What we tell ourselves matters. A destructive internal dialogue can be as damaging as a bad habit. This is especially true for things that we repeatedly tell ourselves over years. We’ve all encountered phrases such as: I’m not good with names. I’m not good with mathematics. I’m not qualified enough. Not intelligent enough. Not strong, educated or creative enough.
Although these narratives might (at times) hold some truth, it’s often only an excuse to avoid difficult growth.
An idea such as I’m not creative, might be true on one level because you’ve never invested time in any creative pursuits. But that’s not to say that you’re not creative. That’s not to say that you can’t cultivate creativity. But the belief serves as a barrier to even try.
This might be a bit of a tangent, but I’ve personally found that years of fiction writing supported other creative pursuits. The discomfort of staring at a blank page (for hours sometimes) fortified me to try other uncomfortable things. Any writer will tell you that there are days that you just have to suffer through bad writing, internal doubts, distractions, and difficult emotions. There are scenes in books that I’ve re-written three or four times. There are books that I’ve re-written three or four times. Knowing that getting it right is just a matter of trial and error helps. That process of trial and error builds internal fortitude. We become stronger over time.
Next time you catch yourself arguing for a shortcoming, ask yourself this: Is this story that I’m telling myself really true, or am I avoiding something difficult? If you find that it’s the latter, set aside a few hours per day to face the discomfort.