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# ACT I: On Creative Slumps
- URL: https://www.theshyreveal.com/act-i-on-creative-slumps/
- Published: 2026-09-13T05:59:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T05:16:26.000Z
- Author: Paperbag

## Comfortably numb, yet painfully aware.

---

### The Slump

It’s the New Year,  
and I should feel excited…

But I don’t.

**Everything feels flat.**

In 2025, I made a project called *The 12 Symbols of Trust,*  
thinking that by the end of the year,  
my confidence would adjust.

And here I’m left with the inevitable question:

**Now what?**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/12-symbols.webp)

The 12 Symbols of Trust

---

### Afraid of Success

Will I be able to create  
with the same determination as I did before?

I don’t know…

And that’s when it hit me:

**I never truly know what I’m doing.**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/Tremilie_66_Trust_The_Spiral_IMG_2.png)

---

## Writer’s Block

When I write, I don’t feel like an expert.

I’m always doubting myself.

I’m *trying* to write,  
but I don’t think I’m doing the actual writing,  
like a *real writer*,  
if you know what I mean.

I’m existing,  
but I don’t think I’m doing the actual living,  
or embodying a *real self*,  
like a character of my own.

So the question “***Who am I?”*** remains a mystery,  
and writing is how I choose to resolve it.

But sometimes, the words don’t flow.

Putting those ideas and feelings out there,  
solidifying them into the *real world*,  
takes a lot of trust.

The trust that I will somehow arrive.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/Tremilie_66_Trust_The_Spiral_IMG_3.png)

---

### How to Achieve Anything

First, expect your mind to be cloudy.

Stay with it. Ask yourself what kind of joy, treasure, *goodness* you want to show the world.

**That’s your life purpose.**

And as you remember it,  
day after day,  
*half-believing* that it could happen,  
the machine has started, and there’s no going back.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/Tremilie_66_Trust_The_Spiral_IMG_4.png)

Quote from Austin Kleon’s book ‘Show Your Work!’

---

### You’re Not Done Yet

In fact, you’re at the very beginning.  
You have so much left to explore, to construct, to renovate…

You could be spending *decades* working on your project if you have to.

One week, one month, one year of procrastination  
won’t matter in the long run.

You’re doing this for life.

You’ll get up again, and again, and again.

It won’t be perfect, and not everyone will understand.

But at least you’ll have the best work you’ve ever done, for yourself.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/Tremilie_66_Trust_The_Spiral_IMG_6.jpg)

---

### The Limbo Phase

If you feel like you’ve ended an era of your life,  
and you’re out of motivation,  
it’s time to unwind.

Creative hibernation.

The sun will rise again.

We’ll wake up softly, move to our desk,  
and fill the blankest of pages  
with the stroke of a pen.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/2541acf5-75ea-41ae-8dd9-9ede43988ecc/content/images/2026/09/Tremilie_66_Trust_The_Spiral_IMG_6_bis.png)

And I don't feel anything... (Lyrics of **The New Year* by Death Cab)

---

**Thank you for reading! ✿**

I wish you a peaceful 2026.