The creative process is rarely one in which you move straight ahead; instead, it is often two steps forward, one back, and maybe a few to the side. When you are feeling discouraged, one of the most important things you can remember is that the best creativity often happens in bursts. This great video essay discusses the topic and offers a lot of meaningful wisdom.
Coming to you from aows, this excellent video essay discusses the fact that your best photos will often come in bursts rather than at a consistent, measured pace. Of course, that is not to say you should not practice consistently; after all, if you do not, you won't have any of those "burst" days. Rather, the point is that creativity ebbs and flows. There will be periods in which you feel like you can't find satisfaction in anything you do and others in which you're "in the zone," constantly churning out stellar work. The important thing to remember is that the lulls will pass. This is why it is so important for professionals to have an established set of reliable styles and techniques from which to draw to guarantee they can make good work regardless of whether they are in a creatively fertile period or not. Check out the video above for the full rundown.