In Creative Doing, I write, “After years of learning and applying rules, you might live within these constraints even when they don’t actually apply to you. You’ll feel like you’re bumping into invisible walls.” I call these walls imaginary barriers. (You can read the full prompt here.)

Here are three types of imaginary barriers—amongst many others—that you should be mindful of:

The comparison barrier: You don’t see anyone else doing it, so you’re assuming there’s a good reason that people aren’t doing it. Best practices are a smarter version of framing this; someone successful did it this way, so you must also do it this way.

The certainty barrier: Because your path to your destination isn’t clear yet, you are too hesitant to move forward. 

The resources barrier: You didn’t get all the resources you need to achieve the ideal version of your project, and you either assume you can’t get started or you are unwilling to compromise.