How to Discover Your Inner Creative Genius

Written by Guest Author: Tien Frogget

Edward de Bono said it beautifully... "There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all." And the truth is, you are more creative than you realize. 

How do I know this? 

Because you are a human being. Human beings are creators at heart. The only thing that holds you back from harnessing your true creative power is (you guessed it) - you. Just about everyone has felt disheartened at some point by their own creative abilities. And it is this feeling of not being good enough that holds us back. 

"In order to perceive, you must first believe." 

You are never going to experience your own greatness if you aren't first willing to believe that you are great! Remind yourself of this next time you are doing something creative, and give yourself permission to be great - even if it's just for ten minutes. Say to yourself, "for the next ten minutes, I am a master at what I do." 

Pretend. Imagine. Dream about it in your mind, until you begin to believe. You are an actor and you get to step into the skin of the genius expert who takes the most beautiful photographs, or paints the most beautiful paintings, or creates the most incredible designs in the world. 

Creativity is the very force that propels us forward in every single aspect of life. It is creativity that gives us new possibilities, that innovates and streamlines the way we do things. It is creativity that inspires new technologies, that has transformed the human race from a life of pure survival to a society that is increasingly more entertainment and joy-based than ever before. 

The shortest path to discovering your greatness as a creative individual is the one of FUN - and not caring how anything turns out. All great creations come from a place of total acceptance and letting go of the end result. Trying to be something, trying to be great, pushing circumstances to come together to create an end result is the slow path to good creations. Letting go and creating purely for the joy of creating with rocket you forward into great creations.

Pure creativity is not usually logical. It doesn't follow the rules that anyone who has gone before us has laid down for us. It breaks them all, against all odds, and reinvents the way we look at things. It comes from a whole new way of thinking and being. That's why I'm such a huge advocate of just playing - going out and taking photos for the fun of it, or painting pictures just for the fun of it, and not worrying about the classes and the rules. Not so much because you don't learn from classes - (you do, in fact) - but the classroom mindset gets in the way. 

All beginners are fresh and new, and ready to create. Then when you sit in class you are told that it is difficult, and hard, and there are certain things that work, and other things that don't... and the general mindset is that you are in a class full of people who are also somewhat talented and there's a pressure to stand out, to do better, and everyone is constantly comparing your work to everyone else's and then the beginner gets stuck in their head - the pressure to be better gets in the way of actually getting better. Instead of just enjoying the learning process they are trying to prove themselves, and then when they can't create genius right away, they begin to doubt their abilities as well as the possibilities. 

Become one of those people that constantly inspire us by stepping outside of the box and doing new things, experimenting, and most of all -- being willing to make endless mistakes. Create for the joy of it, not because you are trying to be successful at it. Find love in the journey, and you will amaze yourself. 

You are a valuable resource of powerful creativity. And you are great. 

Don't forget it.

  Enjoy more of Tien Frogget's writings at Paradigm Drift