Embracing Mistakes: Cultivating Creativity
Whether you are wanting to learn a new skill, or dream of launching your own creative business, the journey to success is often paved with obstacles and setbacks.
I have had countless conversations with people about how they would love to paint with watercolor, but can’t even draw a stick figure, so they don’t even try. I’ve met so many others who have brilliant talents or ideas for a business, but never take that first step because they don’t know all of the answers yet, or wonder what people will think if they don’t succeed.
From all of my experience as an artist and business owner, I have learned that the challenges we face along the way are the very things that help launch us into success, and provide fertile ground for innovation and growth.
In this week’s blog post, I am exploring the importance of embracing mistakes as a fundamental aspect of cultivating creativity and driving progress in your skill building or business. Let’s dive into a few ways to implement this:
Creating an Environment of Experimentation: To foster creativity and innovation, it is essential to cultivate an environment where experimentation is not only accepted but encouraged. Give yourself the freedom to take risks and explore new ideas, without the pressure of it needing to be “good”. We all make mistakes, but creativity needs a safe space to flourish.
Learning from Mistakes: Mistakes are valuable learning opportunities that can offer insights and perspectives not attainable through success alone. I’ve made many mistakes in my business, from product launches that flopped, to reprinting hundreds of invites due to a missed error, but each one has taught me a valuable lesson. By analyzing failures with curiosity rather than criticism, you can gain insight that will help inform future decisions and actions. Reframing how you approach “failures” will help you in every aspect of your life!
Embracing Iteration: In the creative process, iteration is key to refining and perfecting ideas over time. Instead of viewing failure as a dead-end, see it as an invitation to practice, rework, and improve. Repetition is key for developing a new skill, and will do wonders for honing that muscle memory. When it comes to business, just because one approach didn’t work, doesn’t mean that the idea needs to be completely scrapped. Embracing a mindset of continuous improvement enables your business to evolve and adapt.
Overcoming Fear of Failure: Fear of failure is a common barrier to creativity and success. However, it is important to recognize that failure is not a reflection of incompetence but rather a natural byproduct of pushing boundaries and taking risks. Try to reframe failure as a necessary step on the path to success.
Celebrating Success AND Failure: Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s an integral part of the journey toward it. Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Resilience in the face of failure is key. Setbacks should be viewed as opportunities for learning and growth rather than deterrents. By reframing failure as a valuable learning experience, you can create an environment where innovation thrives and creativity flourishes.
Whenever I teach creative workshops, I encourage my students to keep their early work so that they can look back on it and see how much they have improved. Sometimes we struggle to even notice how far we have come, how much we have learned and improved. I am so glad that I kept images of my early work with The Scribblist because looking back on those pieces helps me truly value how far I have come as an artist and business owner. I started with just a handful of markers and a pad of paper, and now I’ve built a thriving watercolor and stationery business.
Thinking of starting a business but don’t know where to start or what to do if you make mistakes (spoiler alert: you will)? That’s ok! Just try anyways! Embracing mistakes is not a sign of weakness but rather a testament to your willingness to push boundaries and explore new possibilities. Create a culture of experimentation and learning, and you will unleash a massive amount of creative potential and drive innovation in your business. Embrace failure as a stepping stone to success, and watch as your business thrives in the face of adversity.
I’d love to hear about how you have embraced failure in your own creative journey. Share in the comments below!