Cultivating your work ethic, hard skills, and emotional intelligence will get you far in business and personal life alike. However, without the ability to observe a problem from different angles and come up with creative solutions, the way you approach obstacles will often be predictable and not innovative enough.

There’s no professional in any industry who doesn’t benefit from developing and nurturing creative thinking. Whether you’re a business analyst, software developer, professional writer, or dedicated artist, here’s what you need to know about factors that hinder creative thinking and how to bypass them.

Factor no. 1: Labeling yourself as a “non-creative type”

You look around and compare yourself to others all the time, only to realize you’re not as creative and able to think on your feet as some of your friends or coworkers. You sometimes have a hard time thinking outside the box, so you label yourself as “not creative” and decide to live with such a definition for good.

Give yourself some time before you give up on developing your creativity. When you enter a mindset where you consciously tell yourself you’re not good enough, you’re actively working on diminishing any chance of proving yourself wrong.

Mental exercises can do wonders for you, all you need is a positive attitude.

Factor no. 2: Antagonizing over every mistake you make

Nobody likes to be wrong, especially when our mistakes are visible to other people. Wanting to work well and avoid errors is generally a good thing, but when the fear of doing something wrong becomes so potent that it inhibits you from trying new things, your ability to think creatively takes a huge hit.

Sure, you’ll never be happy about doing something and realizing it was a mistake. Still, you need to learn to put such situations in perspective and appreciate the errors you’ve made. After all, mistakes help you grow and learn from experience, and many professionals around you experience the same thing every single day.

Factor no. 3: Settling for quick, “good enough” solutions

The ticking clock is the death of creative thinking. Innovative solutions often require time, and most of the “eureka” moments come as results of prolonged consideration and pondering about a problem.

Of course, you don’t always have time to spend hours of days thinking about solving a specific puzzle. Sometimes you simply need to find a quick solution that works. However, if you approach all of your problems this way, your mind will soon become lazy and unmotivated to try harder and come up with innovative solutions for obstacles that come your way.

Factor no. 4: Being a stickler for the rules

People who can respect authority and follow the rules usually fit into different work environments more easily than individuals who like to do everything on their terms and in their own time. That being said, although sticklers for rules can quickly advance in a workplace at first, at some point, they often hit a wall and find themselves stuck in the same positions for years.

The reason behind this is that following the rules without ever questioning them often hinders creativity. According to Assignment Masters that provide essay help, there’s often more than one “right” way to solve a problem, and it takes an open mind to explore all the options and possible solutions out there.

Factor no. 5: Relying only on your perspective

Trying to solve every problem on your own is not only impractical, but it’s also bad for your creativity. No matter how intelligent, experienced, or open-minded you are, two heads will always be better than one.

You can often benefit from hearing another opinion, whether it’s going to change the course of your actions or not. A fresh perspective can help you look at a problem from a different angle and harness other people’s ways of thinking. A quick brainstorming with your peers can sometimes bring more good than spending hours trying to solve a problem on your own.

Conclusion

Contrary to the popular belief, creativity isn’t a gift you either get at birth or never have at all. It’s a personal and professional skill that can (and should) be developed and polished throughout life. Just like the body needs exercise to stay healthy and vital, so does the mind.

Cultivating creative thinking also means learning to recognize and work around the pitfalls that come with certain inhibitive factors. Luckily, with dedication and practice, you are sure to become quite skilled in bypassing these aspects that interrupt your creative flow.

Author Bio:

James Murphy is a writer working at Australian Writings in the academic writing field. He has been working with the assignment service for over five years where he provided college essay help. Other than writing, his other interests are having fun with his two lovely toddlers and catch up on all New York Yankees games.