There’s a cup of coffee on a table, it seems to have gone cold ages ago. While the room is dimly lit, the bright light from the laptop screen breaks the monotony of the room. And right there, in front of that screen, on a chair is a person sitting and staring blankly at the empty document file open on the screen, wondering where to start.
Every creative person has come across scenarios where he or she feels saturated when it comes to fresh ideas. They’re unable to find the motivation to look at things differently or take inspiration from what’s going around them and create something unique and valuable.
This invisible barrier is called a Mental Block. No, it’s not a disorder to be diagnosed or medically treated. It happens to the best of us. But it could be overcome. How? Let the writer of this piece, from the best creative agency in Ahmedabad, tell you. Yes, we’re speaking from experience.
Remember why you started in the first place
That feeling of not being creative enough has prevented many artists, creators and writers from taking that plunge, of exploring that little idea, that thought nugget, which could be developed into a work of art. This is self-doubt at play.
Despite having numerous awards, recognitions, degrees and all that jazz, when self-doubt creeps in, it makes a person feel unqualified to do even the simplest tasks of the job. It affects his/her productivity and further stems the creative growth trajectory.
It could originate from that one rejection of an idea, a blunder or an error that may have been minor, but it makes one feel embarrassed and guilty. But, but… There’s a way out.
Sometimes, taking a walk back in the memory lane can rejig and remind us of the core idea behind everything we do. Why did you become a writer? What made you decide that you wanted to be a designer? What inspired you to take up teaching, accounting, athletics or whatever discipline you are into?
Being reminded of the original goals infuses fresh energy and a serotonin boost, to get up and pull up those sleeves to get started, take that first step.
Overcome those emotional roadblocks
It’s not always the professional challenges that stops someone from expressing their thoughts and ideas freely. Sometimes, certain incidents or situations on a personal front could be creating an emotional roadblock to the flow of creativity.
Having worked and interacted with many creative minds and being one of the best advertising agencies in Ahmedabad, we have come across scenarios where writers aren’t able to express themselves in their usual selves, the designers seem to get their senses wrong one that one particular day. It is only upon talking to them, we realised that one had a tiff with their wife in the morning, someone else found out about some disorder or disease they have, another person got scolded by their parents for something.
Yes, these incidents and scenarios affect a person emotionally and mentally. It can block out everything else around them and make them keep thinking about this one thing all the time. While there is no practical way out, given everyone has varying emotional bandwidth. Taking a break, to grieve, to procrastinate; or talking to a confidante about it, helps one feel better, lighter and safer. And that way, you’re able to find room to think about things other than this.
Be more flexible
While working on a project, sometimes you might feel like there is only one way to solve it. On your way to find that ‘right’ answer you fail to see any other options or alternatives. You start resisting considering those options without properly evaluating those alternatives.
Remember, flexibility comes hand in hand with creativity. So instead of trying to find the right answer, give yourself an assignment and spend enough time to fairly judge all other options. Take a break from being unique in every creative, and do a repetitive task in which you know you are good.
Just let your mind wander!
STOP Overthinking
When your inner critic is hyperactive and finds fault in every idea you have. You eventually stop yourself from trying any of your ideas. This means, your brain gets in the way of your creativity, and you’re overthinking everything. Making too many assumptions is restricting in discovering new innovative options or approaches to a problem or a specific situation. Be quick to discard any assumptions that are not based on solid facts or there isn’t sufficient proof to back these assumptions up.
To get out of overthinking, the first thing you have to do is get out of your head! Clear your mind by going out for a walk in the park, or by watching your favourite movie, or reading a book.
Don’t run away from risks, tackle them
Yes, we know it sounds a bit tough given the pickle you’re already in, but trust us, this is the best way out. Everyone fears making mistakes, failing at something and facing its consequences. But then that limits the scope of where your creativity takes you and how your intellect evolves.
Sidestepping a challenging scenario means you are undermining your capabilities. Instead, test them. It’s never a life and death situation (unless you’re held captive for ransom). If you’re able to overcome the challenge, you will revel in its success. And if you struggle in doing so, you will learn many lessons for the future.
Because it was this fear of facing those struggles that were blocking your mind from taking that plunge.
ALWAYS REMEMBER, these creative blocks are just a part of the creative process and of agency life. We hope these simple but mindful hacks from Flora Fountain, one of the best advertising agencies & creative agencies in Ahmedabad, come to rescue the next you run into a wall we call the creative block. And if that doesn’t work, just give us a call 🙂
The founder and partner of Flora Fountain, Shefali leads the Content and Technology divisions. A one-time engineer who started her career writing front-end code, she took a detour sometime during her 9 years in New York, studied journalism and started writing prose, poetry and sometimes jokes. She now has 15...