This’ll Teach You

Illustration by Rachel J Handler

You’re not really the creative type, are you?

We knew it.

You just weren’t born that way. Sure, you like movies and music, you enjoy carving jack-o-lanterns at Halloween, and you did help paint those cardboard cacti for your daughter’s 4th grade play, but you would never call yourself, you know, creative.

But here’s the thing. Even if you don’t have “the creative gene” (which no one does, because there is no such thing), you’re are not destined to a life of populating spreadsheets and organizing your igneous rock collection. There are scientific studies — and kindergarten classes — that prove something your rational self may find hard to believe. Creativity can be learned.

Even if you consider yourself exceptionally creatively challenged, you can actually learn to unlock the nascent creative powers that even the far left-est of left-brain thinkers possess. For instance, you can master basic creative skills like improvisation simply by taking piano lessons, where you’ll quickly discover that you can make your own music by simply playing with the keys (even when you barely know the notes). You could take a course in photography, in which you’ll find yourself focusing “in the moment,” where creative ideas are born. You can study creative writing (don’t be afraid — if Jersey Shore’s Snooki can become a best-selling author, anyone can) and you’ll learn that creativity is often a matter of relaxing and waiting for a story to appear (yes, patience is an indispensable creative skill). Learn to paint and you’ll discover that visions don’t come alive unless you accept the principal rule of trial and error — that failure is a fundamental part of the creative process. It’s messy and can be frustrating. But you’ll never tap into your creative potential if you spend your life painting by numbers.

So put down your smartphone and, instead of the hour a day you spend on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, sign-up for a class in one of the creative arts. There’s a very good chance you’ll find that you already know the subject by heart.