Creativity

Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Howard Aiken

Few of us allow ourselves to make mistakes. We are taught from day 1 that mistakes are shameful and embarrassing, even signify failure. If we make a mistake, it tells us that we didn't know what we were doing, and maybe we'll never know, and how can we succeed if we don't even know what to do? But there is no shame or embarrassment in not knowing everything. I read a book a while ago that hinted that even God is still learning and growing, just like we are. Think about that the next time you "do something stupid".

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Because since you don't, and never will, know everything, the only way to avoid making mistakes is to not do anything new. And if you never do anything new, if you never take a risk, you don't learn and grow. Making mistakes is actually an essential part of learning and growth. There is no improvement without creativity, without making mistakes, learning from them about what works, and correcting them if necessary, and then just forgetting about them.

Art is knowing which mistakes to keep. Making mistakes is not always bad. Sometimes your "mistake" turns out to be better than the result you were originally aiming for. Some mistakes should be kept and celebrated. Many great inventions were "mistakes". To be an artist, or inventor for that matter, you need to develop an eye for beauty and excellence, and the beleif that you don't have to get any pre-planned result in order to be happy or successful. Life frequently doesn't go the way we had planned on. But often that is actually a good thing for everyone concerned.