How To Stop Undermining Your Creativity

There are many ways you’re sabotaging your creativity and preventing yourself from being as naturally creative as you can be. Here are 5 of the most common and destructive self-sabotage techniques, and how to avoid them:

1. You create as if it’s an obligation, not a privilege and a pleasure. Do you view your creative work like clocking in for a day job you really hate? Be honest with yourself.

   It can be easy to get caught in this “daily grind” attitude, so try to stay aware of what a privilege it is to be as creative as you are. Remember too that creating is a form of pleasure, enjoyment, freedom. If you start to lose touch of this, start a small new creative project purely for enjoyment, and without any expectation of an “end product”.

2. You’re afraid of copying others. A common fear, and a reason why we don’t try creating in a wider range of ways, is because we don’t want to copy other artists. It’s completely understandable that you want be an original unique artist.

   But don’t let this get to the point where you're afraid of creating ANYTHING, just in case it’s a bit like something you’ve already seen. One of the best ways of developing your creativity is to study your creative heroes and see how they created what they created. The wider the range of artists' styles you study and experiment with, the more enriched and individual your own style will become.

3. You don’t acknowledge your creative strengths. Each of us has our own unique set of creative strengths. The problem is because we live with ourselves day in and day out, we lose all objectivity and take our strengths for granted.

   Take the time to stop and list all of your creative strengths and positive attributes. Then think about all of the creative strengths a close friend of yours would list if they were asked. The more you acknowledge your strengths, the more you’ll make use of them.
4. You constantly compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own talents and abilities; each of us is unique. Problems arise when you constantly compare yourself to other people, wishing you could be as creative and talented as they are.

   Well, guess what? There are other people who if they knew about all of YOUR creative talents would do exactly the same thing, wishing THEY were as creative and talented as you are. Learn to recognize and make the most of your unique strengths, and be proud of the ways you create.

5. You’ve forgotten why you create. When you get caught up in the struggles of creating, it’s easy to forget all the reasons you create in the first place. So it’s of great value to take the time to get back in touch with these deeper meanings.

   A great way to do this is to recall a time when you were very creative. Take yourself back into that experience as fully as you can and think about what you were seeing and hearing around you, and how you were feeling inside. The more you do this, the more easily you’ll remember why you create and be able to get back in touch with these good feelings again.