3 Ways to Overcome fear of Creativity

February 22, 2017
By Beth Herrild

Just engaging in the creative process is good for your brain and can actually make you happier! But, darn it, it can be scary! Next time you sit down to do something you deem creative, try to let go of the outcome and enjoy the process knowing it is never time wasted. Here are three strategies to help you begin to move past that fear.

•Julia Cameron, author of the best-selling book, The Artist’s Way, advises people to go on an artist date once per week to spark imagination and whimsy! They don’t have to be strictly arty in nature. An artist date could be giving yourself permission to walk through a retail store that you find particularly visually stimulating, going on a walk in nature or looking through magazines for an hour. The idea is just to let things you see spark your imagination – even if you never do anything else with those sparks, you are still building your creative muscles!

•Next time you have a problem to solve try listing all of the conventional ways people solve it and then come up with 3 new ways (no wrong answers here.)Many of the technological innovations in our country have come from taking a solution from another situation or industry and applying it in unexpected ways. When you do this, in addition to solving a problem, you are being creative and feeding your brain. The more you do this, the more confident you will become in your creativity!

We also recommend:
•Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
•Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius”
•Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”