There are people who seem to be made to have brilliant ideas, it is as if they live in a continuous flow of creativity where everything comes naturally, without effort. On the contrary, others have a harder time putting their creativity to work and original ideas seem elusive.
However, in an increasingly automated world in which artificial intelligence is gaining ground by leaps and bounds, the ability to create, innovate and bring original ideas and projects to life will be an essential skill. And it is also true for life since it allows us to solve problems in a much more creative way. However, often the barriers to creativity are built by ourselves, whether with our way of thinking, lifestyle or emotional states.
The main obstacles to creativity in everyday life
The good news is that creativity is not something innate, it is a capacity that is developed throughout life. However, like any capacity, there are conditions that enhance it and factors that slow down its development.
1. Brain is always on alert. Our brain has an alert system that is based in the amygdala. This sentinel is activated when we perceive a potential danger and from that moment on an “emotional hijacking” can occur; That is, the rest of the areas practically stop working. Obviously, in that state it is difficult to be creative. If you are continually tense, stressed, irritable or anxious, you will not be fostering the mental breeding ground necessary for creativity to flourish. To be creative you also have to learn to let your guard down a little and flow, so that what surrounds you can truly become a source of inspiration.
2. Lack of concentration. Great ideas often appear as part of a process known as “creative flow.” However, if you continually interrupt the activity, when you resume it you will be forced to return to the point where you were. That not only means you’ll have to put in more cognitive effort, but you may have missed out on a lot of good ideas. After all, many of the original ideas often arise from the different associations that you string together in your mind while you are absorbed in an activity, so if you continually interrupt that flow, it will be difficult for you to “tune back” and recover those ideas.
3. Lack of perseverance. Self-efficacy is a fundamental concept that allows you to implement the behaviors necessary to achieve certain goals with the necessary confidence in your abilities. However, the ideal point of self-efficacy, also on a creative level, is only reached when we have failed enough. That means that to find original solutions, you often have to persevere. Many people give up quickly, so they don’t give their creativity time to flow.
4. Functional fixation. Creativity does not follow the same course as rational thought. In fact, Ray Bradbury advised: “don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity.” One of the biggest obstacles to creativity is functional fixedness, which refers to the inability to think outside of established boundaries and the tendency to cling to customs and the known. This bias will push you to see the problem from a single point of view, which limits flexibility and will prevent you from developing new perspectives that open the door to other, more original solutions.
5. Do not leave room for “background noise”. Creativity is not a linear process. In fact, it works largely on insight. That means you need to be patient. Creativity draws a lot from unconscious content. While you’re taking a walk or resting, your mind may be working in the background to find the solution. For that reason, it is essential that you also leave room for mental “background noise.” You have to find a balance between focus and hard work and time for rest and disconnection, essential for your subconscious to continue processing information, establishing connections and looking for new outlets.
6. Prisoners of the “guiding scenes.” Silvan S. Tomkins coined the term “guiding scripts” and Gershen Kaufman built on his work when he referred to “guiding scenes,” which are nothing more than the mental images of past experiences that our brains conjure up when we encounter a “trigger” of that experience. In practice, every time you suffer a creative failure, your brain automatically conjures up guiding scenes of past mistakes. The emotional pain they cause ends up becoming a barrier to creativity since they reinforces the idea that you cannot continue down that path. Therefore, you need to break that association by understanding that failure is also part of the creative process.
7. Limited exposure to other people’s creativity. Creativity is, in large part, the ability to establish novel connections. In fact, Steve Jobs said that “creativity is simply connecting things.” That means that the new comes out of the old, seen in a different light. For this reason, creative inspiration is essential. However, the modern lifestyle often distances us from originality and plunges us into the hell of the same. Still, it is not unusual that after reading a great novel, creative energy flows like a tornado or that after watching an incredible movie, mental holes open up, inviting you to discover new ideas and possibilities. The same goes for museums, galleries or concerts. If you want to be more creative, you must feed yourself with new ideas and move in an environment rich in stimuli.
These types of creativity barriers are psychological obstacles that prevent us from expressing our full creative potential. These are often compounded by fear of failure, excessive self-criticism, and lack of confidence in one’s own abilities. Emotions like fear can paralyze creativity while certain thinking heuristics derail it.
To overcome these barriers, it is crucial to develop a more open mindset and accept that error is a natural part of the creative process, learning to flow and enjoy it. As Leo Burnett wrote: “Curiosity about life in all its aspects continues to be the secret of the most creative people.”
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