I’ve already provided you with 27 ways to increase creativity, but I also wanted to let you in on the 6 biggest creative blocks that everyone encounters. And here they are:
- The fear of failure is the biggest creative block that people face. The best way to fight this is to realize that you are usually better off taking risks than not with your work. Innovation and creativity require pushing the envelope. When you realize that, you will begin producing the work that others are looking for.
- A lack of time is a massive creativity block that can be fixed with a realignment of priorities. When you are extremely stressed or overwhelmed, one’s focus isn’t where it should be.
- An environment that diminishes productivity — produces interruptions, wrong lighting, lack of space — can be detrimental to creativity. Pay attention to what helps you create your best work and recreate that environment when possible.
- Although having a plan is important, always sticking to a schedule or plan can be a detriment to creativity. Many times, creativity flourishes when you aren’t even looking for it.
- Many times people will say they’re having a mental block when in all actuality the problem is that they aren’t giving it enough time. You may need to be still for hours on end, or go through thousands of bad ideas to find the idea that sparks an abundance of interest, but you must fully give yourself to the process to find what you’re looking for.
- Only looking at a problem from one direction is a creative block that many people deal with. The best way to fight this is to look at your problem and solution from the eyes of a critic. When you look at problems from all possible angles, looking through a different lens will many times reveal a better answer than you had before.
When you fight these six creative blocks, you will begin producing your very best work.
Coach Barb says
Hi Adam,
Great post, I find that #4 resonates with me. I believe in keeping a schedule….Thank you for the input!
Adam Smith says
Absolutely. If you plan everything, then you can even pencil in this time for nothing. 🙂