A (almost) simple way to overcome creative block

There is already a consensus that everyone is creative, but despite this, not everyone knows—or wants—to take advantage of this extraordinary evolutionary asset. This is understandable because the creative process is like many Brazilian roads: rugged terrain, no signage, and full of pitfalls. One of the greatest difficulties we face is creative block, which, most of the time, is caused by a primal fear: the fear of being judged. This fear is not an individual flaw or defect, but a trait deeply ingrained in our genetic code. After all, living in groups forces us to care about others’ opinions to ensure social acceptance and, by extension, survival.

The genetic need to live in groups

Since the dawn of humanity, our survival has been closely tied to living in groups. Isolated, our ancestors would have been more vulnerable to predators, hunger, and other threats. This dependency on groups shaped our brains to prioritize social acceptance above almost everything. The fear of being rejected or excluded literally became a matter of life and death, and this still resonates in our modern behavior.

More than an evolutionary adaptation, this need to belong profoundly impacts our behavior. Even in situations where physical survival is not at risk, the fear of disagreeing with others—or worse, being excluded—can generate anxiety, inhibition, and, ultimately, stifle creativity.

Creative block and psychological iIssues

This fear of judgment naturally causes underlying psychological issues. If we must be in harmony with our social groups, any change in our behavior or thinking can feel like a sentence of immediate exclusion. A quote attributed to Freud, though not found in any of his studies, says, “People only change when the pain they feel is greater than the fear of change.” It may not be Freud’s, but it makes perfect sense and aptly explains this deep-seated difficulty of ours.

However, conversely, the creative process requires us to step out of comfort zones, explore the unknown, and challenge the dogmas imposed by our social groups. Our subconscious, shaped by evolution, genetics, and reinforced by social experiences, often vigorously tries to pull us back to what is known and safe, to the embrace of our peers.

Our brains seek comfort, often confusing it with well-being. If we observe closely, it becomes evident that people don’t want to be right; they want to be comfortable. Even when presented with solid arguments and irrefutable evidence, the reaction is often disbelief and, not rarely, hostility towards the messenger. Agreeing with the social group provides this illusionary comfort but directly interferes with our freedom to dare. To be creative, one must resist the temptation to seek only what is accepted or expected. It’s about stepping out of the bubble and taking risks. Who’s up for it?

What are you afraid of?

To reinforce, it’s important to make it clear that fear is a survival tool. It’s an emotion and, therefore, uncontrollable. It belongs to our automatic defense system. We don’t choose whether or not to be afraid. It simply manifests when our subconscious feels the need to warn us of a supposed danger. Learning to deal with it is all we can do, generally by facing it consistently and frequently, as Behaviorism preaches.

“Disruptophobia” takes center stage

We fear many things, but at the core of creative block lies a phenomenon I call “disruptophobia”: the fear of challenging the status quo, of creating something that may be perceived as different or new. This fear is deeply connected to our need for social acceptance and the psychological comfort we feel when following already established patterns, as mentioned earlier. Disruptophobia, therefore, acts as an internal barrier that prevents us from fully exploring our creative potential.

So far, I have identified four types of disruptophobia:

1. Social Disruptophobia – Fear of others’ judgment: This fear arises from worrying about what others will think of our ideas. We fear being excluded or rejected by our social groups if we are seen as different or as challenging established norms. This can lead to self-censorship, where we destroy promising ideas before even sharing them, even without any evidence that they would be accepted or rejected.
2. Narcissistic Disruptophobia – Fear of disappointing ourselves: This fear is related to our personal expectations. We avoid challenging our own abilities because we don’t want to deal with the possibility of failure or not living up to our standards. It’s the kind of disruptophobia that causes the creative process to be stifled by the fear of self-awareness.
3. Woke Disruptophobia – Fear of offending beliefs: This fear involves the concern that our ideas might offend some belief—our own or others’. For the subconscious, preserving standards and beliefs is crucial for maintaining psychological integrity, making it deeply uncomfortable to confront any idea that challenges these structures. This type of disruptophobia is associated with political correctness, a strong moralistic wave currently prevalent. The fear of being “canceled” on social media undermines boldness and subversion, elements essential for the creative process.
4. Primitive Disruptophobia – Fear of the new: Since ancient times, the unknown has provoked discomfort. Any new information or idea that challenges what we already know can be seen as a threat. This fear is rooted in our evolution, where the new often represented danger to our integrity. But what is creativity if not the celebration of the new?

A master of disguises

As our subconscious is cunning and shrewd, disruptophobia rarely manifests explicitly. Instead, it disguises itself in various subtle ways—hidden feelings that cause the fear of creating to emerge without us directly perceiving it. None of these behaviors are consciously made excuses; we genuinely feel their effects.

• Laziness – “I know I should do it, but it’s stronger than me.”
• Procrastination – “I’ll do it later. There’s still plenty of time.”
• Excessive sleep at unusual times – “As soon as I sat at the computer, I got sleepy…”
• Forgetfulness – “Wow, I completely forgot!”
• Immediate quitting – “I’m not capable of doing this work, so I won’t even start.”
• Invalidating one’s own work – “It turned out terrible; I won’t even show it.”
• Lack of time – “I work a lot. I don’t have time to create.”
• Perfectionism?

Is perfectionism condemnable?

Many consider perfectionism a flaw because it is often associated with creative block. But the truth is that there are three different types of perfectionism, which, in reality, are two: operative, submissive, and false.

Operative perfectionism is an essential quality for a good creative, as it pushes them to pursue constant improvement. If you don’t pay attention to the smallest details of your ideas, you’re merely swimming at the surface. The greatest creatives are, without exception, obsessive, demanding, uncompromising, meticulous—in other words, operative perfectionists. This is the only way to even slightly overcome our brain’s natural resistance to originality. Even then, it’s hard to have great ideas, and without these radical characteristics, we’ll merely reproduce clichés.

Submissive perfectionism, on the other hand, is when the pursuit of quality, instead of driving us forward, frightens and paralyzes us. We usually see this in people with high standards, but whose commitment to achieving those standards paralyzes them—classic narcissistic disruptophobia.

This block stems from a misunderstanding of the brain’s mechanism during the creative process. If you understand what happens in your mind when faced with a creative challenge, know the right tools to use at each step of the process, learn to manage your ego, and—most importantly—develop a thick skin to endure the persistent psychological discomfort inherent in the process, you’ll have a great chance of becoming an operative perfectionist. The good news is that all these qualities can be learned and trained.

As for the false perfectionist, the name speaks for itself. This is someone who claims to be a perfectionist but, in reality, never takes a single step toward quality. They don’t care about the difference between high-quality work and mediocre work, using the word “perfectionism” merely as an excuse for their total lack of interest in educating or challenging themselves.

The last “Coca-Colas in the desert”

The ego, in simple terms, is how we perceive and present ourselves to the world. It plays a fundamental role in the creative process, both as a driver and a blocker. Unsurprisingly, it is directly associated with perfectionism.

An inflated ego is not necessarily a problem. When well-channeled, the desire to impress and protect one’s public image can be a powerful engine for creativity. The intelligent egocentric uses this extreme concern with their reputation to continually challenge themselves and push their limits, proving—to themselves and to others—that they are, in fact, a genius. All geniuses are operative perfectionists.

I’m not saying that every genius is egocentric, just clarifying the influence of self-image on the results of creative work. This means you can have a huge ego as long as your ideas are equally big. The important thing is to maintain an absolute focus on ideas.

However, an inflated ego can also betray the process. Being egocentric without using this energy for self-improvement is sad to observe. People usually forgive the behavior of an egocentric person who truly delivers high-level ideas, partly because they often disguise it well and appear humble.

The petty egocentric, on the other hand, is someone who sees themselves as a genius without having any work to corroborate such delusions. They don’t bother hiding what they think of themselves, and as a result, they’re often viewed as idiots—justifiably so. They are the authentic false perfectionist with delusions of grandeur.

Someone with a balanced ego, however, tends to seek quality without being overly rigid. They can produce extremely creative work but don’t aim for perfection. Of course, if they have a balanced ego, they are probably not obsessive, don’t easily get distressed, and understand occasional failures. Their bar is set a bit lower than the intelligent egocentric, and for this reason, I suspect they are happier (a purely empirical and scientifically unproven opinion).

Do I need to remind you that there are exceptions to all these cases? I don’t think so.

The antidote

The key to overcoming disruptophobia and submissive perfectionism—that is, creative block—is simple but powerful: absolute commitment to ideas, not to oneself. This means setting aside concerns about your image—whether in front of others or yourself—and focusing all your energy on the creation and development of ideas.

Creation is not about the creator but about the creature. When we place ideas center stage, we find the freedom to explore them more liberally and audaciously, reducing the fear of judgment or failure. In the creative process, ideas are God. We are merely their worshippers.

If I were you…

One way to achieve this is by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. For example, “If I were Walt Disney, how would I solve this problem?” It may sound silly, but it’s not. Disruptophobia, being a fear intrinsically related to our position in society, is reduced when we embody another person. Apparently, we feel freer and braver since “it’s not us” creating but rather “Disney,” thereby reducing the psychological pressure inherent in the process.

You can also put yourself in the place of companies, organizations, or social groups: “How would Apple solve this problem?”, “If this service were offered by the Catholic Church, what would it look like?”, “How would the mafia distribute this product?” This approach not only disconnects you from your personal blocks but also provides a plethora of new references, possibilities, and concepts—amazing creative awakeners. I call these external brain stimuli inducers because they induce the brain to think in ways it would never choose on its own.

To be a good inducer, you need to be conceptually distant from the object of creation. You could use the inducer “Nestlé” to create a new chocolate, but you’d be missing the chance to be truly original and disruptive. How about using “asylum”? Doesn’t it become clear that there will be far more paths to explore, regardless of whether you find a solution? The rule is simple: the more unusual, different, and unexpected the inducers, the greater the chances of changing the game.

Let’s test this technique?

Write in the comments ideas for a new chocolate based on the inducer “asylum.” The first idea that comes to my mind is a chocolate with a strange shape, ingredients never used together in a single product, unexpected packaging, displays in unusual sales points, and marketing with quirky but fun people. All texts (on the packaging to the marketing) would be arranged in an apparently chaotic way. The name of the chocolate, of course, would be “Totally Crazy.”

Creative unblock techniques, in the end, are just cheap tricks, subterfuges, stratagems to fool our brains, minimizing the effects of its natural and vigorous resistance to the new. A creative is, above all, a brain trickster. But so what? The important thing is that it works.