#547 Why we all want to be what we aren’t

der Musenkuss (German) The kiss of the Muse

Creativity becomes much easier if you see it as a game of finding new ways of describing what has always been there.

Observing, rather than inventing.

It’s liberating. Because now the game changes from pulling ideas out of thin air to a game of discovery. Observation. Paying attention. Building upon what’s already discovered, then connecting the dots in way nobody else has.

Most of all: listening, when the muse finally arrives and visits you for a kiss.

There’s this voice in my mind
Impossible to ignore
And yet I fill my head with noise
Drowning out
What deep down I know to be true
Do I even want to admit
That this song in my heart
Is not about me
But about you?

P.S.: I’ve observed the same principle in language learning (and wrote a book about the consequences of this mindset shift).

Which begs the question…

Where else would we do better if we observed a bit more, rather than trying to invent from scratch?