Creativity and Failure

By Teri Smith

Doesn’t really sound like those two should go together, does it? But sometimes fear of failure hinders creativity more than any other single issue. Negative thoughts pound in our heads.

No one will ever like what I write. 

I might make mistakes...even the editor might miss them.

I'm not really good at...(whatever).

No one actually thinks I can.

What if Walt Disney had given up after a newspaper editor told him he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas”?

What if Albert Einstein had given up after one of his professors labeled him the laziest dog they had ever had in the university?

What if Colonel Sanders gave up after over 1,000 restaurants turned down his chicken recipe?

What if Beethoven had stopped after his music teacher told his parents he was too stupid to ever compose?

What if my student, Angela Bell, had given up after an adult told her it was too hard to get published? (She’s already had one book signing and another one is on the way.)

If we listen to all the negative voices, we’ll never try anything new or difficult. And we’ll miss the potential God has placed right in front of us.

So go ahead. Brainstorm. Draw. Write. Even allow yourself to go back to your younger days and color something beautiful! Silence the judgmental voices—especially the ones in your own head.  So what if your first idea, first painting, or first book isn’t perfect?

Allow yourself to fail. Because, yes, creativity and failure do go together.