Your Creative Engine Runs on the Wrong Fuel
I ran out of gas once on a rural highway in Montana.
No cell service. No gas station for 20 miles. But there was a creek running alongside the road.
I stood there looking at my car, then at the water, thinking the stupidest thought: "What if I just try it?"
Obviously, I didn't. Because cars don't run on water no matter how badly you want them to. They run on gas.
The fuel doesn't change based on what's available or convenient. It's built to run on one thing.
The Pattern I Ignored for Years
I'm a writer. My creative engine runs on reading, thinking, and engaging with ideas.
But for two years, I came home from work and watched TV until bedtime. Four, five hours a night. Netflix, YouTube, whatever.
I'd sit down to write on weekends and... nothing. The engine wouldn't turn over.
I kept wondering why my creativity was dead. I had time. I had desire. I had a laptop and a blank document.
What I didn't have was fuel.
What Happens When You Use the Wrong Fuel
Here's the thing about TV: it's not evil. It's not even bad in doses.
But it's the wrong fuel for creative work.
TV makes your brain passive. You sit. You watch. You consume. Your mind doesn't generate—it receives.
There's a place for that. Resting is real. Shutting down after a hard day is valid.
But if that's all you're filling up with, your creative engine won't run when you need it to.
I wasn't resting four hours a night. I was filling my tank with the wrong fuel and then wondering why my writing felt empty.
Where This Shows Up
Writers who can't find words:
You want to write, but nothing comes out. Your prose feels flat. Your ideas feel recycled.
Check your input. What are you reading? Are you reading at all? Or are you scrolling social media and watching shows and expecting original thoughts to magically appear?
Your writing runs on words—reading them, thinking about them, engaging with them. You can't fuel a writing practice with visual content and expect sentences to flow.
Builders who can't solve problems:
You're stuck on a design challenge or a business decision. You stare at the problem but can't think your way through it.
Check your input. Are you learning? Trying new things? Having conversations that make you think?
Or are you filling your brain with content that doesn't require thinking—feeds that autoplay, videos that just wash over you, entertainment that asks nothing of you?
Problem-solving runs on active thinking. You can't fuel it with passive consumption.
Anyone trying to create anything:
You want to be creative, but you feel dull. Uninspired. Stuck.
Check your fuel. What are you putting into your brain?
If it's all passive—TV, scrolling, content that requires no thought—that's what your output will be. Passive. Dull. Nothing.
Why We Fill Up With the Wrong Fuel
Because it's easy. It's right there. It doesn't require anything from us.
After a long day, reading feels like work. Conversation feels like effort. Learning something new feels like too much.
TV is just... there. You press a button and it fills the time.
I get it. I did this for years.
But here's what I learned: creativity doesn't run on easy. It runs on engaged thinking.
If you want your creative engine to work when you sit down to write, build, or make something, you have to fuel it with things that make you think.
What the Right Fuel Looks Like
Reading.
Not articles that disappear from your brain five minutes later. Real reading. Books. Essays. Things that make you pause and think.
Your creative mind runs on words and ideas. Give it some.
Trying new things.
Take a different route home. Cook something you've never made. Learn a skill outside your comfort zone.
Your brain needs novelty to stay sharp. Routine makes it lazy.
Conversations that require thought.
Ask people about themselves. Ask questions you don't know the answer to. Engage with ideas instead of just waiting for your turn to talk.
Creativity comes from connecting things. You can't connect anything if you're only consuming, never engaging.
Learning.
Take a class. Watch a tutorial (but then do the thing). Read about a topic you know nothing about.
Your creative engine runs on new input. Feed it something it hasn't processed before.
The Pattern Is Simple
Your car runs on gas, not water.
Your creative work runs on engaged thinking, not passive consumption.
You can want it to work differently. You can wish that four hours of TV would somehow fuel your writing or your business or your art.
It won't.
The fuel doesn't change based on what's convenient. You have to put in what your engine actually runs on.
What I Changed
I didn't quit TV entirely. I still watch shows.
But I cut it down to an hour most nights. Sometimes less.
The rest of the time? I read. I try things. I have conversations. I learn.
And here's what happened: my writing came back.
Not because I was trying harder when I sat down to write. Because I was finally fueling the engine with something it could actually run on.
Try this: Check your fuel for one week.
Track what you're putting into your brain. How much passive consumption? How much active thinking?
If your creative work feels stuck, look at your input first.
You can't run a car on water. You can't run creative work on empty, passive hours.
What are you filling your tank with this week?