How To Avoid The Secret Language That Sabotages Your Creativity

[Dan Goodwin]

Our language - the way we speak, the words we use, and the way we use them - has a tremendous influence on our attitudes and beliefs, and ultimately how creative we are.

But what harm could a few innocent little words do?

You might be familiar with the old rhyme:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words can never hurt me...”

But that’s actually very far from the truth. And the words that are MOST damaging are those that come from within you, the ones that limit you and hold you back, in ways you don’t even realise.

Imagine if you will, a secret underworld organisation that operates within your mind. It has agents everywhere, in places you least expect. The purpose of this organisation is to control you, to keep you in check, to stop you getting too confident, too brave, too creative.

[image credit: Calamity Meg]

So how can you even fight against these deadly agents, if they’re so secret and undercover that you don’t even know they’re at work?

Awareness, of course, is the key. To help you get in the habit of being more aware of your language, and how innocuous words and phrases can be quietly destructive, here are five of the most common examples:

1. “Yes I created that, but anyone could’ve done it”. Two points here. Firstly, no, not everyone could’ve done it. You have a unique set of creative skills and experiences that no-one else has. Secondly, even if anyone could have done it, they didn’t. YOU did. You stepped up and creating something from nothing. No-one else did it for you. Acknowledge that.

2. “My art certainly wouldn’t win any awards”. Another variation is: “I wouldn’t have even scraped a C grade at school with this”. Since when did everything you create have to be entered into competitions and win awards? What about the simply joy of creating? What about creating as a way of experimenting, exploring, enjoying yourself? Yes we want to create the best we can. But sometimes it’s just about experiencing the creative process, not the end product.

3. “Yes but I’m ONLY a writer/ painter/ singer...” Insert your main creative medium as appropriate. We all have a predominant way of creating, and because we do it so often, we can take it for granted. We forget that something we can create in a few minutes because we have the vision, talent, skill, experience and motivation to, someone else would NEVER be able to create. Plus, if you were to look at all the different ways you were creative each day you’d amaze yourself that you ever limited your perception of yourself to JUST anything!

4. “Creating isn’t a struggle for me so it’s not proper art”. There is a dangerous belief that an artist must suffer for their art in some way. If we have set ideas about what “real” art is (and usually we manage to ensure that what we create ourselves meets none of these criteria) then it condemns everything we create before we even begin as somehow not valid or worthy unless it’s a huge painful effort. If your creativity flows freely then go with that and ENJOY how easy and pleasurable it is!

5. “I’m only playing around...” When you say things like this, you discredit and devalue your art, and your creative time. “Playing around” is a crucial part of creating. If you never experimented, or tried new techniques or ideas, or always saw creating as something very intense and serious, not only would you not evolve as an artist, you’d never really enjoy yourself and your creating much either. Play with freedom and abandon!

These are five of the most common negative phrases that we can find ourselves often saying before we know it.

Which ones of these do you use yourself? What other examples of negative language can you think of that you’ve used yourself, or heard others say?

Becoming aware is the first step to overcoming the language that secretly sabotages your creativity. These examples will hopefully help you notice and avoid some of the words that have been undermining your own creativity, and that will lead to you being more positive, more confident and more creative.

Share your comments and experiences of negative language with us below:

[jane]

totally agree with you glen.. its one of life's great sadnesses... "if u tell a lie often enough, u too will buy into it" that lie then becomes that person's truth and the argument stops there.... for them that is their truth and their story....

as a parent i have always hoped that i have not had a negative influence on my children and given them the freedom to develop as they will. I have been there to guide and support not direct - but as a child i did face quite a lot of criticism and judgement, a guiding to a place that i knew was not where i wanted to be... so it is a big thing, as Diane says above, to "free yourself from all the intangible restraints you accumulate through life, you open the floodgates to your creativity."

[Glen]

I agree , words r first spoken , then they are acted out, after this happens, they become your overall character.
I fond thta if u hear something often enough, regardless of how true it is, u begin too believe it, if u tell a lie often enough, u too will buy into it
................
this is usually hpow the media works, since they own their truth, they can easilty bend it, to suit them, by scaring us..................

u tell a child something often enough, it can become a scarred thought, that is embeeded into his mind, and from there the very words use ot cereate this scar, become true to his every thought...............

this is partially where we get our prejudices from, it comes from words spoken heard, and not always proven..............................................................

[Dan Goodwin]

The "intangible restraints" cease to be intangible as soon as you recognise them, that is the key with this article, recognising the kind of language and thinking that damages us and holds us back without us realising. That's the first step to the "floodgates". Let that creativity flood through Diane!

[DJ]

LOL! :-)

[Carol Clark]

So I got these two eyeballs watching me, telling me all this important stuff. I best listen...!!

:-)

[DJ]

" I believe once you free yourself from all the intangible restraints you accumulate through life, you open the floodgates to your creativity."

Well said, Diane.

[Diane O]

The hardest thing is to overcome lack of encouragement or criticism given from a parent, not only because of their strong influence but also the daily reinforcement. I constantly battle my inner (mother's) voice telling me to do chores rather than do something she thought of as 'frivolous' and 'fun' like drawing or playing piano. I believe once you free yourself from all the intangible restraints you accumulate through life, you open the floodgates to your creativity.

[Dan Goodwin]

Or, even better, we didn't just ask it as adults, but we were asked it as children at 6, 8, 10, 12 and beyond, so our career focus was on what we enjoyed and were good at!

[DJ]

What a different world it would be if we would ask that question "What is it you enjoy doing?"
Can you imagine what we would know about each other?
How much more we would be connected?
What would be our answers?
My answers:
I love to compost! :-)
I love to paint at my easel to the sound of rain.
I love to curl up in my bed with tea, a book, snuggled by a cat.
I love to worship with sincere, moving music.
I love paisley and books and wasabi sauce-dipped sushi.
I love it when my husband smiles at me.
I love to love other artists into being.

[jane]

so often we get caught up in how we become "classified" as a person ... how often are you somewhere and someone says "so - what do you do?" - and automatically we begin this painful description of the paid work we undertake each day which for most of us, most of the time does not involve art, music or creativity in its most beautiful form.... so we become the person that our "job/career" slots us into. I remember as a stay-at-home mum with children i always felt a second class citizen because i didnt work - and yet in those days i was probably more creative than ever.... i would paint with the children, cook, sew, collage, build, walk, write stories, create plays, make costumes etc etc..... valuable learning for the children and hugely rewarding for me! I loved every moment...

So now, when asked what do i do. my "creative passions" immediately get relegated into second place and something that I have to "find time for" or that others do not take as a serious part of who i am and what i do.... and with the pressures of the modern workplace, finding "time" to dedicate to that which is core to my being is often difficult.

A friend once told me that we should encourage people to ask "what is it you enjoy doing" (rather than "what do you do"...) which can be either at work, if that is what rocks our boat, or opens up the opportunity to respond "well i love nothing better than making compost.... journalling, walking, photography"..or again, whatever rocks our boat!

It is through encouragement from those around us - whether in person, or through communities such as this, that we grow in spirit and confidence to openly enjoy and participate in the artistic form(s) that make us the freely creative people we are..

thank you to all those who have encouraged and supported me - you are very dear... x