Really “Get” Creative, Mythbuster Number 2

Myth 2 “I’m not good at it so I’m not even going to try to be creative.” It’s true that people like to do things that they are good at. But have you ever watched a 5 year old create? Usually children jump right in, while adults question their abilities. Somewhere through our years of experience we learn to doubt our creativity and become jaded as to what being an artist entails. We set high standards after comparing our artwork to masters. When we do this, we lose the point of creativity. Yes, the output of creativity has its merits, however it’s the process of creating that is the most rewarding. It is the process of creating where we examine things in detail, look at solving problems in different ways and most importantly, take the risk of creating. It is during this process that time flies by. That we are focused and productive. If we continue to judge ourselves on our creative outputs rather than the process we often see ourselves “failing”. Yes, my hand stitching may not be as straight as stitches made from a machine, but they are just as good and I’d say even more valuable because of the process. If we view our creative output as a failure we often don’t try again. However if we examine the creative process and reward ourselves for taking risks, then we become rockstars. We’ll want to create more because we value the process more and we feel we are “good at it”. Creativity isn’t just the focus of making things, but how we get there, the journey we take. Like breathing the creative process is essential to who we are.