You know the feeling. With all the uncertainties in the world today, the thing that takes the biggest hit is our mental creativity, right? 

There are deadlines, but your brain is frozen. You may be feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders and the only creativity you have is negative. You are watching businesses fail, people fall ill, and families in crisis and you are in fear. 

Do any of these creativity blockers resonate with you? Luckily, research has proven that we can get the traffic moving and train our brain to move past those roadblocks! 

Here are some common creativity roadblocks and 7 ways to train your brain to move past them and get on with the tasks at hand … by getting your creativity back!

1. You Fear Failure

Did you know the fear of failure is a form of perfectionism? If you fear failure (or are a perfectionist), you are less likely to take risks and put off starting a project if you don’t feel you can complete it successfully. This fear can cause us to miss out on many experiences and adventures that could help spark our creativity.

Psychology Today wrote an article on athletes recently which explains how they overcome the fear of failure and perfectionism.

2. Take a Break from Media (both Social and Televised)

According to a study done by the Cleveland Clinic, they came to the conclusion that it is good to stay in contact with those we don’t see on a regular basis, however, their study concluded that excessive use of social media can be a “slippery slope” for depression, loneliness, anxiety, and low self-esteem in some of the population. If you find any of these creeping up on you, it may be time for a social media “time-out”.

You can do this by allowing yourself no more than 30 minutes daily on social media (or watching the network news on television). If that doesn’t help alleviate your symptoms, try cutting all social media for a week. You be the judge of how much you can handle before those symptoms pop up.

3. Keep a Journal

According to Thrive Global, journaling can help with your creativity because journaling differs from task-oriented writing (such as writing your email newsletter or composing Tweets). Journaling allows your brain to go into a mind shift, which can help boost your creativity and your ability to come up with new ideas and solutions.

 4. Do Something Physical

Science has proven that physical activity will not only clear the cobwebs from your brain but also give you a creativity spike!

This short article, How Walking Can Improve Your Brain, gives some scientific facts on how walking will not only clear your mind and keep your body healthy but can increase your creativity as well.

Yoga and meditation can also be added to the days when you are overly stressed and have difficulty finding your creativity.

Did you know that there are some Chair Yoga positions that can be done right at your desk? Check out this short video on 5 Easy Chair Yoga Poses that can help get your creative juices flowing in no time.

5. There’s not enough time

Speaking of time….The ticking clock is another creativity killer. If you’re like most people (especially small business owners or entrepreneurs), your schedule is likely crammed, and you feel like you’ll never catch up. If your checklist keeps growing, you won’t be able to relax in the creative process and let the ideas flow.

A surprising way to find more time is to actually schedule some “chillout” time on your daily calendar. Prioritize some downtime to listen to music, meditate, or just sit quietly. You’ll feel much less stressed and open to the creative flow.

6. You’re still staring at the screen

Sitting at your desk, staring at the computer or the blank page is not a good way to get creative. If you’ve been trying to write or problem-solve and it’s just not happening, the best thing you can do is go for a walk or have a cup of your favorite beverage. Change the environment that’s keeping you stuck. Get up and move. Go outside, take in the scenery, and take a walk. This can help you to relax and disengage. I always get up and move when I get stuck writing a blog (like I did with this one). Music can also help get those creative juices flowing, too!

7. You’re feeling negative

Negative thinking can stop creativity in its tracks! If you’re sitting there thinking you can’t do something, that will throw up a mental roadblock and prevent you from moving forward and accomplishing the task. Remember the famous quote from Napoleon Hill?

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

~Napoleon Hill

CONCLUSION:

Start today by throwing out that negative self-talk. It is self-defeating. Instead, give yourself a pep talk. Tell yourself that you have done great work before and you will do it again. Then, sit back down and start writing down whatever pops into your head. That exercise will help you get the task started.