Do you believe you are not creative at all? Or think you need talent to be creative? How creative are you really?
Did you want to write a novel for a long time but never did. Do you have an original idea? Do you feel like everything under the sun is already created? That everything is already written and probably in a much better way than you would do it? Maybe you are trying to write a blog? However, millions of people are already doing this too and it’s almost impossible to come up with new and innovative ideas that would differentiate your ideas from others.
The feeling that our ideas are not as good as others is common even among successful people, or aspiring painters, musicians, writers, photographers, or anyone doing creative work. Sometimes this feeling of not being good enough can stop some from doing what they always wanted to do. A new study published in the scientific journal Acta Psychologica showed that we might be underestimating our creativity. In the study from Israel, researchers tried to determine how accurate we are with judging our creativity.
Participants of the study were asked for ideas on how certain everyday products can be used. They also had to indicate how others were successful with the task. In this way, their creativity was judged, as was the creativity of others. Also, researchers asked how creative they are compared to others.
The results of the study were striking. Participants of the study displayed bias towards underestimating their creativity and overestimating the creativity of others.
We Are All Creative
How do you know if you are creative?
Most of us are on autopilot and we don’t feel we are creative at all. Our lives don’t seem interesting. It’s not a question of if you are creative or not. It’s more a question of do you practice your creativity. Those who practice their creativity are more likely to be happier daily. Creativity will help you deal with negative emotions, anxieties, and reduce stress. It will improve the quality of your life.
When you are practicing your creativity, you will become a problem solver in all areas of your life and work. Instead of only one logical approach, instead of autopilot, dare to try something different. When you are creative, you see things differently and you deal better with uncertainty. When you become more creative you will realize that you are dealing better with uncertainty because you adapt to thinking differently better and you are not necessarily scared of the unknown.
On the other side, when you practice your creativity, there are some ups and downs and some risks. To be creative, you have to be vulnerable. That’s the main issue for many people. When engaging in the creative process you will build your confidence as well. Once you dare to be creative, you will see success and your confidence within yourself will grow. Even when we fail, we will see our failure as something that can help us survive and grow and make us better. We can dare to do things differently even at the risk of failing.
When you dare to be creative you will feel more confident. Art and creativity are not only for those “creative types” and even if you think you are not creative, you will be surprised when you discover your capacity to create great work. If you never created anything artistic but you want to, start with the small things. Don’t go big right away. I want to write a novel! Start with a story.
Don’t worry about doing things wrong and don’t wait until you have the perfect circumstances and all the knowledge. Become creative now.
