Creative Self-Sabotage: 9 Ways You Hold Your Creativity Back Without Realising
All of us who are creative experience writer’s block or creative block of some kind now and then.
It’s a constant challenge, but at least we know what it looks like, how it manifests itself, what it feels like and how we can combat its effects.
But there’s another even more dangerous kind of creative block.
One that we bring upon ourselves, often without even realising. It’s more subtle and devious than just sitting at a blank page not knowing what to write.
This type of creative block is more self induced, it’s a form of Creative Self-Sabotage. Without knowing it, we engage in many activities (and deliberately avoid others) that all contribute to us being less creative and finding creating more difficult.
Here are 9 of the most commons ways you engage in Creative Self-Sabotage and hold your creativity back, maybe without even knowing:
1. By keeping your creative identity secret. How many people know about your creative projects? Do you shout about your creative side proudly from the rooftops or hid it shamefully under your bed in a dark corner?
2. By maintaining an “I can’t afford it” attitude. Whatever creative equipment or supplies you need, saying "I can't afford it" shuts of the possibility in your head. Instead, say: "Creating is very important to me. What other ways are there of getting the equipment I need?"
3. By comparing yourself unfairly to others. How often do you see the creative work of famous writers and artists and think: "I'll never be that good so there's no point me trying to be. It’ll save me a lot of heartache if I give up now." The greatest thing any of us do is unleash our own unique creative talents and be the best WE can be.
4. By not prioritising time to just create. How much time each day do you set aside just to create? An hour? 20 minutes? 5 minutes? No time at all? However busy we are, we can ALL prioritise a small regular time slot each day to create.
5. By keeping time-wasting habits. Watching mindless TV, internet surfing and “research”, answering "urgent" emails, reorganising your stationary. These are just some of the ways we indulge in time-wasting habits rather than committing the time to creating something meaningful.
6. By never finishing a project. If you only ever get a short way into a project before you abandon it for the next great idea, over time you’ll build in your head a picture of someone who doesn’t see things through, or is not committed to their creativity. This can only slow your creativity down further.
7. By working "compulsory" overtime on a day job to avoid creating. Do you find yourself at your day job later each evening and earlier each morning? Then realise you’re saying to yourself: “When I have to work such long hours, it’s virtually impossible for me to find time to create”?
8. By supporting others at the expense of yourself. Supporting other people’s creativity is fantastic. But when you find you’re saying with resentment: "She's far more deserving and likely to succeed than me, my energy is better spent supporting someone with a chance of making an impact on the world”, it doesn’t serve anyone well, least of all yourself.
9. By not recording your ideas to give them a chance to grow. How many wonderful ideas have you let slip through the net and disappear forever because you didn’t note them down? The habit of recording ideas and letting them grow until we’re ready to return to them is incredibly powerful and valuable. It also gives us permission to have more ideas because we know they’ll be captured and not wasted.
How many of these subtle but dangerous forms of Creative Self-Sabotage do YOU recognise as having engaged yourself?
Raising your awareness and noticing when they creep up on you is the first step to reducing them, and as a result you’ll increase your creativity in both quality and quantity.
:: Share Your Experience ::
Which of these forms of Creative Self-Sabotage do you recognise? Which ones are most damaging to your creativity? How are you going to start to reduce their negative effect?
Share your comments and experiences by just clicking on the comments link below.
It’s a constant challenge, but at least we know what it looks like, how it manifests itself, what it feels like and how we can combat its effects.
But there’s another even more dangerous kind of creative block.
One that we bring upon ourselves, often without even realising. It’s more subtle and devious than just sitting at a blank page not knowing what to write.
This type of creative block is more self induced, it’s a form of Creative Self-Sabotage. Without knowing it, we engage in many activities (and deliberately avoid others) that all contribute to us being less creative and finding creating more difficult.
Here are 9 of the most commons ways you engage in Creative Self-Sabotage and hold your creativity back, maybe without even knowing:
1. By keeping your creative identity secret. How many people know about your creative projects? Do you shout about your creative side proudly from the rooftops or hid it shamefully under your bed in a dark corner?
2. By maintaining an “I can’t afford it” attitude. Whatever creative equipment or supplies you need, saying "I can't afford it" shuts of the possibility in your head. Instead, say: "Creating is very important to me. What other ways are there of getting the equipment I need?"
3. By comparing yourself unfairly to others. How often do you see the creative work of famous writers and artists and think: "I'll never be that good so there's no point me trying to be. It’ll save me a lot of heartache if I give up now." The greatest thing any of us do is unleash our own unique creative talents and be the best WE can be.
4. By not prioritising time to just create. How much time each day do you set aside just to create? An hour? 20 minutes? 5 minutes? No time at all? However busy we are, we can ALL prioritise a small regular time slot each day to create.
5. By keeping time-wasting habits. Watching mindless TV, internet surfing and “research”, answering "urgent" emails, reorganising your stationary. These are just some of the ways we indulge in time-wasting habits rather than committing the time to creating something meaningful.
6. By never finishing a project. If you only ever get a short way into a project before you abandon it for the next great idea, over time you’ll build in your head a picture of someone who doesn’t see things through, or is not committed to their creativity. This can only slow your creativity down further.
7. By working "compulsory" overtime on a day job to avoid creating. Do you find yourself at your day job later each evening and earlier each morning? Then realise you’re saying to yourself: “When I have to work such long hours, it’s virtually impossible for me to find time to create”?
8. By supporting others at the expense of yourself. Supporting other people’s creativity is fantastic. But when you find you’re saying with resentment: "She's far more deserving and likely to succeed than me, my energy is better spent supporting someone with a chance of making an impact on the world”, it doesn’t serve anyone well, least of all yourself.
9. By not recording your ideas to give them a chance to grow. How many wonderful ideas have you let slip through the net and disappear forever because you didn’t note them down? The habit of recording ideas and letting them grow until we’re ready to return to them is incredibly powerful and valuable. It also gives us permission to have more ideas because we know they’ll be captured and not wasted.
How many of these subtle but dangerous forms of Creative Self-Sabotage do YOU recognise as having engaged yourself?
Raising your awareness and noticing when they creep up on you is the first step to reducing them, and as a result you’ll increase your creativity in both quality and quantity.
:: Share Your Experience ::
Which of these forms of Creative Self-Sabotage do you recognise? Which ones are most damaging to your creativity? How are you going to start to reduce their negative effect?
Share your comments and experiences by just clicking on the comments link below.
posted by Dan at 12:24 PM
As a Creativity Coach I work with people who are frustrated that their creative talents are underused. 
1 Comments:
Alright, here is what I do. My art is saved for last as a "reward". First all the clothes must be washed, dishes cleaned and put away, pets walked, bed made, bills paid, house vacuumed, supplies organized, and until I feel that everything is truly taken care of...only then can I have "my time." I know it's my way of avoidance and why I would want to avoid being creative I'm not sure. Maybe it is a feeling of having to deserve or earn my creative time. Unfortunately this leaves me very little time at the end of the day!
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