Creativity is In All of Us (Top Myths Busted and Five Ways to Unleash Yours)

Legend has it…

Young Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when a falling fruit bonked him on his head. In a miraculous moment of insight, he suddenly came up with his law of gravity.

We’ve all heard this story in one form or another, but in reality, things did not go down quite like that.

In 1665, Newton did move out of Cambridge University back to Woolsthorpe Manor in the countryside due to an outbreak of bubonic plague. However, there was no evidence that an apple actually landed on his head. What actually happened? No one really knows, but an anecdote in a biography: Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life offers some clues.

His friend William Stukeley recounted “After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden, & drank thea under the shade of some apple trees… he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind…. occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a contemplative mood.”

Turns out, he wasn’t alone.

He wasn’t stuck by an apple or an “aha”.

He had been in deep thought about gravity for awhile.

Stories about eureka moments and lone rangers like Thomas Edison are everywhere, but they are just that, stories. The truth is creativity doesn’t happen like that.

Here are the four most common myths:

1/ The Eureka Myth

MYTH: It’s about being in the right place at the right time. The big idea finds us and will manifest, completely out of your control.

REALITY: Creativity is a process. It involves preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation and elaboration. It is neither a gift nor a lightning strike moment. It’s hard work combined with a wandering mind.

2/ The Breed Myth

MYTH: We are born creative. Either you are or you aren’t.

REALITY: There is no compelling evidence to suggest that personality components are tied to creativity. The only one out of the big five (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) that has any sort of correlation is openness. Even then, openness is not a fixed trait.

3/ The Originality Myth

MYTH: Brilliant ideas are the creations of single individuals.

REALITY: Most great inventions are the result of building on previous ideas and thinking. In many cases, it occurs simultaneously to many people (social networks, transportation apps etc.)

4/ The Expert Myth

MYTH: Only those with the deepest knowledge will have breakthrough ideas.

REALITY: Actually deep level expertise can lead to narrowed thinking - the curse of knowing too much. People with breakthrough ideas operate at the fringes with enough knowledge and ignorance to take new paths.

BASE PRINCIPLE

Creativity lies at the intersection of hard work and a wandering mind.

WHAT IF?

What if you were able to tap into your creativity? What if your creative ideas opened up experiences you never thought possible? What if you followed a creative idea and it changed your life?

Have you come to terms with the creativity myths?

Time to use your gift to create.

Here are five ways to boost your creativity today:

1/ Activate your muse

You have a muse, something that helps you get into a creative state. You might not know what that is yet. Your muse can be an environment (dim, incense, drumming music) or it can be a time (4 a.m. in the morning) or even a person (your 5 year old kid). Whatever it might be, don’t be afraid to lean into it.

2/ Tap into your emotions

Love, grief, suffering… emotions are often the source of tremendous creativity. Why do you think there are so many songs about love and loss? When you tap into your emotional experiences, you can be sure your mind will take you to some place different.

3/ Develop a creative habit

“When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” - Kurt Vonnegut.

Even a master like Vonnegut feels terrible when he writes, but what’s important to note is that creative people don’t wait to be inspired to create, instead they create to invite inspiration.

4/ Go take a walk outdoors

A landmark study out of Stanford University found that creative output increased by a whopping 60% when participants were walking. Walking eliminates distractions and puts your mind in a relaxed state. Furthermore the connection to nature also improves our mood and seem to alter our mental processes.

5/ Establish a process of sharing, revising, and combining

If you are ever in charge of leading a creative process, be sure to organize it such that there are several stages in which ideas are regularly shared, revised and re-structured with everyone on the team. If you are creating alone, see if you can bring in some folks to participate in this process.

Michelangelo

Legends, don’t wait for an apple to fall on your head. Every blank canvas, every empty notebook, every unrecorded video is an opportunity for you to create.

You deserve it.

The world deserves it.

​Live your legend,

Howie Chan

Creator of Legend Letters

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Sources:

1. Dove, Laurie L., Was Isaac Newton Really Hit in the Head With an Apple?, How Stuff Works, May 25, 2023 - LINK

2. Burkus, David, The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas (Book) - LINK

3. Lancaster, Vanessa, 15 Myths About Creativity, Psychology Today, July 8, 2021 - LINK

4. Barrett, Tom, 5 Essential Mental Models for Boosting Your Creativity, Medium, February 20, 2022 - LINK