How To Break Through Your Creative Roadblocks: Learn From Your Peers

FEARS
That Stall
CREATIVITY
STORY Attendee Survey
www.engagious.com | 212.760.4358 | hi@engagious.com

OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH
• Story Conference attendees were asked to complete a 10-minute
online survey prior to the conference. The survey focused on
behaviors and attitudes related to fears and included a video that was
evaluated with Dialsmith’s proprietary Perception Analyzer technology.
• Results are being presented September 19, at the conference with a
full report distributed to all attendees.
• A total of 108 attendees participated. A snapshot of who they are:
2
GENDER
Male Female
www.engagious.com | 212.760.4358 | hi@engagious.com
OCCUPATION
Entertainment
Artist/Graphic Design
Writer/Journalism
Branding/Marketing/Advertising
Education
Other (ex. not-for-profit, consultant, faith-based)
GENERATION
Generation Z Millennials
Generation X Baby Boomers

DETAILED FINDINGS
CREATIVE BLOCKS – HOW LONG DO THEY LAST?
How long was the longest creative block you’ve personally ever experienced?
• We intentionally designed this question as an open-response, because we didn’t want to bias attendees with a scale. Therefore, we
don’t have an average length of time to report but can say that the majority described their longest creative block in terms of weeks,
months, or years!
• Of note, 3 people (of 108) have never had a block or don’t believe in blocks.
3www.engagious.com | 212.760.4358 | hi@engagious.com
TIMEFRAME TO DESCRIBE LONGEST BLOCK
Minutes
Hours
Days
Weeks
Months
Years

DETAILED FINDINGS
IMPACT OF FEARS ON THE ABILITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Respondents rated 22 fears for how great
of a barrier each was to their ability to be
successful.
• The top fears are related to being
socially accepted. The most impactful
fear was not living up to expectations,
which was markedly higher than all of
the other fears.
• Other fears relating to how people
are perceived by others also rose to
the top of the list.
• Interestingly, fear of change is the
least impactful, perhaps because this
group is open to change or frequently
experiences it.
Notes:
Slightly higher for women (3.15 vs. 2.61)
Skews higher for younger age groups
SOCIAL
ACCEPTANCE
2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Change
Feeling unworthy of recognition
Becoming stale
Offending someone
Showing your workto others
Losing control to others
Not finishing
Doing something new
Your work losing meaning
Missing out onanother opportunity
Unknown/unforeseen circumstances
Being embarrassed
Taking onmore than you can handle
Not being able tomake anincome
Not being perfect
Not being original
Receiving destructive criticism
Disapproval from others
Making a baddecision
Being rejected
Being judged negatively
Not living up to expectations
FEARS
IMPACT ON ABILITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Average Rating, 1 to 5 scale
GreatestImpactLeastImpact

DETAILED FINDINGS
THE IMPACT OF THESE FEARS, IN YOUR OWN WORDS (a few selections)
www.engagious.com | 212.760.4358 | hi@engagious.com 5
The rest of the organization seems
to adore everything I do, but I'm
constantly suffering from imposter
syndrome. I'm always waiting for
someone to figure out how much I
don't know or catch on that I'm
really just flying by the seat of my
pants out here.
I often feel that if my ideas are not strong enough, perfect
enough, or supported enough, my colleagues and superiors will
lose faith in my abilities…I've been procrastinating on (my
project) for fear of not meeting the needs and expectations of
my peers and therefore struggle to be creative in my endeavors
to finish it – no matter what I put on paper, I immediately
dismiss it as not good enough to pursue further.
I’ve developed a reputation for quick copywriting
that's 99.9% of the way there when I present it. Now,
if something feels difficult, I get up in my head about
how I've obviously peaked, I'll never be able to write
good and fast again, I'm not going to meet others'
expectations of me based on what they've heard from
my other clients... and the more up in my head I get,
the more difficult it is to write well and fast.
I work with one very
creative executive who
always has plentiful ideas
and expects you to come
with lots of big ideas
regularly. This pressure to
come with big ideas
actually is a block on more
natural flow of creativity
and excitement.
NOT LIVING UP TO
EXPECTATIONS
When designing larger public-facing
projects like displays or websites, I
often fear that my original ideas will
be seen as sub-par and I tend to let
my boss's ideas shape the project
even when I believe deep down that
my concepts are better.

DETAILED FINDINGS
When I needed to present
a new business model for
a new initiative in an area
of my weakness--rather
than in an area of my
expertise--I kept double-
guessing myself until I
finally recognized the fear
and pushed through it.
Instead of trying something new
and weird (like writing in a totally
different style, for example), I
played it safe and stuck with the
usual, familiar, safe approach and
writing style.
I have been trying
to finish a book for
the last five years
and I just need to
commit to one of
several storylines.
MAKING A BAD
DECISION

DETAILED FINDINGS
I often feel I work at a VERY
conservative company with a pretty
conservative dress code. I am
happiest when I use my wardrobe to
express my creativity in a classy, yet
colorful way, but I always worry that it
impacts the trajectory of my career.
And to be fair -- it probably DOES. But
I tell myself that a career that hinges
on me dressing like everyone else is
NOT a career I want.
BEING JUDGED
NEGATIVELY
I fear that I'm too old and
everything is young and hip
and fast and techy and no
one will honor the life
wisdom and worldwide
experiences I bring to my
craft.

DETAILED FINDINGS
I really want to publish my collection of
short stories. I've received great
feedback and encouragement but the
publishing industry is tough and I am
afraid my book might be rejected even
though I think it would resonate with
my target audience.
I have a hard time owning my own
ideas. If I write a list of great
taglines, I will let someone else
present them as a part of a greater
creative presentation, so that if my
ideas are rejected, it feels wrapped
in a bigger package than just my
own ideas.
I went way out on a limb to criticize a commonly used
business practice that had been employed by my
company for years. I also backed up that criticism with my
recommendations on how to liven said business practice
up. It was a huge risk bucking the tradition. If it had not
been positively received, I would have had very little to fall
back on. I had some very anxious days, and still do, as I
continue to roll out the new ideas.
I have a church gig and had asked
to sing a song on a particular day
when my birthday fell on a Sunday.
They said yes, it was lovely and well-
received, and afterward I was
overwhelmed with the sense and
fear that they were going to fire me
because I was just, I don't know, too
much or something.
BEING REJECTED
I find myself often choosing
the safer path knowing it will
be accepted rather than
taking risks that I know could
result in something great.
(I left a) comfortable but
mundane design position to
interview at another
company for the first time.
It worked out – my
creativity and skills have
taken a leap since joining
my new team.

DETAILED FINDINGS
I held back ideas and a new
approach because I didn't think it
would be understood or that it
would fall in line with the client's
vision for the project.
Frequently I have ideas or concepts
for graphics that I don't push past
the initial ideation or sometimes
even start for fear that it might not
be received well.
Sometimes I prefer not to
share ideas or thoughts
because I think it's not
good or smart enough
Too often, caring about what my
coworkers or clients will think of the
work I'm doing actually leads to work
that's more off the mark. Anticipating
what others will think is good takes
the work away from something that
creatively solves a problem and turns
it into work that tries to serve too
many masters… clients that wonder if
you're actually know what you're
doing.
DISAPPROVAL FROM
OTHERS
Working on a new direction for
social media channel I was working
on. I felt a STRONG sense that
anything that went out was going to
be not good enough for how we
were to be representing our brand.

DETAILED FINDINGS
It's SO HARD for me to sing in front
of people because I know there are,
quite literally, half a million people
here who are probably better than
me—many of whom are my friends.
I'm not trying to pursue a career as a
singer, but it used to be such an
outlet for me and I miss it like crazy.
RECEIVING
DESTRUCTIVE
CRITICISM
I stood before a canvas with paintbrush
in hand lost in that beautiful creative
"zone" adding all textures and colors
and a person who was in the role of
teacher said, "you're either an Abstract
Expressionist or you're on drugs." It
shut me down to a creative painting
process I truly felt and enjoyed...
This survey makes me ready to give
positive comments and encouragement
to folks I meet at Story.

DETAILED FINDINGS
I've been afraid to take chances on blogs
because I feel like the space I wanted to enter
was already too saturated. I think the issue
here is that I'm already thinking of others
before creating content for the pure joy of
content creation… There are others creating
work (on) social media and I can easily fall
down the rabbit hole of comparison and self-
destructive mindset.
When you are designing for R&D
showing a solution that is currently
being used or only marginally futuristic
feels like it can totally kill your
businesses credibility.
I get so lost in what other people
have done and what other stories
have already been told. I become
paralyzed by trying to find what
my unique voice is while holding
other people's stories higher to
my own.
NOT BEING
ORIGINAL
Writing my book!! I got into this space
early on, as we were starting, of it's all
been done before and who am I and
they are all going to make fun of me and
what if people think I'm a copycat or
what if I get sued . So much fear-based
crap running through my mind and TONS
of imposter syndrome.
I had an idea for a part of my
book but was watching a tv
show and saw my idea being
used. Now feel like I can't use it
because it feels like stealing
from a show I love.
It's incredibly hard to be
motivated to do something
when it feels like someone out
there has done it before and
someone certainly has done it
better. It also feels boring for the
same story to be told over and
over again.

DETAILED FINDINGS
ATTITUDES ABOUT FEARS
Respondents evaluated 18 attitudinal
statements for how well they agree
with each.
• While respondents seek new
experiences to grow, they also seek
to be liked by others and fear the
embarrassment of making a mistake
or looking dumb.
• While they are open to change, they
appreciate boundaries and
expectations of what’s to come.
Notes:
Slightly higher for women (3.33 vs. 2.79)
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
I need things to stay the same
Boundaries make me crazy
I need my project to be perfect in my head
I play it safe, because I don't want to fail
I worry people will findout I'm pretending
Criticism makes me defensive
When I am stuckI wait for inspiration tostrike
I enjoy putting mywork out there for feedback
Boundaries make me feel safe
I like toknow exactly what to expect
When I make a mistake I feel stupid
I welcome criticism;it makes me better
I need to overcome fear in order to create
I'm afraid of looking dumb
Past embarrassment makes me uncomfortable
I need people to like me
I love new experiences outside comfort zone
Mistakes are opportunities for growth
FEARS
ATTITUDINAL AGREEMENT
Agreement, 1 to 5 scale
GreatestAgreementLeastAgreement

HOW GREAT ARE YOUR FEARS, REALLY?
This one’s an eye-opener…please pay attention to it.
Respondents evaluated five career-related actions and five generally
accepted undesirable actions for how willing they would be to take on
each. The actions were ranked from one to ten.
• Of all of the actions, respondents are most willing to make a career
change. In fact, 64% of people would rather make a career change
than change a flat tire on a busy highway.
• Actually, changing a flat tire on a busy highway is preferred over
most of the actions that are likely pretty commonly experienced
throughout these attendees’ careers, and none of these career
actions are preferred more compared to walking barefoot on hot
coals, getting third-degree sunburn, driving in a tornado, or being a
victim of identity theft. In fact, the majority of respondents would
rather make a career change, receive unearned recognition, do
work they’re not passionate about, produce work that offends
someone, or have their flaws publicly called out than they would
walk barefoot on hot coals, get third degree sunburn, drive in a
tornado, or be a victim of identity theft.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CareerchangeFlattire
Unearned
recognition
Unpassionate
work
Offensive
w
ork
Flaw
scalled
out
Barefooton
coals
3rd
degreesunburn
Drivein
tornado
Identity
theft
Average Ranking (from 1 to 10)
Most Willing Least Willing
Most afraid of these
Are these career actions the cost of doing business?
Are they common enough that people don’t fear them so much?
Are they not really THAT scary when compared to things that are “really” harmful?

DETAILED FINDINGS
Respondents viewed short video of a narrative related to fears and
writing blocks and used Dialsmith’s proprietary Perception Analyzer
dial technology to indicate how well they related to the content
moment-to-moment.
• Content that referred to their fears limiting their creativity,
getting started, and regret of trying related most strongly.
REACTIONS TO A NARRATIVE
“I’m afraid of failure, but
if I don’t do what scares
me, I’ll regret it.”
“Sometimes just
getting started is the
hardest thing”
“What if…I get
writers block? Run
out of ideas? …”
Average (n=108) = 65.25
AverageofallDials
Elapsed Time, seconds

DETAILED FINDINGS
SUMMING IT UP
You told us:
So where do we go from here?
Fear you don’t own me…
I know I'm strong
And I am free
Got my own identity
So fear, you will never be welcome here
Song source: Millard, Bart, David Garcia, and Francesca Battistelli.
The Breakup Song. 2018.
We all have fears.
Fears related to being
socially accepted have
impacted your ability
to be successful in the
past. They feel real
when you’re going
through them, but
are they?
You’ve managed
through many of those
fears as they are the
cost of doing business,
and they’re not at all
as scary as other
threats, such as
identify theft.
You seek out new
experiences to be able
to grow,
understanding that
making mistakes along
the way
teaches you.

DETAILED FINDINGS
THANK YOU to all STORY attendees who participated in our survey!
David Paull
Co-founder & CEO
Engagious & Dialsmith
david.paull@engagious.com
@davidpaull (everywhere)
503.505.6271
www.engagious.com
www.dialsmith.com

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