Every now and then I get a chance to verbally smack someone. And it feels oh, so, good. Yesterday I was chatting with my friend and these words left his mouth, “I can’t be that creative. I’m more analytical.”
Verbal smack! “That’s a cop out. You can be creative if you’re just willing to try.” And that’s the truth. Saying things like “I’m not creative because…” or “I could never do that…” are cop outs. They’re excuses to keep you from trying and they’re lies.
I’m convinced anyone can be as creative as they’re willing to be. If they’re willing to put the effort into action, they can create amazing things.
The craziest thing about my friend’s proclamation is that he’s a photographer. A really good photographer. He comes up with great shots all the time. But at the same time he holds himself back by thinking he’s analytical – thus not creative. He’s not as “creative” as the person he really admires so he doesn’t want to go to the next level.
Let me include you in on my secret. I’m not that creative either. I’m extremely analytical. I relate everything I do to math. When I play chords I see numbers. When I design a graphic I see symmetry (even when I design something seemingly asymmetrical). The way your brain processes has nothing to do with your ability to create.
Creativity is simply showing others what you see in a way they can process. So whether you see numbers and angles, or colors and clouds, you can be creative by showing that to others.
Let’s avoid these excuses we make that keep us from improving as artists. Let’s avoid the cop outs and create because we know we were meant to be creative. You can and need to do it.