I hear many creative types talk about their muse. They speak as if their creativity comes from somewhere outside of them, from a fickle creature they must tempt and woo before they can sit down and do their art.

Bullshit. Your muse is a lie. There’s no such thing.

The muse isn’t even a useful lie. Believing your creativity comes from somewhere else allows you to blame your struggles on this outside force, when the truth of the matter is much closer to home, and much harder to swallow.

There is no such thing as a muse. It doesn’t exist. There’s only you.

If you do not create, it’s nobody’s fault but your own. Certainly your situation in life can make it difficult, but if you don’t make it a priority and do the work, it’s not the fault of a fickle other that didn’t show up today. It’s you. It’s only you.

I don’t know about everyone else, but this is the greatest news in the world to me. If it’s all up to me, that means I can control it, rather than waiting for something else to deign to show up.

That’s excellent. I’ll take all the blame, as long as I can have control as well.

(P.S. The same is true of writer’s block, which is another excuse creatives use to avoid taking the blame for their failure to do the work. Don’t fall into that trap. Set up your environment so you can create and do it.)