The Barriers of creativity Principals are difficulty in perceiving distant relationships, the belief that fantasizing is a waste of time, relying too much on logic and reason, inability to do self-criticism and the fear of making mistakes.
Blockages or lack of ideas are phenomena that we all experience at some time or another. In fact, we have all been frustrated in facing a problem and not finding the solutions we want or need.
However, there are people who have a greater ability to generate alternatives and develop creative skills and people who have a hard time adopting this type of thinking.
Each person has different mental characteristics that can more or less predispose him to generate new trips or different points of view in different situations.
When a person overcomes these aspects with relative ease, very likely possess a very high creative capacity.
What is creativity?
Before reviewing the 10 main barriers of creativity it is important to know exactly what is meant by creativity and what implications this ability has.
The creativity Constitutes a cognitive ability characterized by generating original ideas and concepts, or novel associations between ideas and concepts known.
This aptitude is often vital for obtaining original solutions, that is, finding a different way of doing things or solving problems to those previously established.
In this way, creativity is considered a synonym of"original thinking""constructive imagination"or"divergent thinking".
This capacity is possessed by all people although some have a greater ability to generate creative thoughts than others. This fact is explained from the point of view of individual differences.
The way of being, thinking styles, learning, emotional functioning, Cognitive abilities And social and cultural factors, are involved in defining a person's creative abilities.
The barriers of creativity
The barriers of creativity are popularly known as blocks or blocks of creativity.
No matter how creative a person may be, there is no one who has never experienced a blockage or difficulty Develop creativity .
In fact, as the creator of the Blocks of Creativity strategy, Alvin L. Simberg postulates, the natural thinking type of human beings is not the creative type.
People have a high degree of socialization that influences our behavior and our cognitive style.
In this way, in order to integrate ourselves into society, we have to adopt a series of norms and Shared thoughts , A fact that contrasts with divergent thinking and creative ability.
However, at many moments we wish to make use of this capacity and this Different thinking style , Since it allows us to find a greater number of solutions, to have original thoughts and ideas of great value.
So when we want to make use of creativity, we need to save these barriers in order to avoid blocking.
In general, the blockages may be due to factors such as extreme rationalism, superficial approaches, lack of confidence, reduced motivation or poor ability to listen to others.
As we see, cognitive, perceptual, social, and emotional aspects are involved.
Below we review the 10 main barriers of creativity that prevent the appearance of this ability and cause the presence of blockages.
1- Difficulty isolating
Probably, this is the main barrier of creativity that prevents, from the beginning, the emergence of divergent thinking.
It deals with a perceptual barrier and lies in the analysis and evaluation of concepts.
The difficulty of isolating a problem from the problems with which it is related immediately generates a rigid thought in which the search for alternatives becomes very complicated.
This phenomenon can be associated with the popular expression"a tree does not let us see the forest"and often appears very frequently.
People organize the contents in our minds in an organized way, with categories and classifications that allow us to have a certain order about the concepts.
However, when we intend to use creative thinking, this way of perceiving the elements must disappear.
One must try to analyze the concepts separately without taking into account their related aspects, since the previously established relationship limits the ability to adopt other points of view.
2- Difficulty not investigating the obvious
People are accustomed to adopting a linear, everyday, and everyday style of thinking.
In this way, many things are taken for granted and it is not questioned the why or the more specific characteristics.
The chairs are used to sit because they have taught us this, so we have learned it and in this way it has been kept in our minds.
In this way, we will seldom question why chairs are seating or why they can not serve other functions or be used in a different way.
This aspect, like the previous one, creates a perceptual barrier to creativity.
Not questioning the most obvious things serves us to have an organized and well-established style of thought, an essential fact for the mental well-being of a person.
However, this same fact also limits our creative ability and eliminates the emergence of alternatives.
So, to adopt a style of creative thinking you have to start by questioning the most obvious and taking nothing for granted.
What is taken for granted refers to a style of organized thought but is antagonistic to creativity.
3- Difficulty in perceiving remote relationships
In order to put an end to perceptive barriers to creativity, we must take into account the difficulties of perceiving remote relationships.
Perceiving unlikely relationships refers to the ability to form or transfer concepts.
In fact, it is the knot of the whole learning process and means the ability to see a solution in one area and in addition to being able to see its application to other areas.
When we"look"for creativity, we believe that the pursuit of relationships and partnerships is vitally important.
And in fact, creativity lies in finding new ideas, original concepts and different associations between pre-established concepts and ideas.
However, we tend to associate similar or relatively related aspects, and it costs us much more to make relationships more remote or uncommon.
To develop creativity and prevent blockages from occurring, it is important to go further and relate separate concepts, unconnected ideas, aspects that we could hardly think could be related.
4- Believing that fantasizing is a waste of time
Often, the need to be creative appears in times of stress, hard work or need to find solutions quickly.
This fact already makes an added handicap for the development of this mental ability, since the creativity does not have established times of appearance.
In fact, you can not predict when an original idea will appear or when we will have novel solutions to a problem.
Thus, from a sociocultural point of view, the idea may arise that fantasizing is a waste of time.
The requirement, the productivity, the need to be effective can be very important enemies of creativity.
When we are prepared to acquire original thoughts, we must put aside time.
Speculation has always been the precursor of invention, most of the new inventions or products were at some point a simple desire or fantasy of someone.
To create it is important to fantasize, although this will involve a greater expenditure of time.
5 - Need to adapt to standards.
Continuing with the group of barriers of creativity encompassed in social and cultural aspects, the Need to adapt to standards .
As we saw at the beginning of the article, divergent thinking is not the way of thinking that people adopt in a natural way.
This fact is explained by the need that humans have to adapt to each other, and to establish common thoughts and concepts for all that allow us to coexist.
Thus, the style of thinking that allows us to integrate into society is the same that can limit the emergence of creativity.
When we want to adopt creative thinking, we have to put socially established norms or concepts aside.
If we present a high need to adapt to what has already been established we will have greater difficulties in establishing new ideas and concepts and creative capacity may be very limited.
6- Excessive faith in logic and reason
Although it may seem contradictory, having too much faith in logic and reason can create an important barrier to creativity.
Logic and reason are necessary concepts but are based on previously established aspects.
It is logical and rational that, prior to cooking macaroni, you have to heat water until it boils.
However, it was also logical and rational the idea that had been in previous centuries that could only fly machines that were lighter than air.
Science advances at great speed and there are more and more concepts that are demonstrated through irrefutable evidence.
However, today everything is not governed by science and although it must be done in a fairly equitable way, in order to approach creativity we often have to move slightly away from logic and reason.
7- Stick to the first idea that appears
With this we begin to count the group of emotional barriers of creativity, which can acquire greater importance than all discussed so far.
Clinging to the first idea that appears, is a need for self-affirmation, to believe that one is fast and effective, and that with a single thought has already found a magnificent solution.
And in fact, often the first idea may be the good one, however, staying in it is the worst barrier to creativity.
When we try to generate alternatives, we must acquire the notion that we must produce a lot of ideas.
This fact will not provide a greater number of alternatives and the very appearance of ideas can catapult other different thoughts.
It may turn out that when it is finished, the first idea turns out to be the best of all, but regardless of its qualities, we should never stop at it before generating many more.
8- Inability of self-criticism
If we are not able to criticize ourselves or see our own shortcomings, creativity will be in question.
Divergent thinking requires new conceptions of any aspect, but it also requires an evaluation of what is generated.
In order to be creative we have to see our weak points, accept mistakes and try to constantly overcome ourselves, otherwise we will fall into a monotonous and unmodified thinking.
9- Fear of being wrong
Faced with fear of error, people automatically adopt the most secure thoughts and provide us with Feelings of trust .
However, the Safety thoughts Are characterized by being socially accepted and, therefore, not being novel.
Many creative ideas do not flourish because they are afraid of criticism from other people.
A creative idea is in itself new for others, so it can always be criticized.
So to develop creativity you have to be able to save this fear and avoid thoughts of fear about the idea generated.
10- Constraints
Lack of will or attitude can be a powerful barrier to creativity.
If there is no curiosity, interest or motivation for what surrounds us, creativity will not take place.
Generally, creativity is a style of thinking that is linked to motivation and conviction. Apathetic or unmotivated thoughts are never creative.
References
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