7 worst cliches about creativity ... and 5 absolute truths

It is easy to fall into the trap of metaphors and myths surrounding the creators. In the trap of the confusion transmitted to each other and statements about what qualities are necessary in order to create. Let's understand how things really are, and how to succeed in creativity .

1. Everything rests on originality

One of the most serious obstacles in any creative work is the creation of something unique and interesting. Product that can surprise the user or reader. It’s hard to break through the satiated contentment of most people.

They cannot help but pick and choose - in the digital era, people have already seen everything.

')

But creativity is not only in inventing something unexpected. Sometimes it is only about disclosing what you believe in and writing material that honestly and openly reflects this.

2. Your whole life should be devoted to creativity.

For most of us, making a masterpiece turns into a test simply because we are constantly working. We have intense service with its long hours and long days that blur and mix with each other. By the time we get home, it seems: to switch to something else and to give at least a drop of creativity is almost impossible.



Does this mean that we are less creative than a college student who studies alternative literature who spends 5 hours a day tapping “The next great novel” on an antique typewriter? Not.



JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter, being a single mother and working in parallel. She just found time for it.

3. You must be a wizard

There is a cliché concerning artists and writers: they possess mysterious magic. It was fixed, thanks to the creators, insisting that strangeness is their main distinguishing feature, and looking down upon people who are engaged, for example, in technical work, which, it seems, does not require inspiration.



The truth is that the masterpieces belong to different artists: as accustomed to walk in strict suits, and those who consider themselves half elf. You can stand on the ground and still create amazing things.



You do not need a letter from Hogwarts to be a creative person. You should just work.

4. If you have a “gift,” everything will be easy.

When people are looking at a work of a creative person, they say that they would like to possess his talent and do the same, in a sense, this devalues ​​the work of the author, because he, in fact, was not born a writer, artist or musician. And a considerable part of his life worked hard to master these skills.



It is unlikely that someone is born, already having an innate talent that turns, for example, into selected novelists.



Great creators donate something and go to bed late. And you know what else? The rest can do the same. The idea that creativity is the result of unique talent is completely wrong.

5. Being a tormented genius

You don't need a drug break or an open bottle of JackDaniels to be creative. You don't need to be a recluse, a slightly crazy genius living in a dilapidated mansion, or an asshole.



You just have to work , and work hard.



The artists and writers who created the Pixar films did not do so against the backdrop of self-destructive egoism and scandals. They got up every morning and took it as work. And they were able to create one of the most attractive and delightful examples of the art of our time.

6. You must wait for inspiration.

This article is completed on Sunday at 7 am. Do you think the author visited the muse? And if you think more? He is tired, hungry and just wants to go back to bed. At this very moment the devouring flame does not burn inside. He writes because it is a work chosen by him.



There are many artists and other creative people who have abandoned all this because, according to them, the muse has died. This is complete nonsense. To begin with, they never had a muse. What they call inspiration is more correctly considered a stimulus. You do not moan, waiting for motivation , you create it.



Understand: inspiration really exists, and this is the real thing. But if you need it in order to be creative, you will lose it.

7. The Creator is as Good as His Tools

Some creators will tell you that if only they had that guitar pedal, or this synthesizer for $ 1000, or the newest MacBookPro, they could create something incredible. Or they will say that they will record their music only in an analog studio with a real film.



In fact, the budget of some of the most influential albums in our history was minimal, and the resources for their creation were completely absent. Ever heard of Ramons?



If you are a musician, you need a tool and a device for recording.

If you are an online writer, you need a laptop and internet connection.

Everything else is jewelry.

5 absolute truths about creativity

However, not everything depends on the cliché. There are several truths that are true for every creator working in any field, no matter who he is or where he is.



1. You must work hard. You have to exhausting, tedious, difficult work. Creativity should not and will not be easy.



2. You must be honest. If in your work you lie to an audience, you are deceiving yourself, and that will ruin you.



3. No one can be called a unique snowflake. There are no magical creators. Everyone can be creative, and everyone can create great things. How? See item 1.



4. You can act as a creator, move as a creator, speak (nonsense), as a creator. But if you don’t get things done, you're just a bummer. Writers write. Creators create.



5. If you wait for inspiration, you will lose a lot of time. Better find the incentive. And get up already from the couch!



PS We recommend another article on the topic - The best way to tap creative potential .



Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .