Dr. Will Schutz, a prominent psychologist and pioneer of the human potential movement, believed that fear is the biggest block to creativity. Rather than creating something new, many of us are held back as we do our best to avoid the consequences of our fear.
5 comments:
This is such a great article that beautifully articulates barriers to creatively that I'm sure all of us have felt at some point.
Sure, learning to break down these walls is a huge part of growing as an artist. At the same time, I wish we could create an environment in our working lives where it's easier to take creative risks and experiment. It's so much easier in school to try new techniques and styles in our work, where any unsuccessful attempts won't have massive impacts on our careers. In the real world, why do we create for ourselves such rigid development structures where it is harder to go out on a limb, for fear a failure would mess of the entire process? How do we combat the paralysis that comes with perfectionism, when our bosses expect perfection? (And true, there's a certain level of mastery and professionalism needed to be taken seriously by employers and the public as a professional artist, but where exactly are we setting the bar for "mastery" vs. "legitimacy?") Why do we feed into a world where artists expect absolute perfection of other artists and tear down artists not attaining certain levels of mastery, instead of appreciating where a particular artist may be on their personal journey? And why don't we better train critics to appreciate the vulnerability of taking creative risks and how such innovations are integral to our art forms moving forward?
If our creativity and sustainability as artists depends on a free-flowing stream of creativity, perhaps we need to re-evaluate the structures within which we create. If we know these barriers to creativity exist, why don't we do more to create more environments where it's easier to take and expect creative risks?
This quote from the article greatly resonated with me: "Rather than anticipating problems, grapple with them." Throughout my entire life, I've always strived to do my best at anything I set my mind to - my standards are very high. However, I have definitely come across the feeling of paralysis, that leads to procrastination, due to my inability to just start attacking a problem, rather than fixating on it, and contemplating every aspect about it. Specifically, in drama school, our acting teachers often preach, "Just jump in there and do it. Say 'Yes, and.'" This mentality wields great power, because most people stutter before the brink of greatness, in fear of the unknown. In all, this article captures the essence of what it truly is to throw caution to the wind, and just do. Do as if there are no repercussions, and as if no one has ever told you that you can't, or are not good enough. We are only here for a short time. Why spend our days preparing? I much prefer living.
Wow, this article was very accurate for me. While I feel I do have some of these fears handled, others, namely "Fear of the first Step" are ones that I struggle greatly with at times. It is interesting to hear articulated how much some of our deepest fears stem from societal exceptions, not our own inner concerns. Certainly at times, I have sometimes stifled creative suggestions for fear of being ridiculed by others. At CMU, we are lucky that creativity is rarely stifled and consistently encouraged, but unfortunately that is clearly not a universally held attitude. Certainly, when it comes down to it, my worst procrastinations stem from a various type of fear about a certain project. I definitely procrastinate on certain items by working on lower priority tasks. Secretly, I think it mainly goes back to my fear of getting started on daunting tasks. Perhaps now that this article has so eloquently pointed out some important considerations, maybe I will not be so hesitant to address them in the future.
This is so important.
I would have really gained a lot from this article during my first semester here at CMU, when I was feeling very out of place in a class full of talented designers. It is honestly so hard to get over some of these fears, particularly fear that I was not a creative person, of the unknown, of rejection, of failure, of judgment, and of being unworthy. This has been my greatest struggle since coming to this school and it's something I continue to work on. One of my teachers told me at the end of the semester that there is a creative person inside me, and that I just have to embrace it. No one had ever told me anything like that, so it's been really helpful in moving forward at this school. I am proud to say that I've made some pretty strong strides in these departments, particularly in the fear of rejection and judgment categories. It's something that I hope to continue to work on over the rest of my time as a DP.
I am cheesily (not sure if that is even a word but whatever) going to quote everyone’s favorite movie musical “Frozen” and respond with LET IT GOOOOOO! No mater what you are working on you just need to free yourself of everything and just go do and create. A lot of people, including myself, get lost inside their heads and the voices of all of the other people who surround them in their life. Just like learning to ride a bicycle or how to prepare and cook an omelet, being able to channel these distractions out is something that you will learn with tons of time and tons of practice. And once you feel that you have mastered the art of getting out of your own mind another issue and challenge will be brought to light. It just a never ending cycle. So in the end, don’t stress too much and just trust your gut.
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