I am a very creative person. I paint, write, design, make stained glass art and weird stuff out of “found” objects. My talents are well known among those who know me. They often lament that they “do not have a creative bone” in their body. I am here to dispel that statement. Everyone is creative — at something.

We seem to think it is an innate trait. Either you are born with it or not. Contrary to popular belief, no one is born without a creative bone in his or her body. We’ve all got it, but our personalities come into the equation and play a role in the kind of creative we are and what we do with it.

Being creative can simply be how we see the world and how we make decisions about things that affect us. What we cook for dinner and how we prepare it. How we manage our finances or keep our stuff organized. There’s more than one way to be creative. We can all be creative in our own way.

Artist, researcher, management consultant and the co-author of Creative You: Using Your Personality Type to Thrive talks about ways that people can discover their creativity according to their psychological preferences. He dispels five creativity myths that hopefully will unleash your inner creative genius.

1. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is the best way to elicit creativity
No no. It comes from “inside” your comfort zone. In our comfort zones we are able to take risks. If your not comfortable, you are less likely to take the risks that could lead to a bright idea. Woody Allen says his creative thoughts come to him in the shower, “It’s the change of venue, the unblocking of the attempt to force the ideas that’s crippling you when you try to create.”

2. Brainstorming sessions are the best ways to come up with brilliant ideas
While some of us (extroverts) love being surrounded by a group of people, this is not the case for all. Introverted types feel a sense of draining when they are around others for too long. The trick is to find what works best for you. A lot of people get their best ideas when they are driving home.

3. Being creative means being spontaneous
Some of the most inspiring, creative works came with a set of plans. Painter Henri Matisse, for example, constructed all of his paintings before he began. He even wore a suit and tie while he created — not exactly the splattered, ragged overalls we associate with artsy folk. Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell were also big planners. Many artists meticulously strategize the layout of paintings before ever putting brush to canvas.

4. Creative people must invent something new.
Only about 30 percent of the population are the intuitive types like Einstein and Edison. These are the big picture thinkers that create something out of nothing. The majority of us aren’t any less creative, we just think differently. We want to create by combining ideas. After all, Henry Ford didn’t invent the car but he did think of many ways to improve it.

5. Creativity means having a finished product.
You don’t have to create something worthy of display to be considered creative. And some things are never finished but keep evolving into something else. Some prefer to endlessly modify, edit, repaint and revisit their “creations”.  Picasso had strong feelings about this: “To finish a work? To finish a picture? What nonsense! To finish it means to be through with it, to kill it, to rid it of its soul.”.