Stroking the Snake

Building your creative confidence after a battering is a step by step process.

Along with his brother Tom, creative thinker David Kelley has developed a series of strategies to get people past what they believe to be the '4 fears' that hold most of us back. 

Are these 4 Fears holding you back creatively?

The Kelley's identified the four fears as: 

1. Fear of the messy unknown
2. Fear of being judged
3. Fear of the first step
4. Fear of losing control

David Kelley is the founder of Stanford University’s d.school which helps students develop their creativity, as well as co-founder of the award-winning design and innovation consultancy, IDEO (pronounced 'eye-dee-oh').

His ideas are partly inspired by the work of Albert Bandura, a world-renowned psychologist and Stanford professor who helped people conquer lifelong snake phobias by guiding them through a series of increasingly demanding interactions ending them with actually touching a snake.

More from David Kelley

If the video piques your interest, you might like

• this podcast interview with Kelley about the Four Fears. (There is also a transcript of the interview.)
• Creative Confidence - the new book by David and Tom Kelley

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Can you identify any snakes in your own creative life?

Ask yourself:

• What is my ‘snake’?
• What steps would I need to take in order to be able to touch it?
• What is the first step?
• When will I begin?

Share your proposed strategies for dealing with your snakes in the comments!

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