Big Bang or Black Hole Pressure?

Big Bang Tension → Big Bang Creation

That experience in art class was half my lifetime ago, but I’ve seen this principle play out over and over again in my creative work.

Whenever I start feeling creatively stuck, I now write down the constraints of my project:

• What’s the timeline?

• What’s the budget?

• What’s the desired outcome?

• What resources do I have (or not have)?

These might sound like normal project-planning questions, but the shift happens when I use them as creative fuel rather than obstacles.

I picture them all swirling together in my mind like a dense, pressurized sphere—compacting, compacting, compacting—

Until suddenly—

💥 Boom!

An explosion. The solution erupts from the center. The constraints disappear, and all my energy locks in on the new vision.

Does that sound familiar?

Because now that I think about it…

That sounds a lot like the Big Bang.

(Nieves, you genius. ❤️)

Big Bang Energy… or a Black Hole?

This idea of Big Bang tension has been simmering in my mind all week. I’ve been waiting for my own murky, pressurized center to clarify.

It finally hit me as I was writing this very sentence:

Big Bang... or black hole?

Last weekend, my husband and I watched Oppenheimer. I got totally caught up in the history of Los Alamos (since I live in New Mexico!), but it wasn’t until today that I connected the dots between black holes and the Big Bang.

I turned to my 3-year-old son during bath time and said,

"The Big Bang came from extreme density and exploded outward to create the universe. But black holes happen when something gets too dense and collapses inward into a vacuum."

He stared at me.

"Yeah."

I kept going.

"How are there such opposite outcomes from the same thing?"

He looked me dead in the eye and… gulped down a mouthful of bathwater.

Okay, maybe not the audience for this particular revelation. 😅

But I couldn’t shake the thought.

• Both the Big Bang and a black hole come from extreme pressure

• One expands outward and creates everything

• The other collapses inward and swallows everything

So…

Which one are you feeling right now?

Is your pressure leading to a Big Bang or a black hole?

The tension that fuels a Big Bang feels like:

✨ An idea brewing, but not fully formed.
✨ A deep urge to create—even if you don’t know what yet.
✨ An almost unbearable mental pressure—like you might explode.
✨ Energy bouncing around inside you until it finds an escape hatch.

The tension that creates a black hole feels like:

🕳️ Lostness—not knowing what you want to make.
🕳️ Disconnection—from yourself, from your creativity.
🕳️ Overwhelm—where every idea feels like too much work.
🕳️ Burnout—creativity seems like something past-you had, but present-you doesn’t.

So how do you shift a black hole into a Big Bang?

How to Shift the Tension in Your Favor

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Black hole tension isn’t empty → it’s limitless. It just feels like emptiness because the energy has no direction.

You don’t need motivation → you need constraints. Too many possibilities are paralyzing. Boundaries focus your energy and spark solutions.

You’re not stuck → you’re just missing structure. Creative habits, deadlines, and commitments pull creative energy into action.

So if you’re feeling lost in a black hole?

Try defining your constraints. Pick one project. Set one deadline. Establish one ritual.

Suddenly—

💥 Boom. The shift happens.

And you go from darkness to utter brilliance.

Sounds worth it to me. ✨

Your Turn: How Do You Experience Creative Tension?

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As always, thanks for being here! Know someone on their own creative journey? Share Creative Foresight with them.

Warmly,
Jennifer