How to overcome creative’s block and pursue our goals? – Interview with Dom Kepska, Managing Owner of Intermedia Global Team (website design and website creator services), based in the UK.
What blocks us from pursuing and achieving our goals?
First of all we often don’t feel ready yet.
A common belief is that you aren’t ready to pursue a career you aim at. You expect a “right moment” to come, but the truth is you should start achieving your goal as soon as possible because any time is a good time.
We don’t believe in our talent and/or competence.
It is important to remember that believing in our talent and skills does not make us conceited. Always remind yourself what your strongest assets are. If you need to visualize them, make a list! Enumerating your talents makes you aware of them and thus increases your confidence and motivation.
We’re scared of failure, criticism and rejection.
Do not be scared of failing. Failure is natural and success is impossible without making mistakes on your way and learning from them. Do not be discouraged by your failures and try to identify what you’ve done wrong instead so that the next time you won’t fail.
Realize that you can be your own worst enemy. Not the work.
Have you ever sat looking at a blank text document, page, or canvas and wondered how you ever managed to start new projects in the past?
Of course. It happened to me on many occasions. And for a creative professional a creative block isn’t just frustrating — it’s potentially career-damaging. When you rely on your creativity to pay the bills and build your reputation, you can’t afford to be short of ideas or the energy to put them into action.
What to do when you get stuck?
To understand how to get past creative block, we must first know the causes. It is very important to identify the root cause of the problem – what is really stopping you from your work? Very often we get stuck because of our personal problems, such as fallout with a friend or a partner, not mentioning more serious issues. However the most common causes include self doubt, lack of motivation and pressure. You’ve been hired to create something of value. That’s a lot of pressure but on the plus side, you’ve been hired to create something of value. That is a terrific thing. Rather than thinking of all the pressure, focus on the opportunity you have. As for the motivation side of thing, try to start your day tough. First thing in your day, whether that be at a job or after you’ve got up and you’re ready for the day, start with the harder work and move onto easier tasks as the day goes on. You have more energy in the morning to tackle harder tasks so it makes sense to start with them.
As you go through the day, your work will get easier and you’ll feel better for it. You’ll be reducing the chance of struggling with creative block at the end the day (which is a more difficult time to deal with it anyway) as well as being less likely to carry any frustration through to the next morning.
Think of it like climbing a mountain. Getting to the top is tough but the view at the summit is worth it and you have the much easier task of walking down on your way back.
What works for you? How do you deal with it?
One of the ways that work for me is setting myself a routine. To avoid the ‘I have no inspiration’ problem is to work without inspiration. I keep working hard even when I don’t feel like it . This proved to be a good way for me to push past the struggle of not being able to begin. Also, changing the scenery for a bit is always a good idea. You may find you need a change of pace to awaken your inspiration. Heading out to a park, a drop-in work space or a café can shake up your thinking and inspire new ideas and a renewed vigour for working. Then again, if you are an artist you may need a more dramatic change, such as exploring and immersing yourself in new cultures.
Lastly: I tend to daydream. You can direct your own daydreaming by thinking through different scenarios or possibilities for a project you’re working on, or imagining you’re someone else and thinking about how they see the world.
Thank you for a chat.
My pleasure.
To get in touch with Dom – visit www.intermediaglobalteam.com
