4 Myths About Creativity we Need to Debunk Right Now
Do you feel like the act of creating requires a ton of time? Or that, in order to really be creative, you have to make it your job? Maybe you’re constantly seeking validation for your work. Or you feel like you can’t create until some big idea comes to you. The common issue? Resistance. So, for this week, I’m tearing down each of these myths and giving you different ways to let go of that resistance and just get creating!
What is a creative life? Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic* says, “A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life.” This may sound great but for many, it seems like a distant reality. Maybe even an impossibility. In The War of Art*, Steven Pressfield says, “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance.” Resistance will be the underlying reason for all four of the following myths about creativity. It could have its own episode or heck, even course, because it shows up in so many ways and causes so many issues within you as an individual and globally as a society.
Myth 1: Creativity Needs Tons of Time
People get this idea you need tons of uninterrupted time to create. Or that you have to be in a secluded area. My mom’s always been a writer and I know it’s something she used to do. Growing up I’d ask why she wasn’t writing and she’d say, “I’m too busy with you kids.” Then when I graduated college and was living in LA working in the music industry and my sister was going to college I asked again. “Oh, when your brother grows up.”
Now my brother is in college and my sister and I live on our own. I asked her again, “Oh when Daisy dies. She needs a lot of attention.” That’s our beloved family dog. Sadly Daisy has died and my mom still isn’t writing.
I don’t know what causes people to think there needs to be a perfect time or place to be creative. Maybe it’s how the title of “creative” was branded in media. Or maybe you feel overwhelmed at the idea of a book or painting as a whole. So you’d rather focus on process-type things in your life like cleaning or scheduling, so you feel in control and competent.
Regardless, creativity is an ever-present energy. It exists in every step you take in a daily walk. Or in those moments in the shower when an idea zaps you awake. When you make creativity a habit and actually put things in a tangible form like writing or painting, you’re more likely to keep doing more and more of the same. Then you’re more likely to recognize creativity too.
Your creative senses dull the more you ignore those inspirations. So would you rather commit to writing 15 minutes every day as part of your morning routine and let that be enough? Or because the conditions aren’t “perfect”, there’s that perfectionism, you get scared to sit down and create bc you don’t know what to expect so you keep pushing it off for decades and decades with ideas courting you but never getting to see the light of day? Either option can feel uncomfortable so which uncomfortable will pay off in the end?
Stephen King used to write novels in his tiny laundry room with his typewriter (or laptop can’t remember) propped on the dryer as it was vibrating. Not ideal. He actually said when he did make a lot of money he still didn’t allow himself to have the big desk in the middle of a spacious office. He stuck a small chair and desk in the corner of some room because he believed your life shouldn’t revolve around your art. But your art should fit into and be a piece of your life. Don’t make expressing your creativity more complicated than it needs to be.
Even for this episode, I wanted to open my laptop and type notes out on a Google doc, but I resisted doing it all day. Resisting art is a whole other story and one Steven Pressfield is amazing about in The War of Art*. But funny enough, my laptop ended up needing to reset. So as I sat on the couch waiting for it to finish, I felt inspired to pick up my phone notes and start writing.
Much easier. Less pressure. Sometimes it’s not the desire we’re lacking but the right tool. Or the right environment. Maybe when you’re resisting it’s because you’re making something more complicated than it needs to be.
Answer me this: have you been feeling irritated? Short-tempered? Burned out? Then let me ask you this: when’s the last time you were creative for the sake of creating? By not being creative you’re literally stifling the best and most magnetic part of yourself. It’s resistance at its core. The resistance stifles and distorts how you show up in other areas of your life.
I noticed that when I get snappy or irritated it’s probably because I haven’t been writing. Because I know it’s my true calling and form of expression. When I have written, most days I feel light as air, elated, and like nothing could bother me. And most times things don’t bother me because my spirit knows I care about its well-being. In turn, I’m happier for my husband, more patient with clients or people on the street, and I feel more present.
DO THIS NOW:
Schedule in a creative activity for ten minutes every morning for the next two weeks. Make it part of your morning routine and non-negotiable.
Myth 2: You Have to Make Your Creative Work Your Job
This is a trap many creatives fall into. They love to dance, write, or sing. So they pursue it professionally. That’s what I did. That’s what many of my friends did. Which isn’t a bad thing. It’s an admiral, touching thing.
But sometimes when you depend on your art to help you survive, emotions can get twisted. Resentments start to form. Stories get created about your art. And it can leave the creative burned out and in such pain, they don’t pick up the ballet shoes or pen again.
That’s what happened to me in the music industry. I felt so much resentment and disappointment that it’s been almost 8 years and I haven’t sung much. It’s like a block that sits in my heart where my untamed loved for music was.
DO THIS NOW:
Don’t feel you have to make creativity your job or nothing. Do you like writing? Join a writers group or write 500 words every morning. You don’t have to be a published author.
Do you like dancing? Take a dance class a few times a month or dance in your house to your favorite music. You don’t have to be a touring backup dancer or Misty Copeland.
Do you like creating videos? Edit a few short ones each week and post them on YouTube or Instagram. You don’t have to be Martin Scorcese.
If however you feel called to make your art your living, then may I suggest having a part-time or full-time job working for someone else. Something that covers your necessities for living, then working in your creativity on the side until you make enough to quit the other job. The #1 killer of creativity is scarcity. Being in survival mode. The brain literally shuts off the creative center to focus on survival. If you take care of those basics so you’re not in survival mode you’re more likely to thrive creatively.
Myth 3: You Need and Seek Validation for Your Work
Omg. The pressure we high achieving, perfectionist abiding, creatives put on ourselves! You may even be someone who doesn’t even start because the fear and pressure are too great. Remember this: even the most accomplished creators will say they’d still edit or tweak their greatest work. But they release anyway.
Those people were brave enough to “call it good and ship it” as Seth Godin says. It’s because they’ve learned to allow their fear to coexist with their creativity. The idea isn’t to get rid of or fight emotions like fear. But to stop giving them the driver’s seat in our life.
There are tons of practiced creatives you may admire and think “I’ll never be as good as them,” but first, why do you need to be like them? Why can’t you be like you? And second, imagine the limits you’re placing on yourself by needing validation. You shut off the very pressure valve of new ideas that only you can bring into the tangible world all because you need someone else to approve of you.
This has been an obstacle for me for many years. What I didn’t realize was being an empath played a huge role. An empath takes responsibility for the emotions of others around them and will change themselves to fit in better or ease the discomfort of others. They need people to be ok because they can’t handle feeling the negative energy of others. Now I know better and have been miles better.
DO THIS NOW:
Think about the ways you’re seeking validation from others in your life.
Do you feel insecure as a parent and need to feel you’re doing it right? Or that you desperately want your co-workers or bosses to think you’re amazing? Maybe you feel pressure to stand out on social media?
Make yourself aware by writing thoughts down or thinking on a walk or drawing it out. Then give yourself compassion and love for wanting to be a good person. Put your hand on your heart and say thank you a few times. Sit in that good feeling.
Myth 4: You Have to Wait Until Inspiration Strikes or You Feel Like It
This is my favorite one to debunk. One that seems intuitive but isn’t the truth. To make creativity a constant presence in your life, you must prove that you’re willing to show up first. Steven Pressfield talks a lot about this resistance. In fact, it’s why he wrote The War of Art*. Because resistance is part of the creative process.
Sure you may get lucky and have an inspiration strike now and then, but as time goes on you’ll get out of practice. What you focus on you attract more. So if you’re showing up every day, spending even ten minutes on creative work, and staying open to inspiration, the creative faucet will go from a drip to a big rush.
Even the most famous creators still struggle every day to create. JK Rowling feels resistance when she writes. Picasso probably resented or beat up on himself for not being better. Einstein ended up turning on a theory he created himself. Even with that resistance, they kept creating. Kept flowing. Kept going. So stop thinking you need to have the feeling first. You need to act first. Then the clarity and inspiration come.
DO THIS NOW:
Schedule out a block of time where you show up to create. 30 minutes or an hour. And get your butt in the seat. Even if you sit for 20 minutes and hardly get anything down it doesn’t matter. The end result doesn’t matter. It matters that you showed up and you’re working to teach your brain to let go and let it flow.
As Elizabeth Gilbert says in Big Magic, “So this, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”
Affirmation
I embrace my creative energy daily and always have time to make things.
Do This Today
Take action on debunking all four of these myths and commit to embracing your creative side again.
Writing Prompt
How am I blocking creativity in my life? What can I start, stop, or continue to foster a more creative life?
Resources
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