Do you often have great ideas but struggle to make them real? Maybe, you find yourself procrastinating when it’s time to write your book, start a blog, or tell your boss about an idea you have.
Have you ever started something but then tossed aside your efforts after a while? Many people feel stuck or wait for a great idea before they buckle down and get to work. Eventually, time passes and they never get around to it.
These symptoms don’t mean that your ideas aren’t good. You’re experiencing common roadblocks to creativity. Today, 95% of the Gen-Z population spends 10 hours or more a day on their smartphones. It’s wouldn’t be wrong to assume that a part of this is procrastination and resistance.
The difference between a leader or a genius and everybody else is that they push through their roadblocks to make their ideas real. If you become more aware of these roadblocks, you’ll have the presence of mind you need to get past them.
Let’s explore the major roadblocks to creativity so that you can recognize them when they appear and dismiss them.
Seeking perfection
The desire for perfection, especially in creative works, can make anyone procrastinate indefinitely. It’s also impossible for anyone to be perfect at all times.
Having a mindset where you believe you have to be perfect or your ideas have to be perfect puts creativity in a box. Perfection is a limiting feeling but creativity is flawed and unlimited.
There’s a clear conflict between these things.
How can you resolve this conflict and let your ideas flow?
The next time you’re avoiding the work you need to do or are criticizing yourself, ask the following question: ‘Am I demanding perfection right now?’
If you are, the rationally dispute your desire for perfection. Also, give yourself permission to simply perform, write, or carry out your creative activity no matter how many mistakes happen. Finally, watch out for thoughts where you compare yourself to others. The following saying is incredibly profound and meaningful.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Deliberately stop comparing yourself to others and let your own ideas flow without any standard restricting them. Dive into the act of creating without the bounds of comparison or perfection and you’ll remove a major roadblock to creativity.
Feeling Resistance
Have you ever found that whenever you want to do something like building a new skill, starting your own business, or some other creative work, you feel an overwhelming feeling of internal resistance?
This feeling of resistance makes you delay moving forward in life. It may tell you that you’re not good enough.
According to Seth Godin, resistance is essentially our reptilian brain that’s stopping us from moving forward. The primitive part of our minds likes safety and comfort. So, even when something new is good for us, it feels like a threat to our survival brain.
How can we overcome resistance? For starters, being aware of your experience will help. Other ways that will give you the ability to move through resistance are:
- Meditation and mindfulness practice on a daily basis
- Using metaphorical thinking to give the resistance a shape that can be changed
- Working with positive affirmations that motivate you to work
You can also rationally dispute your resistance and address the fears it brings up. In time, you’ll be able to get past the resistance and allow your creativity to flow.
Waiting for inspiration
There is a saying ‘ Only amateurs wait for inspiration, the rest of us get to work’. This saying holds a great deal of truth since waiting for inspiration is simply another mental roadblock.
It isn’t necessary to for you to be powerfully inspired to carry out a creative act. One of the most successful and best-selling writers of all time, Stephen King, is a strong proponent for just diving into work and getting things done.
Instead of waiting for the right time or right feeling to happen, dive in and write a novel or create music. You’ll find that inspiration will come after you put in the work.
The next time you find yourself waiting for a bust of inspiration, catch yourself in the thought and get down to work instead.
Don’t let mental roadblocks stop your creativity
Your creative ideas are your unique and valuable contribution to this world. Whether you’re creating a blog to help others, improving your customers’ lives through an innovative product, creating a form of art, it’s important to turn your creative ideas into actions.
Making your creative ideas real can also benefit you by giving your career a boost or by making you feel more fulfilled.
Recognize the roadblocks to your creativity and be determined to push through them. With the tips given here, you’ll be able to go forward and create something amazing.