Understanding Creative Resistance: Why Our Negative Thoughts Aren’t Always What They Seem
As a creative person, no doubt you’re familiar with your own finely honed versions of classic statements of self-doubt like: “Who do I think I am, I have no talent”, and “I have nothing valuable to say”.
We all have our personal “favourites”, that ironically seem to actually increase in volume and rise up more strongly when we’re being MORE creative and productive.
These thoughts and phrases that clatter around our consciousness appear at first glance to be nothing other than entirely negative. But with a little deeper investigation we can see they may actually be motivated by a positive intention.
A core belief of coaching is that behind every thought and action there is a positive intention. Every thought and action can be traced back to some positive need or aim.
Here are some of the most common negative thoughts around creativity and some examples of what the positive intentions behind them may be.
Negative thoughts and positive intentions
1. Negative Thought: “Who do I think I am? I have no talent.”
Positive Intention: “I’m scared of trying new projects because I might not be as good as I thought. I’m trying to protect myself from disappointment. Or I might be far better than I thought! What would happen THEN? I’m just trying to protect myself from being scared and
overwhelmed.”
2. Negative Thought: “I’m fickle and undisciplined, I can never make a choice and commit to and start work on a project.”
Positive Intention: “I’m scared of choosing the wrong project and wasting weeks or months of time. I want to be as creative as possible and create the greatest work I’m capable of. I want to choose the right project so I can honour my creative potential as fully as possible.”
3. Negative Thought: “I don’t have enough experience. It’s too late to learn and develop more now, I should’ve started years ago.”
Positive Intention: “If I don’t start anything then I can’t fail at anything. I’m protecting myself from that possible disappointment.”
4. Negative Thought: “I have nothing valuable to say or contribute with my creative work.”
Positive Intention: “What if people love my work and want to see more? I’ll have to produce more and more and won’t be able to keep up with the demand and feel totally overwhelmed. I’m just protecting myself from the stress that might bring.”
5. Negative Thought: “No-one will want to see/hear/experience my work, what’s the point of me submitting any to people who can bring me to a wider audience?”
Positive Intention: “If I don’t offer any of my work I can’t be told it’s not what they’re looking for. I’m saving myself the pain of rejection. Or what if people love my work. Then they’ll ask for more, I won’t be able to just create to order and the pressure will cause me to stop creating altogether. I’m protecting my creativity this way.”
Notice any common themes?
As you can see, there are some common patterns that many negative thoughts can be traced back to, mainly motivated by protecting ourselves from pain, rejection and stress.
What’s also common to these is that they’re all possible future situations that may never happen anyway.
Try some gentle inquiry on one or two of your own negative thoughts and uncover the positive motive behind them. Notice any familiar patterns and themes that develop.
Once you gain a better understanding of your resistance you’ll be able to know better what you’re working with and begin to find ways you can accept its presence and STILL be consistently creative.
One final comment: Remember that creative resistance is totally naturally and experienced by EVERYONE who creates. And it’s true that often the closer we get to the work that’s most important to us, the stronger the resistance seems. So don’t feel you’re alone or some
kind of freak!
Acknowledging this resistance and understanding the part it plays in our creative lives is the first step to overcoming it. What are you going to do today to begin to understand yours?
:: Share Your Experience ::
What kind of creative resistance do you experience in your mind? Which of the above examples do you most relate to? How can you use this idea to understand the intention behind your resistance in a deeper way?
I'd love to hear your comments, just click on the comments link below.
We all have our personal “favourites”, that ironically seem to actually increase in volume and rise up more strongly when we’re being MORE creative and productive.
These thoughts and phrases that clatter around our consciousness appear at first glance to be nothing other than entirely negative. But with a little deeper investigation we can see they may actually be motivated by a positive intention.
A core belief of coaching is that behind every thought and action there is a positive intention. Every thought and action can be traced back to some positive need or aim.
Here are some of the most common negative thoughts around creativity and some examples of what the positive intentions behind them may be.
Negative thoughts and positive intentions
1. Negative Thought: “Who do I think I am? I have no talent.”
Positive Intention: “I’m scared of trying new projects because I might not be as good as I thought. I’m trying to protect myself from disappointment. Or I might be far better than I thought! What would happen THEN? I’m just trying to protect myself from being scared and
overwhelmed.”
2. Negative Thought: “I’m fickle and undisciplined, I can never make a choice and commit to and start work on a project.”
Positive Intention: “I’m scared of choosing the wrong project and wasting weeks or months of time. I want to be as creative as possible and create the greatest work I’m capable of. I want to choose the right project so I can honour my creative potential as fully as possible.”
3. Negative Thought: “I don’t have enough experience. It’s too late to learn and develop more now, I should’ve started years ago.”
Positive Intention: “If I don’t start anything then I can’t fail at anything. I’m protecting myself from that possible disappointment.”
4. Negative Thought: “I have nothing valuable to say or contribute with my creative work.”
Positive Intention: “What if people love my work and want to see more? I’ll have to produce more and more and won’t be able to keep up with the demand and feel totally overwhelmed. I’m just protecting myself from the stress that might bring.”
5. Negative Thought: “No-one will want to see/hear/experience my work, what’s the point of me submitting any to people who can bring me to a wider audience?”
Positive Intention: “If I don’t offer any of my work I can’t be told it’s not what they’re looking for. I’m saving myself the pain of rejection. Or what if people love my work. Then they’ll ask for more, I won’t be able to just create to order and the pressure will cause me to stop creating altogether. I’m protecting my creativity this way.”
Notice any common themes?
As you can see, there are some common patterns that many negative thoughts can be traced back to, mainly motivated by protecting ourselves from pain, rejection and stress.
What’s also common to these is that they’re all possible future situations that may never happen anyway.
Try some gentle inquiry on one or two of your own negative thoughts and uncover the positive motive behind them. Notice any familiar patterns and themes that develop.
Once you gain a better understanding of your resistance you’ll be able to know better what you’re working with and begin to find ways you can accept its presence and STILL be consistently creative.
One final comment: Remember that creative resistance is totally naturally and experienced by EVERYONE who creates. And it’s true that often the closer we get to the work that’s most important to us, the stronger the resistance seems. So don’t feel you’re alone or some
kind of freak!
Acknowledging this resistance and understanding the part it plays in our creative lives is the first step to overcoming it. What are you going to do today to begin to understand yours?
:: Share Your Experience ::
What kind of creative resistance do you experience in your mind? Which of the above examples do you most relate to? How can you use this idea to understand the intention behind your resistance in a deeper way?
I'd love to hear your comments, just click on the comments link below.
posted by Dan at 6:33 PM
As a Creativity Coach I work with people who are frustrated that their creative talents are underused. 
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