Exhilarating & Exhausting
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
We’ve talked a lot about our creativity. But there’s an aspect of it that deserves more attention—creative exhaustion.
It can come through thoughts like this: There’s no time to let up on the gas. Not in this season. If we get off the treadmill, people will move on, forget about us, or get ahead of us. We’ll say we’ll rest later. But later never comes.
It’s overwhelming to sense the trauma not just of loved ones but from the chaos on the other side of the globe. A friend told me the story of a couple she knows. The wife was going through a trying time and sobbing about all the big, awful things happening in the world. Her husband said, “Well, only God can carry the weight of the world, so what would help you feel better tonight?” She thought a moment and responded, “Ice cream?”
Highly creative people don’t just feel the events around us more deeply. We are also forerunners who wrestle with an unformed idea or past emotion—often for years—before ultimately bringing it to life on the appropriate canvas. An idea that could play out a hundred different ways races through our minds. No matter what actually happens, we’re worn out from imagining the infinite possibilities.
This capacity to feel deeply and see what could be is energizing—while also depleting us for anything else. It is both exhilarating and exhausting. We cry as we create because it is costly to offer beauty, life, and order to a world that often doesn’t understand. But it goes even deeper. We long for what could be in this world—while carrying the heavy realization that some things won’t happen until the coming kingdom.
Creative exhaustion is real, but it doesn’t have to extinguish your art or your heart. Instead, look to Jesus for the rest that restores.
Exhaustion is a Glitch Maker. Here’s your Glitch Breaker.
In the creative choices you face, remember the goal isn’t to always be first or go fast. Trying to create that way is exhausting. Burnt out artists can’t create works bursting with life. It’s hard to make works of life when you have little life in you. So set aside an hour a day and a day a week to simply be.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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