Letting Fear Paralyze Creativity: 4 Ted Talks to help this NOT happen
Letting Fear Paralyze Creativity:
4 Ted Talks to help this NOT happen
Myth: Creativity is only for artists
And the truth about our left and right brain
Oftentimes when people hear the word “creativity” they associate it with the arts. If you aren’t a painter, writer, or musician...that must mean you aren’t creative right? Not at all. Every person has the ability to be creative. You can be creative in your job, in projects, in how you spend money, or even how you plan your day. Creativity simply means the use of the imagination or original ideas.
Ok, now it’s time to take your preconceived definition of creativity (only being for artists, writers, and musicians) and throw that away. Creativity is going to be an essential tool in your tool belt as a future entrepreneur.
How to build your creative confidence
“I am not creative.” Have you ever said this before? If you have, have you ever thought about why you believe this? Maybe this stems from a failed art project from school or a failed attempt at something. Fear of creativity tends to parallel to our fear of judgement and what people will think. However, when we create to please others we are killing our creativity.
How craving attention makes you less creative
In this era of social media it is easy to get caught up in follower count, likes, shares, and engagement. These definitely aren’t things to ignore when running a business but when it comes to your creativity, how many likes you get on a photo should not be the driving factor behind your why .
Before you pursue a creative idea, it is important to ask yourself “is this something I am passionate about or is this something that I know will get me attention?” These are essential questions to ask yourself. When starting a new job, ask yourself this question. When you start a new hobby, ask yourself this question. At the end of the day, we are all human. We want to be seen and loved. Do not sacrifice who you are and what you are truly passionate about in order to get attention.
There is this fear that often accompanies creativity. Fear of failure, fear that someone else has created your idea, fear of not being good enough, and so on. Yes, with any idea it is more than likely already been done before, yes you might fail, and yes your idea may be rejected. The question you must ask yourself is, “so what?” Every failure and rejection is just getting you one step closer to your own creative breakthrough.
In Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic, she talks about how fear and creativity go hand in hand. When we have a creative idea, fear accompanies this and that is ok. Gilbert states, “This is why we have to be careful of how we handle our fear- because I’ve noticed that when people try to kill off their fear, they often end up inadvertently murdering their creativity in the process.” Basically what this means is if fear ignites as you begin to pursue a new creative idea, this doesn’t mean you need to abandon this idea. Let fear sit with you and remember that it doesn’t have to debilitate your creativity.
How to apply creativity to your School Based Enterprise
Take creative risks! Try ideas out and learn from your failures. As you branch out and let your imagination and creativity flourish, it will only continue to grow. If you let fear of failure or judgement paralyze your ideas, you will never lead a creative life. Remember that fear is inevitable, but do not let it stop you.
Once a month, sit down with your team and do a creative brainstorming session on how to improve your SBE. Use this time to think outside the box and allow everyone to present ideas. Write these ideas down and discuss as a team what ideas you want to pursue whether it is new marketing strategies, new products to sell, or maybe new ways you want to organize your team.
The takeaway
We all have creativity in us. In our society, creativity has been poorly framed to be something that is only a gift that some people are born with. You are creative and like with any skill, it must be practiced.