--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think many of us live with this nagging…" description: "\"“I think many of us live with this nagging sense that we could go deeper. That there is some elusive \"next level\" in our work that calls to us, haunts ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/kate-kretz-104118_artistic-genius_i-think-many-of-us-live-with-this-naggin_1890515.jpg" --- # I think many of us live with this nagging sense that we… ![“I think many of us live with this nagging sense that we could go deeper. That there is some elusive "next level" in our work that calls to us, haunts us in our dreams, but remains unarticulated in our practice. I believe that the dreaded "creative block" is not necessarily a lack of ideas, but…” quote by Kate Kretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/kate-kretz-104118_artistic-genius_i-think-many-of-us-live-with-this-naggin_1890515.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/kate-kretz-104118_artistic-genius_i-think-many-of-us-live-with-this-naggin_1890515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/kate-kretz-104118_artistic-genius_i-think-many-of-us-live-with-this-naggin_1890515.jpg) > ““I think many of us live with this nagging sense that we could go deeper. That there is some elusive "next level" in our work that calls to us, haunts us in our dreams, but remains unarticulated in our practice. I believe that the dreaded "creative block" is not necessarily a lack of ideas, but that you recognize the ideas you ARE having are not what you were BORN to make. You can feel deep in your gut that you are capable of great things, that something wants to come through you, but YOU are blocking your core, the brilliance of your own spirit as it wants to be manifested THROUGH you.”” Kate Kretz ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative block often stems from ignoring one’s deeper purpose; true ideas emerge when aligning work with innate calling. **In simple terms:** Blocking our true calling causes creative stagnation. Key Takeaway Align work with your core purpose. Themes creativity self‑actualization psychology Mood inspired reflective motivational Type Artistic genius:1 Artistic-muse:1 Creative block:1 Creative ideas:1 Creativity:1 Next level:1 Next-level-thinking:1 Original ideas:1 Originality:1 Recognize Ideas:1 Feel Deep:1 Sense Deeper:1 Dreaded Creative:0 When to use this quote - career development - artistic practice - personal reflection - mentorship Key Concepts creative block inner calling self‑recognition artistic purpose Questions to Reflect On - What does “your true calling” feel like? - How can you test if an idea matches your purpose? A Different Perspective The “born to make” notion may pressure artists into rigid expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-genius/) [Creative block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-block/) [Creative ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-ideas/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Next level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-level/) [Next-level-thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-level-thinking/) [Original ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-ideas/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) ## Related quotes > [“When working on other commitments, "the work that needs to be made" is relentlessly harassing me, whispering in my ear about what I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-kretz/when-working-on-other-commitments-the-work-that-needs-to-be-made-is/) Kate Kretz > [When trying to innovate, most people stop after 10-15 possibilities, failing to recognize that their first ideas are usually the most obvious ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-grant/when-trying-to-innovate-most-people-stop-after-10-15-possibilities/) [Adam Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-grant/) > [People love science and all it offers, but they also feel a calling in themselves to the sense of what's deeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-frank/people-love-science-and-all-it-offers-but-they-also-feel-a-calling-in/) [Adam Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-frank/) > [Our "life education" has not necessarily taught us a satisfying way to live. We suffer from a vague sense that there must be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/our-life-education-has-not-necessarily-taught-us-a-satisfying-way-to/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [Most artists have experienced the creative block. We get stuck in our work. We beat our head against the wall: nothing. Sometimes, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/most-artists-have-experienced-the-creative-block-we-get-stuck-in-our/) [Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/) > [Smash creative blocks. Change the problem or sneak up on it from a different direction. Try something fresh - a new way with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/smash-creative-blocks-change-the-problem-or-sneak-up-on-it-from-a/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [“I have a binging imagination and thus a mental hoarding problem. What I need to do is host an estate sale in my heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-stokes/i-have-a-binging-imagination-and-thus-a-mental-hoarding-problem-what/) Stephen Stokes > [What's wrong with creative block? Might it not just be that periods--even extended ones--of productive hiatus are essential mechanisms of gestation designed to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexi-murdoch/what-s-wrong-with-creative-block-might-it-not-just-be-that-periods/) Alexi Murdoch > [The power of mistakes enables us to reframe creative blocks and turn them around...The troublesome parts of our work, the parts that are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/the-power-of-mistakes-enables-us-to-reframe-creative-blocks-and-turn/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [“The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-way-to-get-over-creative-block-is-to-simply-place-some/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [When I have a creative block, I take walks. I like to see what shapes stick out - so many legs rushing by at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caio-fonseca/when-i-have-a-creative-block-i-take-walks-i-like-to-see-what-shapes/) [Caio Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caio-fonseca/) > [I think a lot of times when people have "creative blocks" and I know my share of friends do as well if they're at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/i-think-a-lot-of-times-when-people-have-creative-blocks-and-i-know-my/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [There's no excuse for having a mental or creative block in sound. You can just go out and collect things in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-rydstrom/there-s-no-excuse-for-having-a-mental-or-creative-block-in-sound-you/) Gary Rydstrom > [In recovering from our creative blocks, it is necessary to go gently and slowly... These are baby steps. Progress, not perfection, is what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/in-recovering-from-our-creative-blocks-it-is-necessary-to-go-gently/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“The next time you experience a creative block, resist the temptation to doubt yourself, or to put in more blind effort. Stop and ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/the-next-time-you-experience-a-creative-block-resist-the-temptation/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) ## More by Kate Kretz > [“When working on other commitments, "the work that needs to be made" is relentlessly harassing me, whispering in my ear about what I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-kretz/when-working-on-other-commitments-the-work-that-needs-to-be-made-is/) Kate Kretz Explore all 2 Kate Kretz quotes ## More Artistic genius quotes > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [My mother was an artist, and I was fairly good at art as a child. I was always the best drawer in class, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/my-mother-was-an-artist-and-i-was-fairly-good-at-art-as-a-child-i-was/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [The base of all artistic genius is the power of conceiving humanity in a new, striking, rejoicing way, of putting a happy world ofits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/the-base-of-all-artistic-genius-is-the-power-of-conceiving-humanity/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [Artistic genius is an expansion of monkey imitativeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/artistic-genius-is-an-expansion-of-monkey-imitativeness/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [“This is not an age favourable to the development of artistic genius; it may be that for a time all forms of art will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/this-is-not-an-age-favourable-to-the-development-of-artistic-genius/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [ The artist must be a philosopher. Socrates the skilled sculptor, Jean-Jacques \[Rousseau\] the good musician, and the immortal Poussin, tracing on the canvas the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/the-artist-must-be-a-philosopher-socrates-the-skilled-sculptor-jean/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [Like Richard Ellmann on James Joyce, Arnold Rampersad on Ralph Ellison is in a class of its own. His masterful and magisterial book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-richard-ellmann-on-james-joyce-arnold-rampersad-on-ralph-ellison/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/to-believe-your-own-thought-to-believe-that-what-is-true-for-you-in-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The best revenge is the massive success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/the-best-revenge-is-the-massive-success/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) > [Mandelstam was an artistic genius, the sort that any century produces only a handful of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/mandelstam-was-an-artistic-genius-the-sort-that-any-century-produces/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“But his own mind was helpless against every moment's headline. He did nothing but leap into the mass of changes and explore them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/but-his-own-mind-was-helpless-against-every-moment-s-headline-he-did/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [It should be quite clear that it is possible for unpleasant people who are small in various ways other than in their artistic genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/it-should-be-quite-clear-that-it-is-possible-for-unpleasant-people/) [Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/) > [The mathematician's best work is art, a high perfect art, as daring as the most secret dreams of imagination, clear and limpid. Mathematical genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gosta-mittag-leffler/the-mathematician-s-best-work-is-art-a-high-perfect-art-as-daring-as/) Gosta Mittag-Leffler > [THE SUFFERING OF GENIUS AND ITS VALUE. The artistic genius desires to give pleasure, but if his mind is on a very high plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-suffering-of-genius-and-its-value-the-artistic-genius-desires-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“He said he couldn't understand a world 'shameless and cruel enough to divide its people by color when color is in fact the sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/he-said-he-couldn-t-understand-a-world-shameless-and-cruel-enough-to/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) [Browse all 18 Artistic genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think many of us live with this nagging sense that we could go deeper. That there is some elusive \"next level\" in our work that calls to us, haunts us in our dreams, but remains unarticulated in our practice. 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