5 Things That Are Blocking Your Creative Thinking

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re trying to sort out a problem in your business, work on a special SEO project in West Palm Beach, or come up with interesting content for your audience but you’ve got nothing in mind? And, no matter how hard you try, you just couldn’t think clearly and move forward?

Well, you’re not alone.

People from all walks of life experience some form of mental block, and not just writers. Many individuals encounter feeling overwhelmed to the point that they don’t know where to start, while some feel like they’ll never complete a task at hand and just give up.

Why does this happen?

According to Dr. Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist and researcher turned writer, mental block is one of the symptoms of mental fatigue. It happens when your brain is exposed to prolonged cognitive activity, and this sends it into overdrive, leaving you drained. Thus, affecting your ability to learn, think, remember, or make a decision.

So, what do you do when you experience a mental block and can’t seem to push yourself to start writing an article or finish a special project at work?

Well, having written thousands of articles for our clients from various industries, we’ve had our fair share of mental blocks and mental fatigues. But, we managed to overcome them by identifying the causes of our mental collapse and finding ways to conquer them.

In this article, we’ll share the top five culprits that are blocking your creative thinking, and how you can overcome them. This isn’t only applicable for writers, marketers, or business owners - anybody who’s reading this can definitely benefit from the tips we’re about to provide.

What Are the 5 Things That Are Blocking Your Creative Thinking?

1. Thinking That There’s a “Right” Answer

In school, you were taught a certain way how to solve math problems, memorize equations, and focus on getting the correct answer.

In the real world, however, there’s no such thing as the “right” answer or a “correct” way of doing things. Having this kind of mindset only hurts your creative thinking. It forces you to focus on a single path, therefore stopping you from exploring other ways that are more efficient and produce better results.  

Different people have different personalities and working styles. So, don’t pressure yourself to do exactly how others are tackling their problems. Experiment so you can figure out what works best for you.

Avoid thinking that there’s a correct way to write, developing content, or running a business. Allow yourself to do some research and explore. Collect best practices that you think will work for you and apply them. If they’re not effective, then do some more research until you find a system that you’re comfortable with.

2. Being Too Practical  

Being practical is good because it means that you like maintaining a logical order of tasks. It’s easier for you to adapt to certain situations, you only take calculated risks, and you don’t easily get hurt when things don’t turn out the way you want them to.

However, being too practical can hold you back and stop you from thinking creatively. It can rob you of your joy, stop you from growing, make you forget that you’re capable, and just limit you in general.

When it comes to writing, being practical is good in the sense that you always follow best SEO practices in West Palm Beach and always take caution with the information you’re providing your audience. But, being too practical may limit you from exploring other possible angles of how you should approach a certain topic.

In business, being too practical might stop you from growing because you’re too afraid to make a huge change or take a big risk.

3. Saying “No” to Tasks

Do you know what’s great about working for a small company? Being exposed to different kinds of tasks.

It allows you to learn new skills, develop existing ones, and expand your knowledge. It helps you grow not just professionally, but also as a person.

This is why it’s so important to have a “can-do” attitude in life - not just in work. When you’re faced with a daunting or unfamiliar task in your writing career or while running your business, don’t say that “you don’t know”, “that’s not my job” or “we don’t do that”.  

Saying “no” before you even try to do a task and making assumptions about it can leave you indisposed or disinclined to start or finish a task. And, being uninspired stops your creative thinking.

What you should do instead is to try. Try to come up with the product specification that your customers are suggesting, it might just become the next big thing in your industry. Try to write about a new topic even if you don’t specialize in that area. It will not only expand your knowledge, but also increase your skills and ability to be creative.

4. Being Afraid of Making Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable. They’re a part of life. As long as you’re alive, you will continue to make mistakes.

However, the wonderful thing about making mistakes is that you also get to learn - not just practical lessons, but also invaluable ones.

People hate being wrong, but not everyone. Smart individuals know how to own up to their mistakes and learn from them. Take Thomas Edison, for instance. He tried more than a thousand times before he finally got making the light bulb right. If Edison was afraid to make mistakes, light bulbs would probably be non-existent today.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes when running your business, doing a task at work, or writing. Of course, you still need to follow rules, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make any room for mistakes.

Being afraid paralyzes you - not just your creative thinking, but also your ability to do things, resulting in a mental block.

If you feel anxious about making mistakes, ask yourself this: “What’s the worse that could happen if I’m wrong?”

5. Trying to Tackle Everything at Once

When you’re faced with a daunting or unfamiliar task, it helps if you break your task down into smaller, more manageable assignments. Don’t try to tackle everything at once because things may get overwhelming for you and cause you to have a mental block.

By setting priorities and writing down your to-dos, you’ll feel less intimated and stressed, and you won’t have to feel like procrastinating.

Here are some tips on how to break a task down, whether it’s related to writing, running a business, or promoting your business online:

• Define your goals. What is it that you want to accomplish? Or what does the project or task require you to attain?
• Figure out the different parts of your task and plot a step-by-step procedure of what you need to do.
• Decide on the logical order of completing your smaller assignments. What should you prioritize?
• Create a timeline so you can focus on completing each task.
• Insert each task into your schedule, so you can make time for it.
• Make allowance by completing your task early. This will give you extra time to review or edit your work.

Looking for SEO in West Palm Beach?

Whether you’re a marketer who’s stuck finding a new way to promote your client’s business online, a content marketing specialist running out of ideas what to write, or a business owner who doesn’t know how to tackle a situation, just know that there are different ways to overcome your mental block.

Try out the tips we shared above whenever you can’t think creatively and see if it works for you too.

At Digital Resource, one of our strongest suits is writing expertly written content for our clients. We will not only put you ahead of the competition, but we'llalso put you on top of the search results through effective SEO in West Palm Beach. Contact us today to get started!