Why Getting It Wrong Is Important in Creativity

Have you ever had a project in mind, but no matter how hard you work at it, this project does not come together?

It could be anything that you are creating--a song, a painting, a story, a poem, a recipe . . . . You hear it perfectly in your head, but when you sit to play it on the piano, it sounds hollow. Or you imagine the blending of certain ingredients that you think will blow everyone's taste buds and it turns out lacking.

You hear "Why, you are not a composer, much less a musician, what are you thinking?" Or maybe "And you think you can cook? HA!"

Whether you practice creativity often or just dabble in it, you need to know this: GETTING IT WRONG IS PART OF THE PROCESS.

When we sit down to create, we usually have something in mind that we are going to do. However, it's usually NOT the thing you are meant to create--at least that's how it works for me.

Almost without exception, I've written two blog posts every week (not on purpose). The first one, which I of course think will be brilliant, is usually pretty flat BUT it paves the way for the next writing, which is always more thoughtful and meaningful.

I've spent the last few weeks working on a set of new full-size cards, and I've also been a tad obsessed with painting quirky houses, so it was natural that at least one of my cards would feature one of my whimsical and "brilliant" houses.

I thought it would be fun to have a "Bless your new home" type card--not those words, but the concept. Finally, I had a card for one of my houses!

I painted them in different colors, different styles, one with a tire swing, another with a dog house. They were all quirky and cute and whimsical, BUT THEY DID NOT WORK.

After a solid week of trying out different arrangements and colors and such, I fell into bed thinking what an immature artist I must be. Should I really keep trying to do this? (Those sneaky, terrible thoughts attack us all.)

And suddenly an image appeared in my head--I saw the finished card and It. Worked. At least in my head. The true test would be how it came out on the paper.

And . . . again, it worked. So off it went to the printer last night. (Cheers!) I truly can't wait to show it to you . . . coming next week.

For now, remember that just because your first go at a creative piece doesn't fit, it doesn't mean you can't do it. It may mean you need to exercise your persistence muscles, and most of all, KEEP AT IT.

Let's do this. (And then we'll do it again, better.)