2Challenging the Myths

On his way to understanding and discovering creativity, Fawzooz met many myths that often stop people from reaching their creative potential. After his earlier experiments, he was now ready to take on these preconceptions.

Myth one: creativity is an innate talent

“Creativity is like a muscle; it develops and grows with use and challenge.”

Fawzooz had watched many friends and relatives, who did not consider themselves creative at first, develop their skills through steady practice and experimentation. For him, shaping figures and cooking experiments had been daily exercises for mind and hands. He became certain that creativity is like a muscle: it develops and grows with use and challenge.

Myth two: creativity belongs to the arts

Fawzooz expressed his creativity in non-artistic areas, like cooking and solving the village’s everyday problems, such as designing a water-collection system for farmers in the dry season. He realised creativity is not limited to oil paintings or sculpture; it reaches every part of life, from science to business, even the way we think and do our daily work.

Myth three: “I’m not a creative person”

Fawzooz himself had this thought early in his journey. But over time he found that creativity takes many forms, and that everyone can be creative in their own way. He watched village children invent games from simple materials, and elders tell traditional stories in fresh, gripping ways. He was sure creativity was not reserved for a select few.