Did you know that you judge ideas more harshly when you feel uncertain?
In this article, we explore some of the crippling blocks to creativity and five methods to overcome them.
What gets in your way?
Your fear of making mistakes or taking a risk is one of the most common emotional blocks to your creativity.
James L. Adams, the author of Conceptual Blockbusting, also lists “an inability to tolerate ambiguity and the overriding desire for order” as a block.
You can jump down this rabbit hole if you like 🐇 6 Emotional Barriers to Generating Ideas and How to Overcome Them
Here’s @JimAdamsSU again
You must usually wallow in misleading and ill-fitting data, hazy and difficult-to-test concepts, opinions, values, and other such untidy quantities.
When it comes to problem-solving, your ability to tolerate ambiguity is vital. This emergent idea space is where you make unexpected insights and new connections.
If you’re in a truly new space, you won’t always know the answer. Your team won’t either. You’re going to venture into the unknown together. Curiosity is a great way to lead that charge.
Negative Bias Towards Creative Ideas
Your inability to tolerate ambiguity also means you don’t appreciate a new idea when you see one.
A 2011 study by Jennifer Mueller whilst at the University of Pennsylvania, points to an underlying negative bias towards new ideas when we feel uncertainty.
Our results show that regardless of how open minded people are, when they feel motivated to reduce uncertainty either because they have an immediate goal of reducing uncertainty, or feel uncertain generally, this may bring negative associations with creativity to mind which result in lower evaluations of a creative idea.
When you attempt to reduce uncertainty, you are less receptive to promising ideas.
This negative bias compounds in scenarios that need your creativity. These scenarios are often periods of change or transition, which bring more ambiguity.
Phew, let’s rest here a while. How about some Calvin + Hobbes inspiration on getting in the creative mood?
Do some of these blocks resonate?
🔴 Fear of making mistakes
🔴 Inability to tolerate ambiguity
Let’s have a look at some methods to help overcome these challenges.
Five methods for overcoming common blocks to creative work.
1 ⟶ Write a Catastrophic Expectations Report
Keep it all in perspective by writing a report on the worst-case scenario. What is the worst that could happen? Analyse the details.
swap your analytical capability for your fear of failure — a good trade
2 ⟶ Create with others
Team up with trusted colleagues to create and share your ideas. Fears and uncertainty almost always reduce (or at least, fade) in a collective.
3 ⟶ Trust a process
Do you have a clear method to follow? We tend to tolerate more ambiguity when we know there are discrete phases. It is not going to be ambiguous forever.
4 ⟶ Activate feedback loops
The sooner you can jump into the iterative process of sharing, the sooner you increase your tolerance for ambiguity. Identify a trusted feedback buddy and talk about your ideas.
5 ⟶ Review Your Success Swipefile
Anchor your creative work in past success. Swipe through previous ideas, projects and periods of creativity that illustrate how you can overcome any fear or uncertainty. Bookmark those moments, note how you can reprise what worked.
Quick recap
⟶ You judge ideas more harshly when you feel uncertain
⟶ Fear of making mistakes is a common block to creativity
⚡️Write a Catastrophic Expectations Report
⚡️Create with others
⚡️Trust a process
⚡️Activate feedback loops
⚡️Review Your Success Swipefile
One final thought. This beautiful description from author @danijshapiro makes me smile, as it captures the challenge of doing, crafting and shipping creative work.
#antifragile
