In a TED Talk from 2009, Elizabeth Gilbert—author of Eat, Pray, Love—talked about the idea of having a genius vs. being a genius.
The Romans called that sort of disembodied creative spirit a “genius”—which is great, because the Romans did not actually think that a genius was a particularly clever individual. They believed that a genius was this sort of magical, divine entity who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist’s studio—kind of like Dobby the house elf—and who would come out and sort of invisibly assist the artist with their work, and would shape the outcome of that work.
It’s common these days to refer to a “particularly clever individual” as a genius, but what pressure! What judgement we cast when they produce something a genius would not! I know of no one across history who would have been called a genius for every thought or work they put out there.
What if instead of being a genius, they simply had a genius—just for that moment in time. To help them with that work we so admired.
For me, and I assume for others, that’s actually closer to how it feels. We all, I believe, have experienced that moment where a flash of inspiration came to us from some place we can’t explain.
Sometimes it’s there, and sometimes it’s not.
Thinking of it this way can take the pressure off, too. You can keep showing up and hope that you have a genius to collaborate with. You can stay open to the collaboration and you can work even when you feel it isn’t there. Elizabeth made this idea feel light; playful.
I lifted my face from the manuscript and directed my comments to an empty corner of the room. I said aloud: listen, you… thing… you and I both know that if this book isn’t brilliant that’s not entirely my fault, right, because you can see that I’m putting everything I have into this. I don’t have any more than this. If you want it to be better, you’ve got to show up and do your part of the deal—but if you don’t, you know what, the hell with it, I’m going to keep writing anyway because that’s my job.
Many others have spoken and written about this idea, but this talk really resonated with me. It added humor to an idea that can be heavy; to a topic that can feel personal and sensitive. More people would make more creative work, I think, if they were less concerned with being a genius than with opening themselves up to having a genius.