14 Dumb Barriers to Creativity (fix these, do stuff better)
The creative process is complex and nuanced. It’s different for everyone and there’s always a little bit of magic involved.
But one thing is clear — everyone experiences stupid barriers to creativity at one point or another.
These are disruptive bottlenecks preventing you from reaching your artistic vision. So if you can solve these, then you can do your thing better.
But first, we need to identify them. So this is my guide on the top creative bottlenecks to know and some helpful pointers on solving them.
Let’s get to it.
Table of Contents Show
What Are Creative Barriers? (bottlenecks 101)
Creative barriers, or creative bottlenecks, are obstacles in your creative work. They prevent you from starting, working on and/or finishing your projects.
And they suck — the bastards.
So my best solution is to first identify them and then create personalized workarounds to limit their impact.
But before we get into all that, let’s look at some signs of creative barriers and the benefits of solving them.
Signs You’re Dealing With A Creative Bottleneck (or two)
You can’t find your flow
Decision making issues
Confusion for what to do next
No inspiration or motivation (for longer than usual)
A lack of creative fulfillment
Dealing with creative ruts
Benefits of Solving Creative Barriers
Reach more of your creative goals
Improve your creative workflow and systems
Better optimize for fun and play
Improve the quality of your creative work
Boost your creative self awareness
Become a stronger creative
14 Dumb Barriers to Creativity
Sometimes, creativity hits a wall.
So while stupid barriers are normal, shining a light on them can lessen their impact and boost your creative efficiency.
1. Skill Gaps
Skill deficits are a common barrier to creativity.
These are gaps that prevent you from reaching some creative goal. They restrict creative flow and throw wrenches into your whole system.
Pretty lame, I know. But luckily, there’s a simple solution.
Designate specific time and daily practice to better hone your craft.
Every creative niche comes with a collection of tools and skills needed.
Filmmakers need to know how to edit and work a camera. Musicians should understand songwriting or music production. Artists should understand color theory and paint types.
So identifying your personal skill gaps and then spending focused time on building those skills is super important.
Address skill gaps, make more creative stuff.
Recommended: 5 Levels of Expertise In Skill Building
2. A Fear of Failure
A fear of failure is something I didn’t even realize I was experiencing with my creativity.
On the surface, I told myself (and those around me) that I didn’t care if things flopped. But the truth was, I did.
I still try to avoid this feeling of rejection. I mean, it doesn’t feel good to have your stuff get disliked or just ignored altogether.
This prevented me from putting myself out there more, sharing more and creating more. Most of all, a fear of failure kept me from exploring my creative whims and taking artistic risks.
This totally blocked my creative potential and self expression.
So here are a few of my favorite solutions:
Redefine success
Reframe failure as just being a milestone in the journey
Fall in love with mistakes (as exciting hints and learning moments)
Observe your fear as an outside higher perspective (separate from yourself)
3. A Fear of Judgment
As you probably already know, a lot of the perceived judgment we feel is all in our head. Still, it’s a common barrier to creativity.
Creative work requires vulnerability, self expression, risk-taking and honest authenticity. This can leave you feeling a bit naked.
So it’s pretty normal to worry about what people will say, think or feel. But too much of this worry can turn into a creative block.
Even worse, a fear of judgment can cause an artist to hold back on their truest vision and self expression.
So let’s try to avoid this one.
If you have a serious fear of judgment, you can try doing things more anonymously by creating an alter ego.
Otherwise, surrounding yourself with more supportive creatives and staying aware of this negative thought cycle are good moves too.
Because the truth is, most people aren’t thinking about you like you think they are.
4. Missing Resources
Sometimes, your creative vision requires specific tools and resources. This can be a bottleneck to watch out for.
For example, I like to produce music. But when I first started, all I had was a phone app, some cheap software and an old, slow computer.
This was a fine starting point, but I ran out of runway quickly. Eventually, I needed to invest in better music production equipment (if I wanted to keep growing).
So if you’re running into resource issues, then it may be time to start investing in (or budgeting for) new tools or software.
Because while the creative vision and the artist behind the project is most important, having the right tools can go a long way too.
Recommended: My Favorite Creative Tools
5. Patience
Creativity without patience is rushed art.
This is something I recently learned after doing a song-a-day challenge in 2023. I got to a point where I was just rushing to complete songs everyday.
Sometimes speed works. Other times, not so much.
Because the truth is, patience works better for me. Whenever I give my projects enough time to marinate, things tend to almost write themselves.
Of course, there will always be times when creativity happens fast (especially if you’re in flow or doing some intuitive artwork). Also, things go quicker the more you hone your craft and processes.
But patience or trying to rush to some imaginary finish line will always be a barrier to watch out for.
6. Motivation
Sometimes, motivation dips — this is pretty normal. But if it doesn't go away or pops up a lot, that’s when you have a bottleneck on your hands.
Creative motivation can be fickle. There are days I hate everything I make or have made. And I can’t be bothered with any of my projects.
This is always temporary though and I’ve learned it’s fairly common among creatives. It’s just a part of the process.
So if you’re struggling with motivational issues, you can try:
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking
Take smaller steps and break down large goals into manageable tasks
Focus on the process, not the destination
Remember your “why”
Recommended: Motivation for Artists (what I do)
7. Discipline
Where motivation ends, discipline begins.
Creativity isn’t always easy — or even fun. Finishing projects and bringing ideas to life takes hard work and consistency.
Creativity takes discipline.
Discipline means continuing to show up for yourself, even when (especially when) you don’t feel like it.
So even if all of the cards are stacked in your favor, you still need to push through all the ups and downs of the creative process.
Here are some ways I like to strengthen my creative discipline:
Focus on building new habits (not breaking old ones)
Create a new system and workflow
Aim lower (break down tasks and work slower)
Recommended: Discipline for Creatives (tips I love)
8. Comparison
Comparison destroys creativity. Still, we just can’t help ourselves…
While there are legit ways to compare (for inspiration purposes), things can quickly become negative if you’re not careful.
Because while social media is an awesome tool, it can also make us feel ignored, insignificant or like we’re not quite up to snuff with other creators.
There’s an immense amount of talent to be inspired by. But it’s important that we don’t compare journeys, skills or metrics.
You have your own magic that no one else can copy. There’s a good chance that someone is comparing themselves to you.
So I like to stay aware of this comparison trap and remember that it’s an illusion.
Creating with more authenticity and prioritizing play (by loving the process) always helps me.
Recommended: Overcoming Creative Imposter Syndrome
9. Your Environment
Environment plays a big role in creativity. Sometimes it’s a creative booster — other times, it’s a bottleneck.
For example, how you design your spaces, your location and general surroundings can all impact your creative mood.
If things aren’t optimizing or supporting your creativity, they could be destroying it.
Similarly, the people you surround yourself with on a daily basis can also affect your creativity.
So here are three places I like to focus on:
Your inner circle
The people you spend time with
Your outer circle
The content you consume
Your spaces
The actual environment you create in
10. Life Stress
There’s a quote I like from David Lynch that describes the impact of life stress on creativity perfectly:
“Anger and depression and sorrow are beautiful things in a story, but they are like poison to the artist. You must have clarity to create.”
Creativity with stress is suppressed and misguided. This is something that used to confuse me.
We can all conjure up that image of the struggling artist or heartbroken musician turning their pain into beautiful creative works.
While this works sometimes, it’s not the most efficient way to be creative. I know for me, I do my best work when I’m happy and stress-free.
This is why I try to optimize my life in ways that reduce stress. So here are a few of my go-to moves:
Meditate more
Learn to let go more (or be dragged)
Recommended: How to Be More Happy-Go-Lucky
11. Creative Burnout
Burnout doesn’t help creativity. Still, it happens.
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and/or mental exhaustion. It’s feeling completely drained, artistically.
We’ve all experienced burnout. And when it pops up, it can be a serious barrier to your creativity. I know it leaves me feeling listless, unmotivated and even frustrated.
So here are a few ways how I like to approach creative burnout:
Try to find my spark again
Lessen the load (do less stuff)
Practice more self care
Take a break
Recommended: How I Manage Creative Burnout
12. Metrics
Creativity for the sake of social media growth and engagement is distorted.
I’m not saying that social media is bad or always the culprit, but it can sneak up on you.
Sooner or later, social media growth becomes a game of diminishing returns. The more likes, comments and love you get, the more of that stuff you need in order to get the same amount of creative fulfillment.
Simply put, creativity does better without the nuance and clutter of social metrics and performance data.
So take a break, shift your goals and create like you did when you were a kid or just starting your journey.
Reprioritize and optimize your creative workflow for fun. And ignore how your stuff is performing (at least until you get your creative spark back).
13. Perfectionism
Perfection is an illusion. And perfectionism is believing in that mirage.
Unfortunately, it’s a pretty common barrier that we experience and it’s caused by all sorts of dumb things, like unrealistic comparisons, fleeting creative confidence or a fear of disapproval.
So what’s an artist to do?
Well, I’m no expert on the psychology of creativity. But here’s how I manage my own perfectionist whims:
Watch videos of successful, talented people before they were good
Work from your flow state more often
See the bigger picture
Embrace your inner authenticity
Become aware of your perfectionism and embrace it
Recommended: Why Perfectionism In Music + Art Sucks
14. Mindset Issues
Mindset is an awesome tool. But it can also be an Achilles’ heel.
Because a lot of creativity comes down to perspective. For example, your mindset plays a leading role in your:
Openness to new ideas or artistic directions
Willingness and curiosity to take risks
Ability to stay positive in the midst of failure
Self doubt vs. self belief
Embracing play and having fun with the creative process
The development and maintenance of your creative “why”
If you’re coming up against a wall in your creative projects, step back and do some self reflection.
How are you thinking and what’s your perspective on stuff?
Mindset development is a long journey, but it keeps me positive, grounded and creatively happy.
So spend some time in self reflection and shine a light on your creative mind.
Because it’s totally worth it.
Recommended: How to Have A Creative Mindset
Conclusion
Barriers are like bottlenecks to your creativity.
To fully express yourself and bring your visions to life, it’s best to identify the obstacles that stand in your way and find ways to work around them.
I’ve experienced all of the barriers in this list at one point or another, but a few of the most common ones that remain for me are skill gaps, life stress and patience.
So I optimize my workflows and creative systems to lessen their impact (even though sometimes, they can’t be helped).
So with that, happy creating!
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