How To Stay Creative, Even When You’re Not In The Mood

Every artist faces creative block at some point or the other. In this short video, filmmaker and photographer Sean Tucker discusses how he deals with the three major resistances to his creative work – perfectionism, rationalization, and fear. Watch below.

01:02 – Perfectionism is a double edged sword. It motivates you to give your best but also leads to despair and self-doubt. Tucker suggests thinking about the longer term rather than the shorter term. Think of every project as a draft along a longer journey rather than a finished end point.

02:44 – Rationalization leads to overthinking and unhealthy comparison. We use our limitations and circumstances as reasons not to create because we think our work will never be good enough. Tucker confesses that he sometimes critiques other photographer’s work and finds mistakes to bring them down. To combat these negative thoughts, Tucker uses mindfulness. He identifies the negative thought patterns and acknowledges the fact that they’re not true. If he doesn’t have fancy photography gear like the other photographers, he takes it as a challenge and works twice as hard.

05:08 – Fear of failure, of criticism, of being ridiculed, is the biggest roadblock to creativity. As Tucker says, we fear our knowledge gaps and we don’t want people to know about them. But the truth is nobody’s perfect. Everyone has holes in their skill set. Tucker recommends Steven Pressfield’s book, The War of Art. In it, the author says that fear is a good sign. It indicates that the more we’re scared of something, the more we know that we have to do it.

So what your resistances? Hope this post inspires you to overcome your creative block. Share this post with a friend and voice your views in the comments below.