The Biggest Killer of Creativity

Does the following sound familiar? You have an idea, and even before it’s fully formed, you realize it’s stupid. It’s lame, and won’t lead to anything, anyway… and with that, your brainstorming session is over. You hand your latest work to a teacher who points out all the problems—and suddenly, your initial excitement and enthusiasm have evaporated. You start working on some other creative project, and can’t stop judging it. You can’t stop your inner critic from berating everything about it. Not surprisingly, in each of these scenarios, your creativity suffers. It takes a nosedive. You get stuck. And your heart stops being in it. Because the biggest killer of creativity is criticism. A Negative Cycle One reason is that criticism catapults us into “a subtle form of fight or flight”—which we’re in often, because “so much of the focus of our culture is on fixing and giving us criticism to ‘make us better,’” according to Suzanne Kingsbury, a novelist, editor, and writing coach. She noted that when our amygdala goes into fight-or-flight mode—which is solely focused on survival—the area of the brain responsible for creativity and brainstorming new ideas actually shuts down, and we get stuck. Consequently, what often follows is a litany of critical thoughts: “I shouldn’t be blocked. What’s wrong with me? I am so bad at this. I never have any ideas. I am just not creative.” This inner critic, which Kingsbury calls the conditioned self, tri...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Creativity General Mental Health and Wellness Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Success & Achievement Brainstorming Creative Flow Creative Outlet Writer'S Block Source Type: blogs