In recent years it definitely inhibited my creativity. I think that is because of the overwhelming nature of my job. Maybe the corporate world has just gotten much more draining than it was years ago. Years ago - like in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, early 2000s - I was able to hold down a serious full-time job but still be creative. After 9-11 all that changed.
Keep writing! Believe in yourself. Submit your writing to many journals, magazines, anthologies, whatever seems appropriate, regardless of whether you receive rejections. Don't let rejection become personal, and stop you on your writing journey.
Great advice! I wish I had taken it early on. I was too timid. Much of the stuff that I wrote was garbage. I wish I had had a Professor Bhaer (as Jo had in "Little Women") to tell me that my subject matter was ill-chosen.