"The term is so familiar it feels like a law of nature: creativity simply dries up sometimes. But what if "creative blocks" aren't real? What if they're not mysterious interruptions in our inspiration, but signs of something else-fatigue, fear, emotional overload, or disconnection from meaning? When those underlying issues are addressed rather than repressed, creativity almost always returns. Believing that creative blocks are real only gives them power they don't deserve."
"Saying "I'm blocked" feels safer than admitting "I'm scared," "I'm exhausted," or "I feel lost." But by turning an internal issue into an external force, we hand away our power. Once we believe the problem lies with some invisible "block," we wait for it to lift, rather than asking what's actually happening inside us. We disconnect from curiosity-the very thing creativity depends on."
Creative blocks are often mischaracterized as external, mysterious forces when they are usually internal states such as fatigue, fear, emotional overload, or disconnection from meaning. Labeling the experience as a block externalizes responsibility and reduces curiosity, which creativity requires. Common causes include burnout, where the nervous system prioritizes protection over exploration, and fear of judgment or failure. Rest, nervous-system safety, and addressing underlying emotions reactivate imagination. Pushing harder typically worsens paralysis. Reframing perceived blocks as solvable psychological conditions restores agency and tends to return creative capacity.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]