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Unleash Productive Creativity by Banishing Your Inner Critic
Denise R. Jacobs
Founder + CEO, The Creative Dose
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@denisejacobs
@Inbound | #Inbound15
#banishyourcritic
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Want the slides? Get them here:
Creativedo.se/Inbound15-ic
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Once upon a time…
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Once-Upon-a-Time/2918365
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29 June
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jblndl/3154255478/
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I was going to be a writer!
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Instead of creativity
Photo from Flickr.com
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Destructivity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevygee/3265941065/
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The voices in my head were merciless
http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4887528060/
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I totally freaked out
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I shouldn't be writing this I misrepresented myself
I don't know enough This should be someone else’s book
I’m going to look stupid Everyone will see that I’m a fake What if it's not good enough? What if I'm not good enough?
No…really!
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2 days
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiery-phoenix/8428079916/
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Worked non-stop
https://www.flickr.com/photos/53611153@N00/5827849044/
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Pushed myself to burn-out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44085287@N05/4052943367/
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My internal critical voices caused
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70938871@N05/8230432077
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Physical evidence of fear
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpyfeline/4626401443/
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A different kind of fear
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Internalized criticisms + fears
https://www.flickr.com/photos/remoto/5313967682
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= The Inner Critic
https://www.flickr.com/photos/acerriteno/3484093889/
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F.E.A.R. =
http://cdnpix.com/show/imgs/7a361666e107cd36656d5a66ea2e4e80.jpg
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Or…
https://twitter.com/Phishtitz/status/474661495935365120
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The enemy of creativity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardwinchell/130344669/
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Creative brainwaves
http://uniteunderfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Brain-waves.jpg
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Know your brainwaves
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Stress & frustration
https://www.flickr.com/photos/corneveaux/3248566797/
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Suppress generative impulses in the brain
https://www.flickr.com/photos/birthintobeing/11841180046
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Dampens creative expression
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
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How to ID your Inner Critic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdachialpha/203904103/
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Listen for internal critical talk
http://brenebrown.com/2014/04/08/daring-interview-series-meet-gavin-aung/
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“OMG, I’m SO busy!”
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“I should have done more by now…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kharied/3315558702/
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“They’ll find out I’m a fraud”
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“I don’t know enough”
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Einstein_1921_by_F_Schmutzer.jpg
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Or intimidated into it!
…intimidated into it!
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vs. “NAILED IT!”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paul-drummond/3946893897
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Impostor Syndrome Paradox
http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/2279939232/
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You will only experience impostor syndrome when you are competent and skilled. (re-read this as many times as necessary.)
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“It needs to be FLAWLESS”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/
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“I’ll do it tomorrow…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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“Really, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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“I will do it tomorrow!”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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Feed each other
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In order for
http://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4771136128/
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You need brain management
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“The goal is to manage anxiety so that our energies are used for the productive and satisfying art of creating…
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…rather than the destructive and
debilitating art of self-torture.” - Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution
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How do we…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5445602998/
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Banish the Inner Critic?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31505964@N08/4691019168/
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Eliminate “Have to/Should/Must/Ought”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/3822942678/
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Replace with “I choose/ I decide/ I will”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mstry-2525-gst/3312199285/
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Say NO to comparisons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suvodeb/2559017400/
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(Btw, this your new mantra…)
http://www.spunkysapphire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/photo-1-e1406074730116.jpg
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Ask it questions
http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4749432145/
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Be compassionate
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrote/2646295354/
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Reassign duty
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shavawnmarie/1326123397/
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Remember your successes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pocait/2847866615/
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(My personal version)
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Cop a Power Pose
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“Our bodies change our minds, our
minds change our behavior, and our
behavior changes our outcomes.” - Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are TED talk
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Breaking the loop
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Perfectionism
http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/
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“Perfectionism is self-abuse of
the highest order.” ― Anne Wilson Schaef
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The real problem
http://cuttingthecheese.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/26810560251953842_ede18tng_f.jpg
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Perfectionists focus on the finished product…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phatcontroller/3667889959/
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Rather than the process
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spyndle/474122586/
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“The Best” vs “The Most”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/villify/10871945326
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Amen!
https://twitter.com/dickelippe/status/581204005013078016/photo/1
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Remember egocentricity
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Remember this:
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” ― Dr. Maya Angelou
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Decouple performance from identity
https://www.flickr.com/photos/krissen/6824608878
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Fear of failure
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/2717325940/
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“Fear is not real. It is a product of the thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” - character of Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith), After Earth
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Reframe and embrace failure
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielagama_fotografando/4029208908/
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“Failure is only the opportunity to
begin again more intelligently.” - Henry Ford
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And mistakez
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4498817330/
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“Being right keeps us in place.
Being wrong forces us to
explore.” – Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From
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Humble beginnings
Twitter, circa 2006
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Copy the #fail masters
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Take steps, #FAIL; Go again!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959864706/AND http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959867550/
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Satisfice
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepyvalley/3650673328
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Be bad/make it ugly
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kpwerker/6051104684
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Perfection ≠ Excellence
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaldoche/4771465356
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Procrastination
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/
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The trick is not self-identifying…
http://20px.com/blog/2013/09/06/a-field-guide-to-procrastinators/
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Nor administering a dose of
https://www.flickr.com/photos/116357579@N08/13178367583
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Increase the meaning/value
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeliam/2460475510/
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Mind Tricks
https://www.flickr.com/photos/32135758@N02/5325454434/
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Don’t do it, just get ready to
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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“Structured procrastination”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/superamit/1043379069
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Time & Space Tricks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/indraw/4857101224/
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Eliminate distractions
From “Shit Black Girls Say”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXDpfhehb6I
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Ignore to focus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/massimobarbieri/3998455558/
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Tools
• RescueTime.com
• GetConcentrating.com
• HeyFocus.com
Firefox Browser Extensions:
• LeechBlock
• Idderall
Google Chrome Browser Extensions:
• Strict Workflow
• StayFocusd
• Website Blocker
Aids for digital blocking
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Added bonus
HeyFocus.com
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Airplane/Do Not Disturb mode
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieterouwerkerk/699475144/
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Make it a Sprint
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucamascaro/4975166968/
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Fill a Quota
https://www.flickr.com/photos/teosaurio/3392883329/
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Remember this:
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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My story’s end?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonialuna/2942020058/
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February
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/3709856898/
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#FAIL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dafnecholet/5374200948
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#WINNING!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clappstar/6297835482/
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I wrote my first book!
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Which created AMAZING things for me
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thatconference/9532425040/
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Bad dreams
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agroffman/4613265988
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“The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never
jam to-day.”
“It MUST come sometimes to ‘jam to-day’,” Alice objected.
“No, it can’t,” said the Queen. “It’s jam every OTHER day:
to-day isn’t any OTHER day, you know.” — from Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
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“Jam” = Reward / Satisfaction
https://www.flickr.com/photos/macati/2180421766
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YOU NEVER GET JAM
http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alicepic/through-the-looking-glass/2book42.jpg
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By sharing my experience
Photo: Deloria Jacobs
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Show you there is an alternative
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buttersponge/4955768144
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The creative adult…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/9220121158/
“The creative adult is the child who survived after the world tried killing them, making them ‘grown up’….
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…is the child who survived!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/theburiedlife/2167001643/
…The creative adult is the child who survived the blandness of schooling, the unhelpful words of bad teachers, and the nay-saying ways of the world.” – Ursula K. L Guin
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By understanding this truth
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You’ll look at yourself differently
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/3460562429
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Your imperfect, yet amazing ideas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcymet/3564484236/
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Because, after all…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aoberg/9652158212
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The End
Photo: Denise Jacobs
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Get the slides!
Creativedo.se/Inbound15-ic
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My upcoming book!
DeniseJacobs.com/InnerCritic
Banish Your Inner Critic 26 Effective Techniques for Unleashing Productive Creativity
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Take my Creative Blocks survey
Creativedo.se/creative-blocks-survey
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THE CREATIVE DOSE A Creativity + Innovation Collective
Work Better. Create More. Create Betterness.
Creative Thinking & Problem-solving Applying an Innovation Mindset
Creative Collaboration Team Communication & Cohesion
TheCreativeDose.com @thecreativedose
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Connect and Collaborate!
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/
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Thank You!