you to bring its message to the world.