Quit Kidding Yourself, You’re Not a Genius

Let me ask you, did you make a meal last night? Did you put an outfit together this morning? Have you ever drawn a picture? Did you write an email today? Have you ever spoken a sentence? Have you ever had a thought? If you answered yes to any one of these then you’re creative. Creative simply means you have the power to create. That’s it. The word creative, by definition, doesn’t place a value on what you create. It only means that you made something. Anything. **But side note, even Merriam-Webster is falling into the creative genius trap. Did you see the example they gave? I  just can’t.** In all of our human glory and human error we have turned a beautiful word into this thing that feels unreal. If asked at a dinner party whether or not you were creative, would you say yes? Or if someone praised you for being particularly creative would you blush and say, “Oh, anyone can do it” without actually believing your own words? I’m going to guess that for the majority of us this sounds familiar. Why? Because we believe, whether or not we think we do, that being creative right now means you have to make something brilliant. Time and time again. Maybe you were particularly creative that one time when you did something really cool or extraordinary. But that time has passed so you’re no longer part of that club.

Let me break it to you gently. You’re not a hecking genius and prescribing to the Headline School of Thought is doing nothing but hurting you and your work. None of us are geniuses but in buying into the “creative genius” axiom we end up holding ourselves to a standard of producing work that is unattainable. Furthermore, because you’ll consistently fail at achieving the genius standard you’ll start taking the path of least pain–do not pass go, do not collect $200, go straight to the jail of quit making work. Right now, that jail is full so you’ll have to bunk up with everyone else.

Give. Yourself. A. Break. You’re not a genius. Don’t feel bad. Neither am I. Neither is your neighbor. Or your best friend. But maybe you’re not convinced. Let’s go ahead and define genius since we haven’t done that yet.

Clearly the bigger burden falls on the geniuses of the world, because if you’re a genius and you’re not creative, well then….you might not be a genius. But if you create and you’re not a genius. Well, you’re still creative. I think that’s cause for celebration. I’d much rather be creative than a genius. It’s possible to fail at achieving your own standards, but literally impossible to fail at being creative (Oh hey, did you just have a thought? You’re creative.)