Your Ability to Create

Create: to cause to come into existence; bring into being; make; originate – Webster’s dictionary

Your internal self-governor or critic hinders your ability to create. It’s so easy to judge and evaluate your work as you go, but this blocks the flow, stops continuity and doesn’t allow for ideas to complete themselves – the sentence, paragraph or idea is being amended even as it is coming into being. Editing something you have written can be a useful thing to do, but timing is everything. 

Whether you are writing a document, building something, painting, or standing on a stage and bringing a character to life, it’s important to include one detail: the creative process is like the gestation period for a child which one hopes will be born in good health. A little bit of poison can go a long way towards altering the health of the child. 

Our self-judgments act like poison. If you want to expand your ability to be creative, practice the art of being kind to yourself. Contrary to what some believe, being self-critical does not lead to better quality work, nor will you suddenly become complacent if you stop being hard on yourself. Rather, you may find whatever you are engaged in becomes fulfilling and a direct expression of your being.