The Creative Genius

After reading chapters one through three of Twayla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, I have actually come to enjoy the book. Even though I’m not a big fan of all the dance jargon she uses in the book, she brings up some very relevant points that not only have to do with stimulating a sense of creativity, but also important aspects of life. The beginning of the book really interested me because it had do with rituals and the importance of them when it comes to getting anything done. Tharp portrays our biggest fears associated with accomplishing anything having to do with procrastination. She believes that procrastination is driven by five factors including,  “people will laugh at me, someone has done it before, I have nothing to say, I will upset someone, Once executed the idea will never as good as it is in my mind” (22). I believe that Tharp is spot on even though she is making a generalization towards “everybody” who reads her book. When I read that excerpt, I could definitely see myself fitting the mold she portrays with several personal real life examples.

            Another aspect of the book I came to appreciate that we have already gone over in class is that there are no natural geniuses. I really liked the fact that Tharp drove home this concept with examples of people who literally grind out the hours until they are good at something. Tharp then connects this concept with what she refers to as “Creative DNA”. Tharp draws a fine line between what it means to be a genius and what it means to be creative. Even though you can’t be born a genius, you can be born with creativity. She makes a subtle connection between the two points that stretches far further than what she actually explains in the text. She is making the point that creativity is what leads to people who are considered “geniuses”.