Confidence and Creativity: is there a Correlation?

Be careful: A lack of confidence can rob you of your creativity. A lack of confidence breeds negative thinking and negative moods, which literally block your ability to be creative. (As a side note, confidence is contagious and so is a lack of confidence! )

Here is one example:
You are on a tight budget, you see the economy as the worst it's ever been and you lose your confidence in your own ability to make your sales quota. This creates a lack of confidence about your ability to make it through the next few months. With all of your focus on this lack of confidence, you may bypass the ideas that could help you find new ways to make sales, new ways to save money, and new ways to achieve the same goals in times that you did not expect nor plan for. Creativity is one of the keys to success.

Here is another:
You reach your 40th birthday and instead of thinking of all the creative ways that you could celebrate, you get down, bummed and maybe even depressed about how you are now "old". Maybe you even lack confidence about your accomplishments to date or your ability to progress in your new age. (Hog wash, by the way) This lack of confidence takes away your ability to see all those things that you could do to celebrate, all those things that you could still achieve and contribute to. Without that creativity, your feelings only get worse.

It is not clear which came first - confidence affects creativity or creativity affects confidence, but the truth is they are connected. Perhaps this came to mind because tomorrow is my birthday and I am beginning to wonder if I have done enough or acheived enough for my age. Heck, instead of worrying about that, I am going to think of all the great things I have done, the great people I have met and find a way to celebrate with as many of them as possible tomorrow!

Have a great one and stay contagiously confident!