Remove the Walls That Stop Your Creativity!
Meet Priya, a team leader in a Bengaluru marketing company...
During a brainstorming meeting, Priya's manager asked: "How can we attract young customers?"
Priya had an exciting idea - create short comedy videos on Instagram! But she stopped herself. Her mind said: "Our company is serious. We don't do comedy. What if people laugh at us? What if the boss thinks I'm not serious?"
She stayed quiet. Later, a competitor company did exactly that - funny Instagram videos - and became super popular with young people!
What stopped Priya? Not lack of ideas, but MENTAL BLOCKS - invisible walls in our mind that stop creativity!
Mental blocks are like invisible walls in your mind. They are thoughts, fears, or beliefs that stop you from thinking creatively. Think of them as:
Good News: Mental blocks are NOT permanent! They can be removed. Let's learn how! 💪
Let's understand each block with examples from Indian workplaces:
What it sounds like: "What if my idea is stupid? People will laugh at me. I'll look like a fool."
Example: Amit works in accounts. He has an idea to use a new app for faster billing, but he's scared. "What if it doesn't work? My boss will think I'm wasting time."
Reality Check: Even great companies like Flipkart and Ola tried many ideas that failed before finding success. Failure is part of learning!
What it sounds like: "This is how we've done things for years. Why change now?"
Real Example: Nokia was once India's favorite phone brand. They kept making the same type of phones because "that's what always worked." Meanwhile, Samsung and Apple were trying new ideas with touchscreens and apps. Today, Nokia struggles while others lead!
Workplace Example: Sharma ji conducts meetings exactly at 10 AM in Conference Room A, every Monday, for 2 hours. Why? "Because we always did it this way!" But what if a 15-minute stand-up meeting works better?
What it sounds like: "I'm an engineer/accountant/HR person. Creative thinking is not my job. That's for designers and artists."
Example: Deepak works in factory operations. When asked for ideas, he says: "Sir, I just manage machines. Creative thinking is not for me." But when his machine broke, he cleverly used parts from another machine to fix it temporarily! That WAS creative thinking!
What it sounds like: "What will my boss think? What will my colleagues say? They'll judge me!"
Real Story: In a Delhi office, Neha suggested having a "No Meeting Friday" to get more work done. Everyone thought she was being difficult. But her manager tried it for one month - productivity increased by 30%! Now other teams follow her idea!
The Truth: People who change things are always judged first, celebrated later!
What it sounds like: "I've read so much! I've seen too many solutions! Now I'm confused. Which one is right?"
Example: Ravi needs to choose a new software for his team. He researched 20 different options, watched 50 YouTube videos, read 100 reviews. Now he's MORE confused than when he started! Too much information killed his decision-making.
"Only young people can think creatively. I'm too old to change."
Age brings experience! Many great innovations come from experienced professionals. Ratan Tata was 70+ when he created Tata Nano!
"I need special training or degree to be creative."
Creativity is a skill you can practice daily! Many successful entrepreneurs like Dhirubhai Ambani had no formal business degree but changed industries!
"Creative ideas come suddenly like magic - I can't control them."
Creativity can be practiced using techniques! You can LEARN to be more creative (we'll learn these techniques in next module!)
Think about the last time you had an idea but didn't share it. Which block stopped you? Click on the statements that you've felt:
Which of these thoughts have you experienced?
💡 Recognition is the First Step!
Great! You've identified your mental blocks. Knowing them is 50% of solving them! Now you can work on breaking these walls.
The Challenge: In early 2000s, Infosys was doing well in IT services. But they were afraid to try something new.
The Mental Block: "We're an IT services company. That's what we know. Why risk trying products?"
Breaking the Block: They challenged this thinking. They asked: "What if we can do BOTH services and products?"
The Result: They created Finacle (banking software) which is now used by banks worldwide! By breaking their mental block, they opened a whole new business!
Lesson: Don't let "this is what we are" stop you from exploring "what we could be"!
This Week's Mission: Share at least ONE creative idea at work, no matter how small. Notice which mental block tried to stop you, and push through it! Write down what happened.