Creativity has become a genuine business mantra of our times. It seems like every organization is talking about inspiration and “out of the box” thinking, but only a few organizations create preconditions for novelties. Studies prove that creativity is experiencing a downfall.
Before the 1990s, the American education system cultivated, inspired, and encouraged students. However, schools have turned to rote lecturing since then to improve children’s exam scores and test-taking skills. Given the circumstances, it is no wonder that 75% of people think they are not living up to their creative potential.
A lack of creativity is becoming a huge problem, but why is that so?
It’s enough to define the concept to realize the threat. Creativity is the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with people, and entertaining ourselves and others.
This is a highly desirable trait, so you should develop and nurture it. In this post, we will show you 14 creativity killers that you should eliminate.
Suppressing Free Thinking
The first creativity killer on our list is also one of the most common reasons why people lose their creative edge. Most managers, clients, and colleagues suppress free thinking and force you to follow a well-known work pattern. In such circumstances, the only thing you can do is to make additional efforts on your own.
Make sure to complete all tasks according to the expectations of your supervisors and then go one step further – come up with a new idea, create an alternative product, or change the design. Do something unexpected and prove that free thinking is not the enemy of the business, but instead its valuable supplement.
Role Playing
Some individuals don’t choose their own personal and professional path. Instead, they play a particular role and do what other people expect them to do. It’s also known as the etiquette theory, which says there is a unique code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group.
In such circumstances, it is impossible to develop the best version of yourself and become truly creative. Our suggestion for you is to fight these norms and reject the role that doesn’t suit your personal preferences. It will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows, but at least you’ll be able to express your ideas fully.
Information Overload
Have you ever approached a problem so thoroughly that you couldn’t grasp its true essence? If you have, then you know how it feels to face the information overload. It’s just like drinking alcohol – it seems great at first, but too much of it will only make you sick.
Sometimes the easiest way to get out of the creative crisis is to stop analyzing things and start working. Don’t think about pros and cons, theories, and concepts – do your thing, and you’ll see a bunch of new ideas appearing out of nowhere.
Pessimism
Pessimism is a frequent mental condition of a modern-age individual. Jake Roswell, a psychology advisor at Resumes Planet, recently stated:
Pessimists develop a negative attitude toward every attempt to do something new and exciting. They don’t see a real purpose in things or activities, which eliminates even the smallest traces of inspiration.
If you feel like an average pessimist, try to embrace a more positive way of thinking. Start small and engage in simple projects to get the initial encouragement for future endeavors. You probably won’t discover the meaning of life this way, but you will at least break status quo and begin thinking creatively somewhere along the road.
Fear of Making Mistakes
A fear of making mistakes is often much stronger than dreams of success. Such emotions can only hold you down and stop you from making a creative breakthrough. But you need to get over this lack of confidence and forget about your ego. Always bear in mind that you will miss 100% of shots you don’t take.
Isolation
A man cannot function properly in the long run without a group of supportive friends and colleagues. However, it doesn’t mean you should spend your time in isolation and refuse to interact with other people. On the contrary, you need to learn that diversity generates alternative ideas.
There’s a significant neuroscientific basis for the link between openness to new experience and creative thinking. How can you think of something new if you keep hanging out with the same people day after day? Don’t be afraid of making friends. Use the experience to analyze different opinions and walk in these opinions’ shoes – it will enrich your personality and inspire you to try out alternative solutions.
No Positive Feedback
Social proof is an essential aspect of self-esteem in life and business. But if your boss or friends keep sending negative signals about your work, it’s hard to find enough courage to move on. This is a powerful creativity killer that you can overcome only by being persistent.
If you believe in yourself, no one will stop you from doing what you love. Remember Vincent van Gogh? Well, it turns out that the painter whose artworks now cost millions sold not more than one painting during his lifetime. But did it stop him from making almost 1,000 paintings? Certainly not!
Not Enough Time
The tempo of everyday living is so fast that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find enough time for yourself. You can hardly ever afford to spend an hour or two contemplating and brainstorming about life, which is the fundamental precondition of creativity.
We suggest you occasionally take a day off and spend it in solitude. Take a walk in the local park or go swimming. Do something to refresh both your body and your brain, and you’ll soon feel the waves of inspiration flooding your mind.
Succumb to Pressure
Some people recognize the road to success, but they succumb to pressure and fail to capitalize on this opportunity. The so-called performance anxiety is not rare among professionals in all fields. From sports and entertainment to meetings and public speeches, it seems like a lot of people experience panic attacks and lose creative edge somewhere down the road.
Your job is to minimize anticipation and forget about the outcome. Try to enjoy the process and focus on what you do the best. Every little task you complete will take you a step closer to the overall objective, while good ideas will begin popping up as soon as you let yourself go.
Comfort Zone
You’ve already made some big things in life but haven’t thought of anything special for a while now? In this case, you are probably too scared of leaving the comfort zone. It’s a place where you feel safe and cozy, but it doesn’t inspire you anymore.
The only way to find your long-lost creativity is to leave the comfort zone. Go beyond what you already know and give a chance to new concepts, feelings, and viewpoints. Don’t think of it as something sensational – check out some new things and see how it works.
You can always go back to safety in case it doesn’t suit you, but you will probably expand the boundaries and wake up your sleepy inspiration.
Apathy
Apathy is a behavior that shows no interest or energy and shows that someone is unwilling to act, especially over something important. It’s fundamentally a matter of attitude that doesn’t make you uncreative but rather unwilling to create. As the mental condition, you should deal with apathy by adopting a different mindset.
If you are lethargic because of previous failures, you should learn from your mistakes and move on. If you experienced an emotional loss, try to face it and get over it. In each case, you need to regain strength and set your mind free. Once you’re done with it, inspiration will be waiting.
Daily Routine
The state of apathy is closely related to the daily routine. The two elements augment each other and form a vicious circle of never-ending monotony. The only way to escape this routine is to change it.
You can start exercising or enroll in the art course. Learn a foreign language. Join a local choir. Do anything that will get you out of the well-known path. It will put your life in different perspective and make you more creative in the long run.
Don’t Doubt Expert Opinions
Creative people are not afraid of raising questions and doubting expert opinions. The worst thing that could happen to your creativity is to believe that everything valuable has already been invented. Don’t embrace this kind of attitude.
You should question the existing theories and look for alternative ways to solve problems. You won’t succeed every time - that is impossible - but you will come up with interesting ideas occasionally, and they will be more than enough keep you searching for more.
Evaluating While Creating
Inspiration is a sudden reaction to the present actions or information. As such, it doesn’t require immediate evaluation and analysis. For instance, the purpose of brainstorming is to speak your mind and let your thoughts fly around. You don’t have to judge it simultaneously.
Instead, you need to surrender to the feeling and let creativity do the job subconsciously. Write down everything that comes to your mind and leaves the analysis for later. It’s easy to reject ideas, but it’s much more challenging to create them.
Conclusion
You can probably hear a lot of people talking about the importance of creativity, but it seems that only a few do something to evoke inspiration. If you are struggling to find new ideas, you should try to deal with things that interfere with your creative thinking.
In this post, we showed you 14 creativity killers that you should eliminate. Don’t hesitate to use our tips, and feel free to leave a comment if you have other interesting suggestions to share with our readers!
P.S. Don't forget to have a look at out psychologist templates.
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