8 Proven Ways to Get Out of a Creative Block & Find Your Flow

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0:30and get more savings today. Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Details at lowes.com forward slash terms. Subject to change. This episode of On Purpose is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. I believe that travel is one of the greatest gifts that we've ever been given. And Chase Sapphire Reserve has been my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. When I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I get eight times the points on all the purchases I make through Chase Travel, and even access to one-of-a-kind experiences, experiences like music festivals and sporting events.

1:08And that's not even mentioning how the card gets me into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide. Travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Trust me. Discover more at chase.com forward slash sapphire reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Terms apply. Lately, I've been trying to be more intentional, even with small decisions, like cooking at home instead of ordering out. It's simple, but it helps me save for things that truly matter. That's why I love the State Farm Personal Price Plan. It lets you bundle home and auto insurance to create an affordable price that fits your needs.

1:54It's one of those thoughtful choices that support the life you're trying to build. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. What has happened for most of us is that our minds are now trained to think in limited, restricted, compartmentalized ways. And we want to change that. What you want to do is become a critical thinker and ask yourself, what is a problem that you're facing?

2:37And I want you to deeply think about what it would take to solve that problem, but in imagination, with no limits on time, energy, money. You may say, well, Jay, that's stupid because I won't be able to do that because I'm not limitless in time, energy, money. But what you're doing is you're training your mind to think that way.

2:59Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose. I'm your host Jay Shetty and I am so grateful that you've decided to tune in again. I'm so deeply moved by your commitment, your consistency, your dedication to growing and bettering yourself because we as humans are wired to keep progressing, to keep moving, to keep evolving. and when we choose to do it intentionally, life can become phenomenal. I wanna thank you all for being here, for trusting me. I appreciate you. I've loved seeing all your reviews of late. Keep those coming on Spotify and Apple. They help the podcast so much. Please subscribe on YouTube.

3:37I know a lot of you have been watching the show as well and we've had segments that are only there. Thank you so much again for being a part of this growing community. I am so grateful for you and I couldn't do this without you. and today I want to dive into something because I find that creativity is such an important part of life yet we were never taught in school how to be more creative. If you think about how school worked it was learning to know the answer to something and the answer was either right or wrong. Now this makes sense in subjects like math but it doesn't necessarily make sense in subjects like English, like if you were reflecting or you were introspecting about a paragraph that you read and you were doing a comprehension exercise where you had to write about how you felt about it or what you thought about it, there was still a finite number of answers.

4:32Whereas in life, it's so important to have that freedom to be creative, to be curious. And so everything in school was pushing us towards having a right answer, having a final answer, having a conclusive answer and creativity is anything but being conclusive or final. The point of creativity is that it's open, that it's abundant, that it's seeking, discovering, revealing itself, but we've been trained to think the opposite. We've been trained to believe that it's either yes or no, when in fact it could be, well, why is it yes or why is it no? That's a far more interesting question. We've been told it's either there or it's there.

5:16It's either this or it's that. But it's like, well, why is it this and why is it that is a far more interesting question. So our creative proclivities have been limited from our education. And therefore, we ask less questions. Therefore, we feel stupid when we ask questions. How many times have you ever said stupid question, but I had to ask, right? Or you're saying it in your head. And so often we feel scared or judged. And how many of us push to judge and assume? How many of us is judging and assuming our first reaction to something as opposed to curiosity and questioning, as opposed to being creatively thinking about an idea that's put in front of us?

6:00How many of you hear an idea from one of your friends about a business or a podcast or an app and straight away your mind goes, no, that's not possible, instead of being creative and thinking, how could that be possible? When and where could it be possible? What could we do to make that a reality? And what I find is that just as we shut down other people's creativity, we often shut down our own. How many times have you said in your own mind, oh, that's a stupid idea? Where does that voice come from? How many times were you told growing up that your idea was a stupid idea, or it was a bad idea, or that it would never work or that it was guaranteed to fail.

6:37How many times did you hear that? I remember when I was starting this podcast, I remember people saying to me, Jay, people like listening to you for four minutes. People don't want to listen to you and a guest or a friend or whoever it was for an hour. People don't want to hear that. And the reason I'm sharing that with you is just to help us recognize that if you're limited in your creativity, if you've been restricted in your creativity internally or by others around you, you're not alone. Sir Ken Robinson in his TED Talk, which is called How Schools Kill Creativity, talks about how we need to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity and says that creativity is now as important in education as literacy.

7:25And he talks about this idea of how we shouldn't be making people feel they're wrong just because they're thinking differently. And if you think about all the things that we love, all the things that we admire, all the things that we think are incredible in the world are usually fresh, they're new, they're enlivening, they're abundant. They've come from a place of someone being creative, right? When you look at a building and it looks different to all the other buildings, we're like, wow, that's special, that's amazing, right? There was creativity there. When you see a book cover that's different, it's like, oh, there's creativity there.

7:59when you are looking for furniture for your home or a color that's different, there's creativity there. Creativity is so much of what we notice as being special or beautiful or admirable, yet we often restrict our own creative capabilities. Now, there's an incredible book by Keith Sawyer called Zigzag, The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity. And if you really wanna dive into this subject, I highly recommend it. Keith Sawyer is a research psychologist and an author. And I think some of his advice in this book is fantastic. So I want to start off with what is one way that you can start to get that creative spark going, that creative juice flowing.

8:42And I want to start really small because I think sometimes when we think of being creative, we think, oh, I've got to build something big or I've got to come up with something unique. And that can feel quite intimidating. If you're like me, it can definitely feel intimidating. And I love the idea of watching TED Talks. I love the idea of listening to podcasts. I love the idea of learning as a form of creativity, but I wanna try and give you something specific. One of my favorite things to do is to walk into a bookshop. I love being in a bookshop because I feel like the titles, the covers, the amount of research, if you just think about what you're doing, when you're walking into a bookshop, you're actually walking into decades of research, learning, and art.

9:23That's literally what it is. Like, let's really think about that. And I know bookshops are getting less and less popular, but hey, I love going to a good bookshop. And finding a good bookshop is really, really awesome. Because like I said, the covers, the titles, the work that's gone behind them, even though people say don't judge a book by its cover, one of the reasons I love bookshops is because you feel you're surrounded by so much thought and intelligence. Now, if you think about it, a bookshop is marketing you ideas. When you're on the streets, you're being marketed products. Think about that for a second, right?

9:57When you're walking down the streets and you see a billboard or you see a bus stand or you see an advert on the train or, of course, on your phone, you're being marketed products. In a bookstore, you're being marketed ideas. Now, products improve your life in a certain way for sure, but ideas define your life. Ideas teach you how to navigate life. Ideas teach you how to make decisions on even the products that you'll use, right? It's the idea that's almost like a compass to your life. And so while products do improve our lives, and buying products is a part of our day-to-day life, we all need to eat, drink, and live, and everything else, the ideas are what helps us make better decisions in our life and for the products and everything else.

10:45And so I love the idea of being marketed ideas when I'm in a bookshop. and one of my favorite things to do inside a bookshop is to try to pick two random books and what I'll do is I'll flick to a chapter in one book that seems exciting. I'll go down the contents page and be like, okay, which chapter is something I'm struggling with, something I'm working on? Let me go to that chapter. Let me do the same in another book that may be on a completely different topic, but what am I fascinated by? And I'll try and find what is similar about those two chapters? Or how are they connected? How do they agree or disagree?

11:20How can I reflect on them both together? Maybe there's context that crosses over, maybe there isn't. Maybe I've just learned about two new ideas that are completely disconnected. But the point being that what you're doing is you're actually pushing your brain, you're pushing your mind to connect dots where otherwise there is no connection. And Steve Jobs famously said, creativity is just connecting things. If you look at what Steve Jobs did with Apple, he combined calligraphy with technology. He wanted to shape things like calligraphy. He wanted the type font to be beautiful. He wanted everything to feel like art and calligraphy, even though it was technology.

12:02He wanted it to feel that fluid and that beautiful. When you think about the rise of Pokemon Go. If you remember Pokemon Go, I'm sure some of you played it. I'm sure you forced your parents to play it with you. If you don't know what it was, it was an augmented reality game where you could go out onto the streets and augmented reality would help you catch Pokemon on the streets. What's really interesting about this game is that the founder talked about why he created it. And the reason he created it is that he said that when he was young, his father would take him out and observe wildlife, insects, animals, and they would talk about them and he would learn about them.

12:37And he said that he missed the fact that parents were no longer going out with their children. So he wanted to find a way that technology could make people more interested in going outdoors and being outside. So it's really interesting that when you're connecting two ideas that seem opposite, like at that time, people said, kids just wanna stay indoors and play video games. That was what society was saying. And he said, well, no, maybe we can find a way of getting them outdoors through a video game, right? maybe that is a possibility and that's creativity. So when you go into a bookshop and you pick two random books and you see how they can relate, that's what you're doing.

13:14You're pushing your mind in a very small way. Next time you hear two opposing arguments, try and see if you can find the similarities. Try and see if you can find the connection as opposed to the opposition. Because it's not hard to tell the difference between something, right? It's not complicated to be like that's different from that. That makes sense. But to find the correlation where other people see anomalies is a real art and a real skill. People may not have seen art and technology together. People may not have seen the digital world and nature through the same lens, but that's what creativity is about.

13:51So this is a really sharp, smart, small way that you can start to do that. Now, number two is really, really interesting for me. And Sawyer talks about it in the book quite heavily. And what I want to talk about or address here is this idea of asking better questions of yourself and of others. The reason why we struggle with creativity is because we ask the wrong questions. And actually, I want to take that back. You're never asking the wrong question. We just need to ask more questions. We need to ask deeper questions. And we just need to ask more questions, right? We often just limit it to what do you do?

14:29How do you like it? Do you enjoy what you do. Notice how all those questions are very, very basic. We don't necessarily ask, well, what do you enjoy about it? Or on a scale of one to 10, how enjoyable it is. What could make it more enjoyable? What could make it more fun? What is it that makes it so complicated or difficult? Notice how all those questions are different. Now, Sawyer talks about the beginning of Starbucks. Now, this is really, really interesting because the first question that they were trying to answer was how can I recreate the Italian espresso bar in the United States? That was the original goal.

15:11That was the original target of Starbucks. Now, think about what question you have. Maybe your question is, how do I start a huge podcast? How do I build my YouTube following? How do I launch my own brand? How do I get a promotion? how do I move to this city or how do I live in this place right maybe that's your question and maybe you've just been banging your head against the wall maybe you've just said you know what I can't figure this out it's just not working for me because every time I ask that question I get stuck how many of you have ever felt that way that whenever you ask the question you've been asking you've been asking the same question for a long time and you keep getting stuck I have a friend who really, really wants to launch a YouTube channel.

15:53And he's always getting stuck because he's thinking, well, how do I do it? When do I start? When's the right time? That's the question he's asking. When is the right time? Now, if he was listening to this episode, what I would say to him is, well, instead of asking when is the right time, what's a better question? How do I make now the right time? What does the perfect time look like, right? What am I waiting for? What is good timing in my eyes. Let me talk to people about whether time is the right thing that matters when it comes to social media at all, right? So what ended up happening with Howard Schultz is the question changed from how can I recreate the Italian espresso bar in the United States to how can I create a comfortable, relaxing environment to enjoy great coffee?

16:41Think about the difference in that question. How can I create a comfortable, relaxing environment to enjoy great coffee. Now, Kevin Systrom also did the same with Instagram, where initially he just wanted to create a better location sharing app. But the question turned into how can we create a simple photo sharing app? And that slight change made all the difference. So what problem are you trying to solve? What are you trying to create? What are you trying to build? What is it that has been blocking you because you're asking the wrong question. We talk a lot on this podcast about how physical habits affect our emotional well-being.

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18:40One thing I've been reflecting on lately is how even the smallest choices can create a big impact over time. Whether it's choosing to spend a quiet night in to recharge or making a decision that brings you closer to a long-term goal, those moments of intention really matter. And when it comes to the choices we make with our money, that same mindset applies. I've learned that saving for the things that truly matter like your first home or a reliable car starts with small, thoughtful decisions That's why I appreciate what State Farm is doing with their personal price plan It gives you the power to personalize your plan and create an affordable price that works for your life You can bundle your home and auto insurance in a way that supports your journey and your goals Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan.

19:32Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state, coverage options are selected by the customer, availability amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state.

19:49This episode of On Purpose is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. I believe that travel is one of the greatest gifts that we've ever been given, and Chase Sapphire Reserve has been my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. Every time I travel, I find a part of myself I didn't know was missing. I remember being in this small town, completely unplugged, and for the first time in a while, I felt still. Travel does that. It grounds you, expands you, and connects you to something deeper. That's why I'm always looking for experiences that go beyond the typical. Chase Sapphire Reserve makes traveling a breeze, earning eight times points on all purchases through Chase Travel and granting access to Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide.

20:39No matter my destination, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Discover more with Chase Sapphire Reserve at chase.com forward slash sapphire reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, member FDIC, subject to credit approval, terms apply. Now, number three, a great way to get creative, to get your creative mind working, is to solve a real problem in your life, but in your imagination. So you don't need to go raise money. You don't need to go and build a website or an app, but how would you solve it? So what you want to do is become a critical thinker and ask yourself, what is a problem that I'm really, truly struggling with?

21:26Maybe it is to come up with podcast episode ideas, right? Maybe that's something you're struggling with. Maybe something you're struggling with is, I don't know how to communicate with my toxic family members. Maybe that's what you're struggling with. Maybe what you're struggling with is, I want to be more focused at work, but I keep getting distracted, right? What is a problem that you're facing? and I want you to deeply think about what it would take to solve that problem but in imagination, right? With no limits on time, energy, money. Now, you may say, well, Jay, that's stupid because I won't be able to do that because I'm not limitless in time, energy, money.

22:03But what you're doing is you're training your mind to think that way. See, what has happened for most of us is that our minds are now trained to think in limited, restricted, compartmentalized ways. and we want to change that for our minds to think in limitless, unrestricted, infinite ways, right? I had a mentor called Thomas Power, who's a good friend, and when I first met him, he presented this idea to me about how a lot of people are what he called CSC, closed, selective, and controlling. They're closed. Their thinking is very, very closed into what's possible. They're very selective, They're selective about who they spend time with and who they don't spend time with.

22:50And that often leads them to miss out on incredible possibilities. And finally, they're controlling, right? There's a sense of a know-it-all or they know what's going on. And then on the other side, he said, there are people that are open, random, and supportive. They're open to new ideas. They're open to their ways of thinking being changed. That's a really important part of being creative, that how open are you to saying, I know my values. I know what's important to me. But I'm still open to new ideas. And I find this to be one of the most fascinating things in life is that you can have a philosophy, you can have a set of principles and guidelines that you agree with, yet you can be open to better ones.

23:29Random, he talked about. This idea of being random, like how many times have you just bumped into someone in a random way? How many times have you come across an idea because of something random? Some of my best ideas are random. And then supportive. How many of us actually come up with great ideas because we're helping someone else. While we're supporting others, while we're helping others, we may create something phenomenal. So solve a real problem in your life to expand your thinking. Again, you're not going to solve it. You may not create the product. You may end up creating the product. But you're gearing and guiding and training your mind to think limitlessly about a problem that makes you feel limited.

24:08Now, question number four. Think about the next place you're traveling. Where are you going to next? Maybe you've booked a vacation to Bali. Maybe you've booked a vacation to Australia. Maybe you've booked a local weekend getaway, right? Like a staycation almost. What's the next place you're traveling? Here's a couple of things I want you to think about. Learn some of the language of your local area to ask for basic things. Just the local language you could get about in the local language. Maybe to order your favorite food. maybe to ask where the bus stop or the train station is, maybe to ask to get to the restroom.

24:48Learn some of the basic language that can help you operate. This gets your creative juices flowing. The second thing is learn about the history. Maybe there's something you can learn about a building, the area, something that is a bit random, right? Something that you may not even care to learn about. I remember when I first moved to LA, I was being told about so much history, So many events that happened there. And when you think of LA, you think of Hollywood and you think of movies, but you forget the history of entertainment. There's so much history of Hollywood there. I remember when I watched this movie, Babylon, maybe you saw it with Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt.

25:25They show what Bel-Air was like before it became Bel-Air. You see what Hollywood movie sets look like before they look like they do now. And that idea is incredible to look into the past, right? And the third thing is read a local paper or listen to a local radio station. What this does is it disrupts your pattern, right? The way we live our life currently is you get into your car to go to work, you listen to the same radio station, you walk in the same direction, you take the same train, you take the same route to work, or you walk down your stairs or you sit at the laptop at your bedroom, right?

25:59We have a very routine life that doesn't get disrupted often. and allowing yourself to disrupt it by reading a local paper or listening to a local radio station to discover some local music of a place you're about to visit or a place that you're going to visit or maybe the last place you went to, it disrupts that pattern. It starts allowing creativity's seeds to be planted. That's a really powerful one. As you can tell, I'm giving you really practical, simple things that you can all do that doesn't mean learning a new skill or trying something crazy. Now, number five, playing with toys. George Bernard Shaw famously said, we don't stop playing because we get old.