It’s no wonder why adult coloring books have become wildly popular. Exploring and indulging in creative endeavors is one of the best ways for busy moms to reduce stress and enjoy life more.
Doing creative things helps to melt away your worry as you allow yourself to just be joyous and have fun. Creativity is truly a gift. Unfortunately, few of us use it to the best of our ability.
Humans are creative by nature. Our ancestors wouldn’t have survived without creativity. You are creative, even if you haven’t experienced it yet. One of the biggest obstacles to creativity is the belief that you’re not creative!
Creativity is a very personal process. Anything produced via your creativity almost feels like it was born from you. It’s common for us to be apprehensive when sharing something so personal. Truth is, bravery alone can allow you to be more creative. Just having the courage to create something and share it with your family, friends, or the world is a big accomplishment.
If you’re looking to be more creative – as a way to stress-less or spend more time with your kids – keep reading for some ways to enhance your creativity by avoiding these nine common obstacles.
Here are the nine biggest obstacles to your creativity:
1. Distractions are the biggest obstacles to any creative process.
If you want to focus on just one tip, this is the one. There are two ways to deal with distractions: eliminate them or improve your ability to focus despite them. A two-pronged approach is best.
* Remove as many distractions from your work area as possible. It’s possible to improve your ability to ignore distractions with practice.
2. A lack of purpose.
Be clear on what you’re attempting to create. Have a clear vision and a purpose. Be targeted in your approach.
3. A lack of practice.
You get better at being creative through practice. You can’t expect to be highly creative if you haven’t created anything in the last five years. Stretch your creative muscles on a regular basis.
4. Negative self-talk.
This leads to a fear of failure and procrastination. When you doubt yourself, your creativity is compromised. Replace your negative self-talk with something more positive. You can also ignore the negative things you say to yourself and press on.
5. A lack of sleep or nutrition.
You might find your creativity enhanced when you’re comfortably tired or have an empty stomach. In most cases, the opposite is true. Get enough sleep and eat properly if you want your creativity powers at full power.
6. The need to be perfect.
Creating is ugly. Most ideas don’t work and aren’t even remotely useful. That’s okay. The first draft of anything is usually not the best, whether you’re writing a novel, painting a picture, or developing a business strategy. The need to be perfect is an excuse to procrastinate. Worry about perfecting your idea in the future. Now isn’t the time.
7. Expecting creation to be easy.
If you can consistently create something valuable, you can count yourself among the richest people in the world. Creation is hard work, and there’s a lot of failure along the way. Expect the process to be challenging and you’ll rarely be disappointed. Embrace the challenge and push yourself.
8. Being too practical.
The best ideas often require outside-the-box thinking. Avoid being too practical at the beginning of the creative process. Dare to be outrageous and consider a few offbeat ideas.
* The most creative people in history were ridiculed and considered “crackpots.”
9. Doubting your ability to be creative.
Everyone is more creative than they’ll ever need to be. Some are more aware of this fact than others. If you label yourself as lacking creativity, your ability to be creative is severely compromised. You’re already creative, but you need to believe it to make the most of it.
Avoiding these common obstacles will help to unleash the creativity that resides inside of you.
You are creative because you are human. To deny your creativity is to deny part of what makes you a human being. Unleash your creativity on the world and surprise yourself in the process.
You’ll be amazed by what you can do.?
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I want to hear from you!
In what ways do you nurture your creativity? Please join the discussion in the comments section below.
Comments 24
I have two kinds of creative – pure (art) and fun (crafts, sewing). For art, I have to be in a zone without a lot of problems, distractions, and not too busy schedule, the “quiet” nurtures my creativity. I haven’t had that kind of quiet in a while! For crafts, I mostly need blocks of time. I’ve been working on a few things and trying to do them a little at a time, not as effective, but better than nothing. I nurture my crafty creative side by getting ideas from Pinterest, magazines, craft books, and then come up with my own ideas.
My biggest creativity obstacle is number one on your list! I am way too easily distracted! I will be in my office on the computer searching for something, get up to get a cup of coffee and while I’m in the kitchen my cats are letting me know they need fed, watered, whatever… so I’ll go to the bathroom to get a can of cat food. While I’m in there I realize I need to do “the laundry thing” (throw the clothes from the washer into the dryer and put a new load in). So I put the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer and head to my bedroom to get another load of clothes…. Oh, That needs dusted, on and on and on and on and on! Usually ending up going back to my desk, sitting down and realizing I DON’T HAVE ANY COFFEE! Which was what I got up to do in the first place!
I have to work on SEVERAL things on this list. I am guilty of the majority of them. These 9 points make so much sense. Great article.
Great list — the doubting part sometimes keeps me from trying something new but I am working on it.
I can attest to wanting everything to be perfect. It is so hard to just let my creative energy flow without trying to perfect every little detail. But, when I do I feel so relaxed and calm.
You definitely have to practice. I do it all the time. It makes a huge difference.
Negative self talk is a biggie for me. I don’t have enough confidence in myself. Thank you for sharing this great article. I love crafts
This was eye-opening! I often just think “I’m not creative” and move on. Now I realize I’ve had some areas that have been blocking my creative juices from flowing. Thanks for enlightening me!
Thank you for your tips. I would love to learn to paint. I do know it takes practice to get better.
I had been wondering about why adult coloring books were soy popular now – I’ve seen them on several blogs
What a great list you’ve put up – Just what entrepreneurs use and it makes so much sense 🙂
As a blogger, I know all too well the things that have an impact on my creativity. Negative self-talk and doubting myself are probably two of the biggest, and I’ve learned I just have to push through when they set in. Also, when I’m functioning on too little sleep, I’m not really good for anyone, much less myself and tapping into my creative side. Thanks so much for your post! Such wonderful food for thought ..
Lack of sleep and distractions are huge issues for me. Not because I don’t want to sleep or want to be distracted. Moms are just juggling so much. I feel like I need 10 more hours in my day. Thanks for all of the reminders!
All 9 of these obstacles effect a lot of people with their goals. Serious creation is hard work but I think people think it is easy and I can see people getting frustrated with that process. But I think the number 1 creativity killer is the lack of practice, it will go down the drain if you dont stay consistent with the creative energy.
What a motivating blog post! I realized that each obstacle connects to accountability and being in control of our own creativity. My favorite is “negative self talk” I’m a firm believer in speaking things into existence and believing in my ability to succeed.
Great article. So true. We are sometimes our biggest enemies when it comes to creativity. Nothing like believing in yourself and being focus to be able to accomplish your goals and create new projects.
Great post. Sometimes I Feel like my creative block is the idea of the clean up. I always think about the mess that will occur. I need to stop thinking that way and let my creativity flow! Thanks for the inspiration.
My biggest distraction is house work, yard work, etc. I have to find that “ah-ha!” moment where I can be able to create content that gets someone to read it, as well as make money. This post I hope will help me get on track. Thank you for sharing this!
I totally agree, the sleep part is the one that everyone constantly overlooks.
As a deal blogger, I am constantly posting deals and get distracted! Great tips.
Ah, good ol’ distractions. As a mom of four small kids, I am constantly distracted. I have to wait until they are in the bed at night to get anything done or to be creative personally. We do have fun being creative as a family during the day, though!
The biggest obstacle to my creativity is actually my work. Ever since I went freelance as a copywriter/editor, I’ve had less time and energy to spend on my own projects. I haven’t picked up my camera in months and just posted my third blog post of the year yesterday 🙁
I am always dealing with lack of sleep. My fitbit is always telling me that I don’t sleep enough. I feel like I will more creative when I sleep enough. Great tips and I feel you!
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Getting enough sleep is a biggie that a lot of us struggle with.
Awesome blog entry. Thank you!