Hi, First name / friend,

 

Imagine a creative person you admire. It can be a friend, a famous artist or athlete, an innovator, a leader in your field, etc. 

 

Would you describe them as irresponsible, undisciplined, or emotionally over-wrought?

 

Didn't think so. 

 

One perpetually sticky myth about creativity is that creative people are flighty and/or emotional.

Portraits of artists looking… flighty? 

(Maurice Sendak, James Baldwin, and Georgia O'Keeffe).

The truth? Creativity is a form of intelligence. And, just like with that other form of intelligence (logic), it takes great discipline to become great at being creative.

 

Which is why the most successfully creative people are the most disciplined.

 

You know those articles that share, say, the ten habits of successful creatives? Or the three ways so-and-so does to start their day? They aren't cluing you into the magic powers of green tea or ice plunges. They're cluing you into the real power of routine and discipline. 

 

 

As for emotion, certain emotions like optimism, empathy, and curiosity can magnify your creativity. They push you to notice and explore exceptional things.

 

It's the more egoistic emotions— like fear and desire— that scatter and stall your creativity. They're relentless in pulling your mind to things that probably won't ever happen — happy things tend to come as a surprise and the anxieties we fret over usually never materialize. 

 

Creative leaders don't ignore those egoistic emotions, they learn to neutralize them so they can continue working. You can too.

 

Next week, we look at the myth that creative people are born that way.

 

In the meantime, David Brooks was kind enough to include Angus in his recent opinion pieces for the NYTimes: Many People Fear AI. They Shouldn't.

 

Why? You know our answer. Because unlike you, AI can't think in narrative. And because thinking in narrative is drives creativity, AI will always be lacking

As always, thank you for reading,

Sarah

 

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