Overcoming the Speed Bumps to Your Creativity

Don’t you just hate it when you are in a hurry to get somewhere and you turn down a street loaded with speed bumps. Well, there are a couple of speed bumps that can get in the way when you are trying to unleash your creativity. They can be overcome, but you need to know what to look for other than the yellow stripes on the blacktop.

The Comfort Zone – Easy Street
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The first speed bump has a real fancy name, “Homeostasis.” This simply means trying to stay constant, working to keep things consistent and familiar. You may have heard the phrase, “We’ve always done it this way.” Sticking with the status quo is the easy street that most people like living on because it doesn’t require and learning or overcoming any challenges. You just keep doing the same things over and over. Obviously, this will not get you far down the road of success.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

You can overcome this speed bump by recognizing you have a natural tendency to drift toward your comfort zone. Once you see it in yourself, you will also begin to see it in most of the people around you. Then, make a quick turn onto another street by making the conscious effort to do something different and out of the ordinary. Monitor yourself and make sure you don’t spend too much time on easy street and you are on your way to overcoming the first speed bump.

Creative people have open minds. That’s not to say they let just anything run amuck in there, but they are willing to listen carefully and patiently, without judging or jumping to conclusions before making up there minds about something. This makes it easier for them to learn new things and adopt new ways of doing things. Put this to use in your own life each time you need to turn away from your comfort zone.

The School Of Hard Knocks
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The second speed bump to overcome is fear. In the movie Dune, the hero of the story repeats a phrase which includes the statement that “fear is the mind killer.” Have you ever heard of anyone being frozen with fear? We spend so much time conditioning ourselves to believe that it’s worse than dying if we are discovered to have been wrong about something, that often we freeze and do nothing for fear of doing the wrong thing. It’s probably a safe bet that 80% or more of adults worry so much about being wrong that they choose to do nothing or just keep doing the same old things rather than try to improve any thing in their life. Procrastination, doubt, indecision, excuses for delaying, and that wonderful paralysis by analysis are all symptoms of this fear of failure.

How Can I Put This To Use Today
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Start by admitting that you have a normal tendency to drift toward your comfort zone and that there is nothing wrong with that. But, keep in mind that the road to success is not crowded and easy street (the comfort zone) is packed.

Then, forget about making mistakes. Focus on your actions. Keep yourself moving in a positive direction and don’t cruise your comfort zone for too long at any one time. Besides, most people are wrong most of the time. The differences can be found with those people who choose to change their actions and try driving on a different street for a while. As Nike has said, “Just do it!”

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