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Top 10 Myths About Creativity

We have a lot of misconceptions when it comes to creativity. Not only it is a valuable tool in our personal development but it also can improve our life tremendously if it is properly understood. Let’s clarify some of the myths out there about creativity.

1. Only special talented people are creative.

While it is true that it seems like people like Mozart or Picasso are more creative then others, if looked at closer, their creative genius will reveal a lot of very hard work, rather then innate talent. Usually people, who demonstrate higher then average creative abilities, also work much harder then the average person.

2. Being creative is hard.

Yes it is. Actually it isn’t being creative that is hard, it is working on developing that ability. Once we learn how to easily channel creativity, it becomes second nature to us, as easy as breathing.

3. Problems are in our life to make it more difficult.

Problems of any kind are the key to learning. No matter how unpleasant they might be, we learn from every problem we encounter in our life. By using creative problem solving, we not only find the solutions to the dilemma we are facing, but also develop our creativity in the process. Without problems in our life, we would not advance as a society. Problems force us to find solutions and improve our life as a result.

4. I am not creative.

There is no such thing as people who are not creative. If you feel that creativity comes to you with a lot of effort, it is more likely that your creative ability is in a dormant state. Creativity works similarly to muscles in our body. When we use them all the time, the muscles are toned and fit. As soon as we stop exercising, the muscles become flabby and our body accumulates fat around them for protection. To have creativity easily accessible to us, we should use it on a regular basis. The more we use it in our daily life the easier it will flow.

5. Innovation is the domain of geniuses.

It is true that many of people whom we call geniuses are highly creative as well. It seems that because it comes so easily to them, they are almost blessed with special abilities. Behind every great innovation however, are many years of hard work. We often do not see this, but if you talk to anybody who truly succeeded, you will find out that they did so after many hardships and struggles.

6. I have to have brand new ideas in order for me to be considered creative.

This is the greatest secret that no creative professional talks about. “There are no new ideas!” Most great ideas are a combination of old concepts presented in a fresh, new package that provides us with a sense of novelty. There are exceptions when an idea is truly unique. Those do happen, but majority of creative endeavors are improving upon concepts that already exist or putting several old concepts into a new combination.

7. Brainstorming is hard work.

Yes, brainstorming can be, but it also can be a lot of fun. If one brainstorming technique isn’t working, all we have to do is try another one. As a matter a fact there are as many techniques to spark creativity as there are people who use them. For some people structured techniques work better and others perform best in a free flow atmosphere. The trick is to find one that works for you.

8. Only artists need to be creative.

I am an artist by background, and I was trained to think in creative terms. But I use creativity in almost all aspects of my life. I use it in cooking. I use it when I can’t figure out how a new high tech gadget that I purchased works. I use it to try and keep the relationship with my significant other fresh and inventive. I use it to come up with new business ideas, dealing with people, exercising … Oh yeah I also use it when I do art.

9. Writers block is a greatest obstacle in the creative process.

It is one of the obstacles, but not the biggest one. The biggest obstacle is when we deny this part of us totally. When we pay no attention at all to our creative ability, we literarily put it to sleep. It becomes extremely difficult for us to be creative. Inaction is a far bigger obstacle in the creative process and a more difficult one to overcome. As soon as we kick start our creativity, the more we use it the easier it comes to us.

10. Using structured creative techniques will hinder my ability to be creative.

Some brainstorming techniques are pretty complex. If this isn’t what you are comfortable with, and it isn’t giving you the results that you are looking for, do not use it. Find some other technique that you respond better to. And if you do like using more structured techniques, go ahead and continue using them. Since everybody is different, you have to find what works for you. There is no difference in the quality of one technique over another, only in the personality of the person who is using it. All brainstorming techniques do the same thing - spark your creativity.

Take your job and shove it!

When I first immigrated to Canada, I did not have an education or the necessary skills to get a good job. The first job I ever had was washing dishes in a Chinese buffet. This was a huge restaurant. It sat something like 600 people, and on a Saturday night there was 600 people in the restaurant, as well as a line up outside.

My job consisted of picking up dirty dishes from the service stations, bringing them to the kitchen, washing them and bringing them out to the buffet. If you ever had a crappy job, you can relate to my experience there. I stayed at that restaurant for over two years. Here are some tips about how to survive working in a “crappy” job, or at least how I used my creativity to do so:

1. The time passes really slowly when you do not like your job. To make it more bearable, I tried to concentrate on what I was doing, rather then thinking about how much I did not like doing what I was doing. By concentrating on the task at hand, we stop the seemingly never-ending thought process in our mind. It allows us to relax and elevates some stress. Many meditation practices teach exactly that principal.

2. I started thinking about washing dishes as a game. I tried to improve how fast I was putting the dishes through the machine. How efficient I was at picking up dirty dish containers - any aspect of my job that I could improve. I didn’t do it because I wanted to be the best dishwasher, or because I really liked what I was doing, but because it gave me a way to challenge my self. It was that challenge that kept my interest up and made it more bearable for me to go to work everyday. It sounds stupid, but it works. In personal development circles this is called “Goal Setting”.

Sometime having a boring job isn’t our choice. Success doesn’t come instantly, sometimes we have to have a “crappy job” to be able to survive. I hope that these couple of tips I just shared with you, will elevate some of the pain. Our creativity can be a great resource at times when “we have to do what we have to do”. I always think of Mcguyver (a reference to a TV show from another era) when I think of creativity. What would he do to get out of this one?

Self Help your self to the top.

I grew up in Estonia, where my highest ambition would have been to work in a furniture factory. I was in a situation where the only way, I thought, for me to make a living would be to join the ranks of production workers at the factory. This wasn’t something I was extremely happy about, but I didn’t see any other way.

After having moved to Canada, I realized something - the only limitations we put on our selves are the ones that we put on our selves. I wasn’t exposed to all of the available possibilities when I was in Estonia; my point of view was narrow. I felt like I was stuck with one path in life. At some point after I moved to Canada, my point of view changed. I saw all the different opportunities this life has to offer, and not only saw them, but also understood that if I wanted to, I could take advantage of those opportunities. I became an artist. Instead of concentrating on what I was lacking in academic foundations, I looked at how I could use my creativity to become successful.

The limitations that we put on our selves plague us in all areas of our life. We do not see that the only real limitation that we have in our life is time, and even that can be managed. This is why it is so important to constantly work on shedding any and all beliefs that limit our potential. If I would trace the progress of my life, I could say with definite certainty that my progress accelerated about 300% as soon as I realized that I could do absolutely anything I wanted to, provided I am passionate about it. As soon as I made my first steps on the road of self improvement, my outlook on life changed. The limitations that I set for my self slowly disappeared.

People often think that they do not need someone else telling them how to improve their life. In many instances that might be true. It is however always beneficial to look at the an issue from a different perspective. My “point of view”, I was talking about earlier, changed because someone else showed me a different, better way of being. And because I wanted that “better way” I changed the way I looked at the world.

Education is a powerful tool. I am not talking about academic education. I am talking about something I call Life School. Things we all need to learn in order to succeed in life, to have a limitless outlook on life, to have happiness and fulfillment in everything we do. My Life School started when I first began to take self improvement courses and educate my self in all of the areas that my academic education did not. I feel very strongly about the necessity of this kind of education, because the success in all areas of my life I attribute solely to that fact that I took upon myself to improve my life through education. Self help and self improvement got me the confidence I needed to find a perfect relationship, to find out what I was passionate about and give me the tools to be able to bring my dreams into reality. I am now on a mission to help other people better their life by educating them selves. I hope that you will also reap as much benefit from this kind of education as I have. The best investment we can make is in our selves.