From Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased) wrote . . . .
Principle 3: “Repeatedly I have been impressed to learn that to reach a goal never before attained, one must do things never before done.”
Although the principle of doing new things to achieve new results applies in many ares of life, the underlying quality is the same. It is creativity. Creativity is what allows us to see things in a new way. We can enhance our ability to think creatively by engaging in pursuits that are different than our normal activities.
Several years ago my wife, Jeanene, asked me to go with her to visit one of her close friends. That friend’s husband happened to be a commercial artist. I was fascinated with his ability to use brushes, watercolor, and paper to create beauty. Something inside me said, “Try it,” but my more rational self responded, “You’ve never had any artistic ability; all you will do is prove that you can’t paint anything.” Fortunately the feeling to want to try persisted. . . . I got a few books on watercolor from the library. . . I tried to paint a tree, then other objects. The results, even viewed charitably, were not very good, but I still remember the excitement I felt from doing something I had never done before.
. . . . It doesn’t concern me that I will never be an accomplished watercolorist. Even infrequent efforts to try to express feelings with a brush and paint continue to provide a constantly renewing source of pleasure and benefit. There is an awareness of the miracle of color, subtle transitions in value, dramatic contrasts, and appealing shapes and patterns. . . . Most important, I feel that perhaps I am more sensitive to the limitless creative genius of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Wherever I go I see beauty in ways that would not have been perceived with the same intensity and variety had I not followed the prompting to try something I had never tried before.
Search for feelings that prompt you to try something new yourself, and if they are not there strive to generate them. Try art, poetry, prose, music, dance, photography, clothing design, or anything you haven’t done before. Otherwise you may never know the thrill of personal creativity nor enter the doors it opens to insight, enjoyment and wonder.
Every individual has creative capacity. The satisfaction and growth creativity generates is intended for each of us, not just the most gifted. To try takes courage. A famous watercolorist, Edgar A. Whitney, said: “No door is closed to a stubborn scholar.” The most challenging barrier one must overcome is to begin; from there it gets easier and more exciting. Then as you try, realize that you’re personally going to be hardest on yourself just when you need the most reassurance. Let your self-evaluation be a source of discovery rather than of destructive self-criticism. Believe in yourself. Doubt destroys creativity, while faith strengthens it. ~Richard G. Scott, 21 Principles (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 18-21
