Barriers To Creative Thinking Skills (Himanshu Jakhar)

Cognitive labour.  I don't care how you frame it, but that's what it's about.

Barriers To Creative Thinking Skills

Thinking is one of the basic human activities. Our mind starts popping up different kinds of ideas at a very tender age and we learn to ponder upon them. There are two types of thinking – critical and creative. Critical thinking is more analytical, convergent and focused whereas creative thinking is generative, divergent and diffused. Our creative thinking skills are usually restrained due to various reasons.

Unconstructive attitude – The tendency to center on only the negative aspect of a situation acts as a barrier for the creative thinking skills. Statements like “it is too difficult or too expensive”; “we cannot do it because we don’t have enough resources or skills” highlights the negative attitude that a person carries. Instead, one must try to find opportunities in every situation and must allow oneself to face challenges.

Executive anxiety – When a person is over-stressed or burdened with workload, it tends to smother his ability to think creatively. Stress targets the creative mental processes and reduces them to the minimum. In this case, one must try to understand that organization of everyday work is important but that shouldn’t stop us from trying new ideas and approaches.

Afraid of failure – Often people prevent themselves from thinking differently for they are afraid that they’d make a fool of themselves. Creative thinking skills allow a person to bring out the unconventional methods and plans. Some see this opportunity as an easy way to become the butt of the jokes and therefore, they avoid it. In fact, one should understand that failure is a part of progress and must be embraced in a healthy way.

Strictly following rules – Rules are very important for us to function properly and accurately. However, strictly sticking to them kills the inventive aspect of a person. This represses any possibility of bringing anything new and innovative to the table. One must not be afraid of infusing new ideas; otherwise work turns monotonous and dull.

Too judgmental – Over-indulgence and over-reliance on logic does not allow our creative ideas to bloom and flourish. Also, being too judgmental excludes imagination. However, creative thinking does not mean the absence of reason. It simply shows us a different, humorous and more mind-boggling approach towards it.

Biased assumptions – It is a universal tendency of humans to expect the worst of the unknown. Everyone is usually afraid of the future and what it holds for them. The conscious and unconscious assumptions have the propensity of restricted creative thinking skills. For this, one must weigh all the assumptions to make sure they are not cutting off any new ideas.

Creative thinking skills open up many opportunities for us. To make the most of it, one must work on eradicating the barriers that holds back our creativity.