Anyone can stumble across a mental block, be it a writer, artist, athlete, musician, or programmer. So how to get rid of mental blocks? The trick is not to get stuck in negative thinking that you can’t deliver as per expectations or you just can’t do it. Rather, give the ordeal a fair try. Don’t get bogged down by pressure. Instead, strive to follow the ways which can help in overcoming a mental block.
Strive to Struggle
All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today. — Pope Paul VI
Acceptance
Acknowledging that you are experiencing a mental block is the first step in dealing with the problem. In this step, it is crucial that you look for the actual reasons which are the source of your mental block. Most of the time, it occurs in the form of performance anxiety due to the onslaught of a certain event which triggers our ‘fight or flight’ response. Or, it may be because of the fear of failure. Whatever the cause, it is essential that we diagnose it and try to nip it in the bud.
Try Something Different for a Change
Do a different activity that you are good at. Be it playing scrabble all by yourself or shooting hoops at a basketball court. The idea is to achieve a sense of fulfillment that helps you in relaxing. Don’t do something that frustrates you, it will only aggravate the matter. Anything that breaks the mundane routine of your work can be effective in broadening your vision and in seeing new answers to a problem.
Visualize a Happy Experience
Try to visualize an event from your past when you felt really happy. Use it as a source for gathering positive energy, and utilize this to become productive at your task.
Change Your Environment
Cleanliness is next to godliness. Hence, keeping a clean and clutter-free workplace assists you to give your best at what you are doing. Organize your workstation in such a way that all the necessary items that you need are there within your reach.
Take a Shower
Mental blocks are mostly the result of anxiety about the future, and act as deviants from being steady in the present. Taking a shower helps relax, as it focuses your attention towards the present moment. Then, with a steady mind, it’s more easy to tackle a problem which is firmly rooted in the present.
Play to Your Strengths
Handle smaller or manageable tasks first. For example, you undertook a project which consists of parts that you don’t understand. Leave them aside for the moment, and try dealing with the concepts that you are clear with. You may start understanding the parts of the project which were unclear to you while completing the other clearer parts.
Take Help
If you thought across your problem through all angles, and are still unable to achieve any breakthrough, talk to other people about it. Maybe they can introduce you to a new perspective which you couldn’t come up with. Or, you could even search the web for how people, when faced with the same problem as yours, managed it.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
It’s imperative that you keep a positive attitude at all times. Read ‘self-affirming’ quotes out loud to yourself, like ‘you can do it’, ‘day by day in every way, I am getting better and better’, etc. Keep a poster of an inspirational or positive quote that you like near your workplace or in your room. Grasp its meaning and adhere to it religiously. And lastly, be kind to yourself.
