How to beat creative block, according to creativity coach Alon Ferency, starts with lowering the stakes. He tells Jeremy Van Wert that perfectionism and comparison stop people from starting, that a small sidestep can unstick a project, and that restarting with 15 or 20 minutes works better than waiting for inspiration or a grand plan.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Alon avoids the word perfect, and says that if you can kill perfectionism, self-loathing and imposter syndrome decline dramatically.
- He suggests sidestepping a block by changing the medium or the frame, such as turning a personal screenplay into a western.
- He recommends low thresholds and small goals, like 60 seconds of art a day, because a tiny start often turns into 20 minutes.
- Comparing yourself to your heroes can quietly stop you from playing at all, so he urges you to be the best version of yourself instead.
- He says art is an essential human need, not a luxury, and that a day job and a creative life can coexist.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠHow to beat creative block with a sidestep
Alon Ferency is a creative consultant, counselor and coach who works with artists on blockages and self-doubt. He is a former synagogue rabbi, cross-country cyclist and Peace Corps volunteer, and he asks not to be called Rabbi. When Jeremy asks what to do about a conceptual block, his first answer is one word: sidestep.
His example is a client writing a screenplay too close to their own experience to see clearly. Alon suggested a science fiction version, and the client preferred a western. Moving the characters to Nevada let him see them more easily and see what mattered.
The same idea works for other forms. A painter might write a poem. A poet might spend an hour on a bench taking photographs. A photographer who has never shot in black and white might try it. Such side steps, Alon says, awaken creativity and also lower the stakes.
ᚢLower the stakes to overcome creative block
Alon plays in a lowest-division, co-ed soccer league. He once heard another team captain say that the stakes had never been lower, and he thinks that is a great motto for making art. Most of us will not be professionals, he says, and what you write does not have to be your final draft. It can be an idea.
His view on accountability is practical too. A coach holds you to projects and processes you set yourself, he says, such as whether you wrote the song this month. He believes people who pay with time and resources tend to deliver, and he has seen that when he did not charge people they often did not show up.
He likes low thresholds and achievable goals. One client signed up to do 60 seconds of art every day, and Alon notes that you get stuck in for a minute and suddenly it is 20 minutes. When clients say they will record guitar for an hour a day, he suggests aiming lower and underpromising.
ᚦWhy perfectionism stops people from making art
Jeremy suggests that artists get caught up in a picture of perfection. Alon says the problem sits underneath that sentence: he tries never to use the word perfect. He has seen green and seen a tree, he says, but never perfect, and he does not think it exists.
In his view, if you can kill perfectionism, the degree of self-loathing and imposter syndrome falls dramatically. He quotes Voltaire, that the best is the enemy of the good, and says that if you wait for the perfect moment before you have children, marry or make art, you will never stop waiting.
He also thinks adults lose a childhood sense of play and wonder, and that people become good at an instrument because they play it a lot and enjoy it. Recovering that, he says, is mostly about getting the play back.
ᚨCreativity, ADHD and being a weirdo
Alon says he was always a weirdo, a word he has embraced. He sees things through a different lens and makes strange connections, which he thinks helps him with artists. Everyone, he says, feels like they do not fit in, and people look more confident before they step into his office.
Jeremy has ADHD and says he has always felt that he thinks differently. Alon gives his own view that ADHD can be an asset in creating, because looking at the fringes and connecting corners is where depth of creativity can come from. His example is teaching Bible through tabletop role-playing games.
For readers who recognize themselves here, Jeremy also offers ADHD coaching for high achievers, along with individual therapy.
ᚱComparison is the thief of joy: Jeremy's drum kit
Jeremy was in a heavy metal band in high school and admired drummers like Neil Peart. He kept comparing himself to Peart, he says, and that made him stop. His drum kit now sits in bags in his garage, about 25 years later.
Alon answers with a reminder that Ringo and Peart would not have swapped places and kept their bands successful, and that you cannot compare a gourmet meal to an apple. A friend once told him he was not trying to be better, only the best version of himself he could be. A Jewish teaching story about Rabbi Zusha makes the same point: the question in heaven is why weren't you like Zusha.
Alon ends the thought with the line that the world needs you to come alive, a phrase he attributes to the theologian Howard Thurman. If you want to start small with Jeremy and the community around him, you can join Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community, for real conversation, live Fireside Chats and a course library.
ᚲDay jobs, art and why art is an essential human need
Jeremy says many people are crammed into a corporate factory and give up what they loved when they were younger. Alon pushes back gently: he sees nothing wrong with a day job. He tells clients the only reason to leave one is to make more art, and mentions a friend who loved consulting and played bass on weekends.
He would argue your job is better if you write poetry, because there is a fluidity of mind that makes us better everywhere. He also says even ideal lives are full of struggle, like a game designer who streamed only 12 hours a week and spent far more hustling.
Alon says art is an essential need, not a frivolous extra. People made art in caves, he points out. He hopes to see more beauty in the world, and he would like people to stop thinking art is frivolous or that artists have it easy.
ᚷThe snare drum challenge
Alon dares Jeremy to put his kit together and bang on it. His challenge for the week is smaller: set up the snare drum, tune it and try a couple of paradiddles, then send a recording. Jeremy agrees it can be done in 20 minutes.
If this conversation has you wondering about your own next step, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work suits you.
ᚨ Questions people ask
How do you overcome creative block?
Alon recommends a sidestep, such as moving a project into a different genre or medium, and lowering the stakes so that what you make is just an idea. He also likes tiny daily goals, because starting for a minute often becomes 20.
What are creative blocks caused by?
In this conversation, Alon points to perfectionism, comparison to heroes, self-doubt and imposter syndrome. He also notes that adults lose the sense of play they had as children.
How do you restart a creative practice you stopped years ago?
Alon suggests starting small and playing where you are now. His challenge to Jeremy was to set up and tune a snare drum in 20 minutes, not to relearn the whole kit.
Can ADHD help creativity?
Alon believes ADHD can be an asset for creating, since connecting fringes and corners can lead to depth. That is his view and the episode is not medical advice.