100 Ways To Motivate Yourself, Third Edition

10. Welcome the unexpected

Most people do not see themselves as being creative, but we all are. Most people say, “My sister’s creative, she paints,” or “My father’s creative, he sings and writes music.” We miss the point that we are all creative. One of the reasons we don’t see ourselves that way is that we normally associate being creative with being original. But in reality, creativity has nothing to do with originality—it has everything to do with being unexpected. You don’t have to be original to be creative. In fact, it sometimes helps to realize that no one is original. Even Mozart said that he never wrote an original melody in his life. His melodies were all combinations of old folk melodies.

If you believe you were created in the image ...