The Myth of Creativity
Creativity has always been linked to the divine. The Ancient Greeks believed that the 9 Muses (daughters of Zeus) were responsible for inspiring artists and musicians.
It is said that when Thamyris, a singer and poet, challenged and lost a contest with the Muses, as punishment they took his sight, drove him mad . A stark warning to those that chose to defy the Muses.
Myths like this serve as effective tools for reinforcing beliefs, only the Muses deliver inspiration and can take it away, and punish those that believe they can create without them.
The Ancient Greeks have so influenced Western society, that a relationship between creativity and divinity has been accepted as a given. Those blessed by divinity found success in the arts. Those that didn’t, followed other routes in life. The choice was out of your hands, talent and creativity were things bestowed by a greater force.
As modern religions overtook the ancient ones, apportioning of talents and creativities became the responsibility of a single God. “God-given” talent is phrase that people still use. Increasingly in secular western cultures, we call it ‘fate’ or ‘luck’ or ‘the genetic lottery’.
So we hold onto the myth that creativity is something bestowed without choice; by God, luck, fate or genetics.
Unfortunately this myth is so ingrained that we actually believe that some people are creative and some aren’t, that some have ‘God-given’ talents, some don’t, and that creative people aren’t consistently creative, but have to wait for the ‘muse to strike’.
These myths are used by all of us to sanction a lack of creativity. When we don’t feel like it, we can say that we’re waiting for inspiration. We get to let ourselves off the hook by shifting responsibility, it’s not that we are lazy, it’s just that muses didn’t bestow us with creativity that day.
And inspiration certainly has its place. But as Thomas Edison once said ‘Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.’
Creativity may involve inspiration, but involves a great deal more perspiration.
If you want to create, or act, or dance, or sing or play, or design, the good news is that you can.
Because creativity is not being touched by divinity, it is much much simpler, and much much harder than that.
Creativity is having an idea and the commitment to follow it through.
Even when you can’t be bothered, even when it hurts, even when it drives you crazy, (that’ll be the muses then), when it’s easier to give up, when it’s easier to take a break, when it’s easier to get a desk job, or play it safe, or settle for less.
Then you have to force yourself, and it’s hard, hard work. And most people won’t do it. And so they blame the muses for not appearing.
Creativity rarely comes by inspiration alone. It usually comes by a lot of self-discipline and a ton of graft.