The number one enemy to creativity is you. Or more specifically the little you inside of the big, beautiful, creative you. You know who I’m talking about. The constant critic, the uptight detractor, the fearful fault-finder, the anxious backseat driver, the tyrannical bully and — worst of the bunch — the Inner Judge.
Take your pick. On any given day, one or all the members of this cast of unruly characters could show up. Their sole purpose is to stomp all over your best ideas, crush your creative juices, fill your spirit with soul-sucking doubt, and if that isn’t enough, drown out the gorgeous music of your genius jam.
They fuel your imagination in all the wrong ways. They whisper. They mutter. They murmur and moan. They tell you all kinds of lies. Like you’re not smart enough, talented enough, inspired enough, inventive enough, clever enough. Like you’re altogether not good enough.
None of that stuff is true. None of it. Their goal is to inhibit, discourage, stifle, thwart, block and stand in the way of you expressing the most brilliant and gifted version of yourself. Don’t let them. Shut them up. Silence them. Now.
The next time (and there will be a next time... and a next), instead of retreating and buying into the tissues of lies, take a courageous deep breath and tell yourself the honest-truth. You are creative enough, talented enough, inspired, inventive and clever enough. You are in fact, more than good enough. Now get on with it.