Creativity Need Not Entirely be Dependent Upon Birth
Your creativity improves as you evolve.
Many years ago, I did an internship in one of the top companies in the bay area and on the last day of the internship, my manager took me to a room and said the following:
- We are happy with your technical skills and your performance during the internship and would like to offer you a full-time position.
- You need to work on your writing skill. This is the only demerit in you.
I was happy with getting the full-time offer but the second point hurt me. I was not sure what to do about it. My writing skill indeed wasn’t good. While writing any work email, my heart would start pounding and my mind would become blocked. I would invariably make many mistakes in writing the email.
How did I improve?
I applied the process of catharsis to deal with all the hatred I had against the English language. I studied from a very nationalist school in India where a negative opinion about the English language was ingrained in my mind.
I went through all major incidents where I felt fear in relation to using English and engrossed myself in them. I re-experienced the fear associated with the incidents and vented it out through various means such as fast breathing, etc. After that, I changed my belief that teachers may not always be correct and that learning English does not mean I hate my country. There were several other inner works that I did after which my liking for the English language improved and eventually I was able to express my thoughts through writing in a better manner. I have explained some of the other inner works in the following article:
Why I hated foreign language (English) and how I used catharsis to start loving it
Creativity is dependent upon the evolution of the person
There is no doubt that a part of the creativity within us comes from birth. It is dependent on our genes and we cannot do much about it. But it does not mean our creativity cannot improve. Actually creativity of a person can improve as the person evolves by removing fear and hatred against various aspects. Gaining knowledge can also aid in removing fear thus evolving a person into a more creative human being.
Fear and hatred are the biggest obstacles
Fear and hatred against anything creates a blockage in our mind and restricts us from reaching our full potential. One of the major aims of life is to evolve and as we evolve, we remove the blockage and improve our creativity.
For evolution, one way is to remove all fears and hatred that exist in our minds. If we delve deeper then we will find that deep down hatred also arises because of some fear e.g. hatred against the English language is because one believes that speaking in English also means imbibing the foreign culture and that is a threat. Thus it is fear that gives rise to hatred.
No hardship can bound talent
Every other day we come across incidents where someone from a poor background did extremely well in the field of studies, music, or dance. Actually they are the people who have the right genes and also do not have many subconscious fears.
Subconscious fears within a person are dependent upon the nature of the person. If the person has inner tendencies that go against what is acceptable in his society then he may attract situations where he becomes fearful. These fearful incidents get imprinted on his subconscious mind and the person’s creativity gets blocked.
‘No hardship can bound talent’ is normally used to factor in external situations and I do not think it is such a big feat to achieve. It is dependent upon the genes of the person and hence is not something that can act as an inspiration for others.
If one overcomes the hardship which fears in his subconscious mind brings, then truly it is a big achievement. The person by working on his fears through the process of catharsis not only evolves into a better person but sees a positive effect in his level of creativity as well. Achievement gained through this improved creativity is truly an achievement. He then also becomes a true inspiration for all others who struggle in their mind and do not find a way to remove the blockage.
Conclusion
An achievement that a person gets by virtue of creativity from birth is not something that I consider inspiring. Improved creativity by working on fears existing in his mind and overcoming them by applying certain techniques like catharsis, is inspiring. Glory achieved through this method of improving creativity can truly be called an achievement. Only then the person not just achieves something that the world considers important but during the process also evolves into a better person and that is what the goal of life is.
