“No thanks. I’m going to play today.”
This episode is a little different.
If you feel exhausted, demoralized, or like a “ghost of your old self,” you aren’t broken—you are a human being responding to a global situation that feels less stable every day. In this episode, I explore why creative rebellion is a vital act of resistance. This isn’t about being productive or making a statement; it’s about reminding yourself that you are still alive.
I’m Nancy Norbeck, Messy Muse Mentor, and I help exhausted perfectionists find gentle, playful ways to spark expression again. This episode is a call to reclaim your aliveness through small, five-minute acts of “useless” play that keep your head above water.
What you can expect from this episode (and this show):
- 🤦🏻♂️ No Pressure: I’ll never tell you to force productivity through resistance.
- 🤷🏻♂️ No Bypassing: We won’t ignore reality or live in denial; we reconnect with the parts of reality the headlines miss.
- 😁 No “Shoulds”: This is a sanctuary, not a school. There are no requirements to be an “artist” or produce “good” art.
I discuss the logic of demoralization and why staying connected to your joy makes you harder to control. If you’ve been yearning for a space to just be without the pressure to perform, this conversation is for you.
If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe so you never miss a dose of creative permission.
Take Action: If you need a physical space of sanctuary right now, I invite you to join our free Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle this Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern. It’s an online, low-to-no pressure space where you can draw, daydream, or simply exist in a creative community.
Join the Free Creativity Circle here (don’t forget to confirm your subscription!)
Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!
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Transcript: Play Is Resistance
Please note: This is an unedited transcript, provided as a courtesy, and reflects the actual conversation as closely as possible. Please forgive any typographical or grammatical errors.
Nancy Norbeck [00:00:06]:
Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity. Ordinary people, extraordinary creativity. Here’s how to get unstuck. I’m your host, creativity coach, Nancy Norbeck. Let’s go. As I record this, it’s Martin Luther King Day 2026. And, it’s a little ironic because on Martin Luther King Day, which is a day when we celebrate equality and justice in America, Minnesota is on fire. A friend of mine in LA tells me that her neighbors are being kidnapped. And here in New Jersey, a couple miles from my house, ICE agents were in town last week.
Nancy Norbeck [00:00:50]:
This isn’t usually a political podcast, and I don’t wanna turn it into one. But on Martin Luther King day of all days, it seems wrong to pretend that the things that are going on in the news right now and in our communities don’t affect us and don’t affect our creative lives and the rest of our lives. And it also just seems wrong to pretend that I don’t have an opinion about this and that I think that this is okay. I don’t think that this is okay. I think that this is very wrong. I think that state sponsored harm is incredibly wrong. I think it’s an abuse of power. I think that it is a grave injustice.
Nancy Norbeck [00:01:29]:
And I think that it is exhausting all of us in ways that it’s okay to acknowledge and that, frankly, we need to acknowledge because denying them does us no good. If you feel like you’re exhausted, like it’s harder to focus, like it’s harder to create, like it’s harder to have any energy at all. I just wanna remind you that that is completely normal and to be except expected and that that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with you. It just means that you are a human being in a global situation that is looking less and less stable every day, regardless of where you are on this globe. People who are exhausted, who feel demoralized, unfortunately, are easier to control. And that’s part of why things like this happen. It’s part of it’s part of the logic of it.
Nancy Norbeck [00:02:35]:
I wish it weren’t true, but it is. And that’s part of why I wanted to talk about this today is because while they know that this may seem really, really small and inadequate to the task, and in some ways it is, I want to encourage you to do something creative. I know that’s not gonna save anybody’s life. I know it’s not gonna stop what’s happening. But what it is going to do is reconnect you with yourself and reconnect you with the aliveness in you. That is what they are trying to suppress with all of this demoralizing news that looks so grim every day. Play in moments like this and creativity in moments like this and those little moments of aliveness are actually powerful acts of resistance to that demoralization that helps to keep you under control. So if you can say, no, thanks.
Nancy Norbeck [00:03:46]:
I’m gonna play today. I’m gonna bring some joy into my life today. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, even if it’s just enough to keep my head just slightly above water, it’s still an act of resistance. It still is something that helps to keep you feeling better. And that little act of defiance may give you the energy to do something else that is a larger thing to help your community, to help your neighbors, or just to help yourself feel better. That’s not nothing. None of what I am suggesting today or any other day is about bypassing reality or living in denial. I want to help you reconnect with reality because there’s more to reality than what we see in the headlines.
Nancy Norbeck [00:04:32]:
And to have the energy to survive these moments. Because if we don’t persist in these moments, I don’t know how we’re gonna make it through this. And I know I have other people that I need to get through these moments for and I’m sure that you do too. These little acts of creative rebellion are not about being productive and they’re not about making a statement. They’re about reminding yourself that you are still alive. And that’s important right now. They’re remind about reminding yourself that you can still have joy, that you are still alive in this world, that you are still here, and that all of those things still matter. And that is still important in this world in 2026.
Nancy Norbeck [00:05:14]:
And to offer a little space of sanctuary, I am starting the Follow Your Curiosity Creativity Circle starting on Saturday, this coming Saturday, January 24, 03:00 eastern. It’s an online circle. It is low to no pressure. I wanna take as much pressure off as possible. There’s a reason why I’m using the word sanctuary here. There will be a prompt if you want it but there’s no requirement to use it. This is not school. You can come, you can do whatever you want with this time.
Nancy Norbeck [00:05:48]:
You can draw, you can paint, you can sing, you can take some photos, you can just sit and daydream with us and be in the room. You can leave early if you need to, you can stay for the whole time. You can just use the space however you want to. But I think we all need some community right now and we all need to be reminded that we are in creative space together and that we can have these little moments of aliveness, even though the world is looking pretty bleak. So if this sounds good to you, it’s absolutely free. No charge whatsoever. No obligation. No expectations.
Nancy Norbeck [00:06:26]:
Come and join us on Saturday. And we would love to have you And we’ll see what happens from there. But whether you can do that or not, just remember, five minutes is all you need to give yourself that little extra boost of joy and connection in your day that may make everything else so much easier right now. So I hope that you’ll do that. I hope that you find it helpful. And I am I am pulling for all of us right now because I’m really hoping that, you know, the only way out of this is through and that we’re further through than we think. I’m an optimist. What can I say? We’re in this together.
Nancy Norbeck [00:07:09]:
If you’re tired of thinking about answering a creative call but never actually doing it, come join me for an hour and start feeling like yourself again. The Follow Your Curiosity creativity circle is a safe, welcoming, and encouraging environment where we send the shoulds and inner critics off to summer camp where they’re kept busy rather than getting in our way. You can find it at the link in your podcast app. See you there, and see you next week. Follow Your Curiosity is produced by me, Nancy Norbeck, with music by Joseph McDade. If you like, follow your curiosity, please subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to tell your friends. It really helps me reach new listeners.