I used to say, I can't draw, now I say, I am still developing my ability to draw. If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right either way. By changing my self description from I can't, to I am learning how - I change my internal attitude from negative to positive or at least possible. Developing physical skills, be it athletic moves, dancing, or drawing takes work and practice for me. It does not mean I can't do it, just that I need to work at it.
Most coaches and teachers either didn't have the time, or simply gave up, feeding the internal dialog of "I can't." I would get a passing grade on the art class project and no encouragement to develop beyond what was done and turned in. When I was in high school in Florida the physical education teacher had us doing "football runs through tires." To keep from falling, I slowed down, and focussed on each movement. The others shouted to hurry up, and the one brilliant coach said, "take your time, your body will learn the movements with practice." He was the only coach or teacher who ever encouraged me to develop at my speed. It has taken me a lifetime to realize that thinking "I can't, telling others that I can't," is a self defeating dialog. This past year, I have changed that, to I am learning, I am still developing, I am still experimenting. This changes my practice, and as they say, practice makes perfect, from an expectation of failure to a possibility of progress and success.
And it is not just internal. When I talk with others about what I am learning and developing, I no longer start out with "I can't really draw," I start out with, "I am still developing my ability to draw."
What you say and think, impacts your ability to create. Consciously change what you say to yourself and to others, and it will change your creative work.
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