Raise your hand up high if you’ve ever heard yourself, or someone you know, say something like the following…

6 Common Creative Myths:

I don’t have a creative bone in my body

Am I doing it right?

Anyone else could do this better

I don’t have the right supplies or skills

That idea has already been done

I could never do that

Yep, we’ve all been there. Me included. Those nasty little negativities creep in and set up shop. Negative words and emotions like doubt, jealousy, worthiness, comparison, envy, fear, and frustration. As I’ve been exploring my current thoughts and feelings about creativity, I’m now ready to push those myths aside and own my creative self. And have fun along the way!

This brings me back to a previous post about the questions I’ve had about creativity. Specifically, what is creativity? Writer and research professor Edward O. Wilson wrote something so profound I can’t stop thinking about it. From his book The Origins of Creativity – “Creativity is the unique and defining trait of our species;” Wow. Take that in a minute. The whole of our human existence is based on creativity. Whoa! Wilson goes on to say – “and its ultimate goal, self understanding”. Creativity is part of us, to help us understand ourselves better. This makes so much sense. The past, present, future, it’s all encompassing. It’s a continuous journey driven by the emotions and feelings we receive along the way. Whether they be good or bad, they help drive our creative selves.

All our emotions and feelings show so much about our doing and being within creativity. The doing, which is the how-tos, tutorials, steps, actions, the science of creativity or the HOW. The being, which is the feelings, surrounding emotions, and the meaning behind creating or the WHY. It’s so important to take both of these in to account – the doing and the being. They are both needed. For so much of my life I’ve been a result-based creative, and only now am I waking up to the fact that I must become a reflection-based creative as well. They go hand in hand. And help to push past these myths. I am creative. Inside and out. All of me. It’s part of my human being.

So I’m gonna bust these myths. Let’s debunk the negative self-talk we tell ourselves and get back to the creative flow.

To help debunk these myths, I’ve taken to heart the following methods to help me move through the negative words and emotions (those nasty little myths) that come my way, cuz they hit me hard, a lot. I’m now taking forward action and moving in a positive direction to get creativity flowing. I say yes to creativity. Say it with me…

Busting Common Creative Myths

Words of positivity can attract all the good creative vibes we need to help us bust myths. Goes back to my post on repeating mantras for creative healing. Take time to work through the following myths, write them down and reflect on how we interpret them and why. Reframe the narrative, let them work for us and our renewed personal creativity. It’s all how we look at it.

1. I don’t have a creative bone in my body

We’ve all said this or thought this about ourselves. We see someone creative and tend to look past the qualities we DO have and focus on the ones we don’t. Let’s get past this. I suggest making a list of the creative parts we know about ourselves. –Maybe I can’t make a clay pot, but I can make a mean chocolate chip cookie. I probably won’t do well in a ballet class, but I can definitely shake my booty in Zumba.– It’s hard to see past our negative thoughts. But if we reframe that myth and see it in a new way, we will realize how creative we are in everything we do. Remember how it’s part of our human existence? So let’s own it. Speak it. Love it. Give our creativity space to grow and it will. Change the way we think about it and send our creative self all the good vibes.

2. Am I doing it right?

Oh boy, this myth is me. I’m a “must-follow all the rules” kinda person. But why do we need to ask ourselves this? Are we being graded? Is there a final test we’re taking? Most likely not. So who’s to say if we are doing it right? Instead we should be asking… “Do I like this?” “Am I having fun?” “What am I learning about myself through this process?” It’s about checking in with ourselves and asking different kinds questions, trying really really hard not to let comparison rule our creativity.

3. Anyone else could do this better

Maybe. But so what. Do it anyway. This goes back to the reasons why we create in the first place. What is our motivation? Is it to do it better than someone else, or just to do it? Again, don’t let comparison rule the day. We’re in charge. Let’s give ourselves the space to create. No one has to see it, let’s make it for us!

4. I don’t have the right supplies or skills

This stops us in our tracks from ever trying something creative. We think it has to be done in a specific way, with a specific tool, or with a specific method, making us think there’s only one way to be creative. Let’s see past this and know that not all creativity is ruled out. Don’t have any paints, but I have a camera. Don’t have a guitar, but I own a notebook and pen. There are so many ways to be creative, we just need to dig a little deeper. We have to allow ourselves to discover what it is we can do and get’er done!

5. That idea has already been done

Ya, so? So what if something has already been done. Has it been created by us? No, not yet. What might we do with it? How will we make it our own? Maybe we’ll make it different or our process will be unique. How will we know if we get stuck on the fact it’s already been done. Guess what? It’s all be done. Simply Google the idea and I’ll almost guarantee what we thought was an original idea has already been done. Yes, it can be deflating, but we have to pull up our creative pants and get to work anyway. WE can make something of it in our own way, with our own creative expression. I’m sure of it.

6. I could never do that

Well, how will we know if we don’t try? This is all about courage. It can be hard to begin, being vulnerable to try something new. Especially when we’ve already told ourselves we can’t or that someone else could do it better. Just like #3, maybe they can. So what. How are we going to do it? Let’s do it our way. Make it our own. Simply try. Take a class. Take to a friend. Watch a video. Break it down into smaller steps. We’ll come to find it’s almost too easy and why did we ever think we couldn’t make happen. We can!

Busting these myths:

It’s all about finding what feels good and brings us joy, that’s all that matters. The surprise and delight we can find in the world. Having a different attitude, reframing the myth into a positive, that is what will serve us. If we are creatively fulfilled, then it’s awesome. Nobody is perfect. So we have to stick with the meaning behind the action, the feeling we get, and the emotion it evokes in us to be our best self. Allow ourselves to get excited about creativity and OWN IT for us!

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*Top image via Tim Mossholder