Monday, April 25, 2011

Fear and Creativity

Good Morning. Today's post is short and sweet, cuz I've got nothing except this


In order to live a creative life
You have to give up the fear of being wrong.


Think about that.


* I don't know who said this. I was watching tv one day and hastily scribbled it down. The only other word I wrote on the piece of paper was "Wyndham". Any guesses who he is? I Googled it, but came up empty.

34 comments:

Karen Baldwin said...

Oooooh! How true, how true. And as I continue to write a novel that isn't going to appeal to the masses, I have to tell myself...just be true to the creative part of me. Perhaps the quote was from Wyndham Lewis?

Al said...

SO true.

It we who hold ourselves back.

Laura Pauling said...

So true. I think fear stifles creativity b/c we fear failure!

Anne Gallagher said...

Em -- I'll have to try him.

Al and Laura -- it's a crippling stigma isn't it?

Bish Denham said...

Oh boy...and that fear can be subconscious... behave as a saboteur.

Unknown said...

Oh I loved this. I have definitely worked on getting over my fear of being wrong. It's amazing the difference it makes.

Stina said...

Oh, this can be taken in sooo many ways. ;)

Anne Gallagher said...

Well it seems I've struck some nerves today. Which I guess is what Mondays are, really. Thinking days.

Linda G. said...

Wise words. :)

Christine said...

Beautiful! I am printing this out and putting it on my inspiration wall. Thanks!!! I needed it.

:-)

Michelle Gregory said...

i could add to that, give up the fear that other people will think you're wrong. be confident that what you're doing is right, no matter what anyone else says.

Michelle Gregory said...

i plugged the quote into google and this is what i got: To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.
-- Joseph Chilton Pearce

Sarah Ahiers said...

ooh good quote and very true

notesfromnadir said...

Don't know who wrote it but I have to agree! :)

Bossy Betty said...

Ohhhhh...I like it and I am going to remember it too!

Davin Malasarn said...

This is a great reminder, Anne. Thank you.

JE said...

Being creative is a gift. So if I am wrong, I don't mind. ;-)

~JD

VR Barkowski said...

This is the story of my writing life, Anne. Thank you.

We can either create by moving forward with our ideas, or we can try to hit a moving target. It's not possible to do both.

Lydia Kang said...

Wise words, Anne! This is something I have particular problems being a science-y girl at heart.

Rula Sinara said...

Excellent, excellent advice. One of my boys needs to hear it.

Anne Gallagher said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by. I just loved this and thought I would share.

Michelle -- Thanks for finding it. I plugged it in and got nothing so you must be a better Googler than I am.

Anonymous said...

So very wise and true. I recently came to that conclusion and life has been quite different. I hope I can carry on the positive change. (I have a habit of dropping it along my journey.)

As for Wyndham... I have no idea. Put the paper under your pillow and maybe it will come to you in a dream.

Elliot Grace said...

...well said, Anne, and a great way to begin the week:)

Thanks so much for your supportive comments concerning my upcoming release. The book should be on Amazon in a couple weeks, but regardless, if interested in a copy, I'll make sure one finds its way to your doorstep:)

EL

February Grace said...

Thanks, Anne, for this post. The timing is especially serendipitous for me. I just saw this now- but all day I kept telling myself again and again (sometimes, I admit, aloud) that I need to finally get out of my own way for the first time in my life.

If not now, when?

That conversation with myself has to do with a lot more than my writing, and big changes are coming for me. Terrifying, almost as big as they can possibly be, changes. I don't think most people will understand them- most of them, maybe all of them. I just can't worry about that any more.

As Michelle (thanks Michelle!) said, it's also about giving up the fear of other people saying you're wrong when you know that you're doing what you have to do. Everyone's a critic, and people will always have an opinion of what everyone else does whether they have all the facts or not. The thing that matters, I'm (finally) learning after repeated attempts to get this lesson in life down- that it's what you know yourself to be that matters. I'm certain that the same is true of our writing, as well.

Thanks for the great post- the comments are great too.

hugs
~bru

Talli Roland said...

Oh, I love this quote, Anne. So, SO true!

Saumya said...

So, so true. Fear is too much of a hindrance for us.

Theresa Milstein said...

Fear keeps many of us from realizing our potential. Thanks for the reminder.

Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said...

I love it, I love it!

Doris

P.S. I'd love to hear the stories about Mrs. K ;-))

Creepy Query Girl said...

I kind of needed this quote today so thanks. I'm in the middle of a first draft for a project I'm not 'sure' will ever really see the light of day. But I'm enjoying the hell out of it so, for now, I'm not going to let thoughts about what 'others' might think about it someday. Who cares!? i'm creating and its fun!

Eric W. Trant said...

Nice way to put it. Even God was wrong. He had to edit and revise the Earth, right, and that's true for just about every religion I can think of.

Creativity is the process of being less wrong each new time.

- Eric

Anonymous said...

I think you have to block out all thoughts about pleasing everyone. And giving up the fear to be "wrong." And the fear of not being able to write, and on and on. What do we keep writing! I guess because we like to.

I love your comment on my latest post about crossroads. Sometimes it's okay to take the well traveled path. Just depends what it is you trying/wanting to do, I think.

But just keep writing, Anne! I've already told you what a great writer you are, and you ARE!
Ann Best, Memoir Author

Anonymous said...

And giving up the fear, in blogging, of making a typo, as above: "what it is YOU'RE trying...."

Horrors if such errors end up in the published book. LOL. I think the world will still keep turning!!

dolorah said...

Well said. Something I need reminding of frequently.

.....dhole

Luna said...

Love this! Thank you, Anne. :)