We all have key moments in our lives that have defined what we feel we can and cannot do.

A mentor encouraged you to keep practicing the piano because she recognized your potential. A co-worker noticed your writing skills through an email and gave you the confidence to switch careers.

On the other end of the spectrum, a band teacher in elementary school may have suggested you were tone deaf or a parent maybe poked fun at that school essay you were so darn proud of.

Those ‘cannot’ moments very likely shaped whether or not you think of yourself as a creative person. The thing is, we’re all creative, we just have to learn to override the analytical side of our brain that overthinks things and stymies creative thought and exploration.

Remember when you were a little kid how you could let your imagination run wild? No thought was too weird, no idea too far-fetched, you weren’t aware of the concept of a pipe dream.

Then you grew up and the doubts and naysayers started crowding out those thoughts that fell outside of the box. But those are the thoughts that lead to innovation. To ground-breaking, history-making change.

Innovative thinkers are creative thinkers. When you tap into your creative mind that’s when feats of architecture like the pyramids and Machu Picchu become reality, roads go from dirt to pavement, energy is harnessed from water, wind, and solar, humans achieve flight, and you can access the collective knowledge of the world from a device the size of your hand.

It’s a common belief that the world is divided into creatives and non-creatives. David Kelley, founder of IDEO, tries to dispel this belief by assuring us that we just need to find our creative confidence.

What new innovations might result from a world of creative thinkers? What self-fulfillment might we find? Do you consider yourself a creative or analytical thinker? What led you to label yourself this way? 

Check out Kelley’s TED talk and start building, or strengthening, your creative confidence.

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