The Unromantic Truth Behind Creativity Myths

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What does it mean to be “creative”?

For millennia, cultures around the world have painted creativity as an elusive, unpredictable, sometimes divine gift bestowed upon the lucky few. By this understanding, creativity is a trait that cannot be pinned down, assessed, or measured. Yet, thanks to modern neuroscience, that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Our understanding of creativity is far more nuanced today. We know that there is not a creativity “gene” that some people are born with while others aren’t. In fact, pioneer creativity researcher and author of The Origins of Genius Dean Keith Simonton wrote in one study, “Artistic Creativity and Interpersonal Relationships Across Generations,” that “It seems that artistic talent does not run in families – only mediocrity does.” We also now understand that we can foster creativity in domains and in life far beyond traditional fields associated with creativity — the arts, literature, dance, music.

However, the perpetuation of creativity myths in pop culture does us a disservice. They undermine the years of work and tireless effort behind creative achievement. They lead us to believe that our creativity atrophies as we age, until we’re old and unoriginal. They deny our agency in the creative process, and they dissuade people from nurturing creative ideas before the seeds are even sown.

So, I’m going to tackle four of the biggest myths about creativity and share research-based practices that can actually help you live, act, and work more creatively.

Myths that undermine creative expression — and how to subvert them

1. Creativity is an inherent talent, not a learned skill.

Every human being has a deep-seated biological urge to develop novel, useful, and sometimes beautiful solutions to everyday challenges. After all, it’s our creativity as a species that has allowed us to adapt and survive. Yet many people believe that creativity is an innate talent: you’ve either got it or you don’t.

When stories of geniuses, star athletes, and prodigies abound in popular media, it’s easy to see how one could fall victim to this kind of thinking. In fact, one study found that the more stories people read about this kind of exceptional big-C “Creativity,” the more they believe creativity to be fixed.

But a mounting body of research shows that creativity is not a fixed character trait, nor is it a reserve that we deplete as we grow older. Instead, creativity is a skill we each can cultivate to become lifelong learners and leaders.

Try this: As with any skill, creativity requires practice but the learning curve can be steep. It’s like learning a new language or playing an instrument: Those first hundred hours of practice are usually the hardest, but they are also where you experience the most growth.

If you want to be able to flip your creative switch more easily, try building rituals that will help you drop into that generative state called “flow.” One simple way to find flow is to dedicate a space – maybe a favorite armchair or desk – exclusively to your creative work. Decorate that space with visual cues that spark your imagination and inspire. Be sure to also remove any distractions when you retreat to your creative corner.

2. Creativity is rooted in the right hemisphere of the brain.

You’ve probably heard people self-identify as “right-” or “left-brained” thinkers. This “split-brain” concept – the idea that the brain is divided into distinct rational and creative parts – is a major over-simplification of research that dates back to the '60s.

We now know that creativity – as well as rational decision-making – lights up both hemispheres. As such, narrowly focusing on exercises that stimulate the right-brain won’t necessarily enhance your creativity. But the idea of “exercising” creativity isn’t entirely off base.

Try this: If you want to get fit or lose weight, you start an exercise routine. Similarly, if you want to become more creative, you need to exercise your creativity and that too takes discipline.

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Make time for creative activities. That could mean blocking out an hour each morning to journal. Or it could mean engaging in a hobby that requires you to work with your hands (and give your brain a break), maybe even learning an entirely new skill. Whatever it may be, practice consistently and soon enough, you’ll be able to flex that creative muscle more easily.

3. Creativity comes in the form of spontaneous inspiration.

We’ve all heard the story of Isaac Newton and the apple, or Archimedes and his bathtub. Though entertaining, these apocryphal stories perpetuate the idea that creative ideas appear out of thin air. According to a 2021 study, 58 percent of people still believe creative achievement is usually the result of a sudden inspiration.

This myth is especially dangerous because it can lull people into thinking that they have to wait around for creative ideas to happen. In actuality, the concept of gravity or the principle behind water displacement didn’t magically manifest in those eureka moments. The seeds for those ideas had already been planted — they just needed time to germinate.

Try this: Our bodies and minds have natural rhythms of optimal performance. For most of us, those rhythms are in 90-minute to 2-hour increments. So next time you’re feeling burnt out or uncreative, don’t stare at the computer screen waiting for inspiration to come. Take a break.

Our subconscious brains continue working on problems in the background. So go for a walk, engage in some mindless chore, get some exercise. You’ve already primed your mind with the necessary knowledge. So give your brain the time to absorb it and watch the margins of your mind play.

4. Creativity is all about thinking and feeling a particular way.

Many people think they have to be in a particular mood in order to generate anything of creative value. The trouble is, we can’t always control our feelings. We can, however, control our actions. Sometimes, actions can even change how we feel.

The unromantic truth of creativity is that living a creative life requires more than mere thinking. It requires doing. In the words of marketing guru Seth Godin, “Creativity is an action, not a feeling.”

So how do you “do” creativity? You cultivate meta-awareness – or creative mindfulness – to better recognize and capture your flashes of insight so that you can actually put them to practice.

Try this: Keep a journal for a week and write down any creative, novel, or random ideas that pop into your head. You could keep track on a phone or tablet, but I find that physically writing the words consolidates the idea in my mind.

At the end of each day, review your ideas and filter through (but don’t discard!) them. After the week is up, pick a few of your favorite or “best” ideas and try to reflect on them for a few minutes each day. Make note of how they begin to take shape and transform into something more concrete. When you find an idea that truly excites you, map out the steps to realize it, even if those steps may seem out of reach.

Your creativity will never be realized if you don’t first ground it in reality.