Are these 3 myths killing your creativity?

 There are so many common misconceptions about creativity. You might have heard these from your parents, in school, from friends and in your workplace.  Let's look at 3 of the most widespread and lethal myths:

Creativity Myth #1

Creativity is the domain for artists – and only for artists. And if you are not an artist, you don't need creative thinking.

What about Einstein, Edison, Ford and all those inventors who shaped how we live today? What about plain old problem solving at an everyday level? Just think about all the challenges you solve at home, in your job or business every day. Without a pinch of creativity, it would be difficult to hold an off-the-cuff speech, to deal with an emergency, to cook from scratch or to come up with play ideas for bored kids. And what about the ability to come up with a strong argument about why you need  yet another new gadget that just hit the market? Or another handbag or a new pair of shoes?

Creativity Myth #2

You need to be born with a special set of skills to be creative.

You are born creative. The challenge is to stay creative while growing up.

Howard Gardner, a Professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (the psychologist who first laid out the theory of multiple intelligences) developed intelligence tests for babies and for older children.

Their shocking discovery: almost every single child is born a genius across multiple intelligences. By the age of 20, the percentage of geniuses within a population drops down to 10%. Over the age of twenty, a mere 2% retained their genius ability.

So let's entertain the thought that you have a sparkle of creativity still burning away in your system somewhere deep down. Even if you are 26, or 43 or 67 or… 85 years old. 

The challenge is to find and nurture that spark of creative ability in you. To believe that from that tiny spark a small fire can develop. A fire bursting with creative energy burning its way through your deep seated beliefs. So you can finally give yourself permission to enjoy a creative life with all its perks.

Creativity Myth #3

Creativity has no practical use in your business and personal life.

Let me differ. Creativity is the most important leadership quality, according to CEOs interviewed for IBM's 2010 CEO study. This reflects the opinion of more than 1500 CEOs and general managers in 60 countries of the world. Chances are that the CEO of the company you work for has the same opinion. Why don't you show your creative abilities at work to stand out from the crowd?

Which creativity myths are you subscribing to?