There are two types of pride.

One is described as, “a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority.” This is the type of pride that the wise King Solomon warned us about when he wrote, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall.” Yes, this sort of arrogant pride is what drives people away from you. Be very wary of that.

However, there is another type of pride. This one is defined as, “pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself.” This is being proud of what you have accomplished. This kind of pride is lacking a great deal in our society today where conformity is often valued higher than imagination.

It may seem harsh to say, but it is true. Unless the imaginative is really just being weird in disguise, the value of it is marginalized so much it is often considered to be a rarity. This is not true. Every person has a unique reason to be proud of what they have accomplished in life. 

Many try to say that an individual accomplishment is not truly won by the individual. I have heard it said that if someone may have helped an individual with their project, what it may be, therefore it is a sort of false pride that they have in their work. That individual should not take credit for their accomplishment. A few have fallen prey to this and when they do something big or important, they take false humility in claiming that they could not have done it without support. False humility is even worse than pride, but that is a whole other topic.

It may be true that help was given to you, but if you did it, with your sleeves rolled up as part of team or by yourself, take pride in your work and hold your head high. You still did it and you should be proud of the quality of the work that you did.

What if things had gone differently in the Industrial Age? What if Henry Ford had given up after his first failure in creating cheaper automobiles? Instead, he kept on innovating. He famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Here is a man who did not conform, but instead took pride in his work. Not only did he invent a better automobile, but he changed the way businesses run to this day.

Do not be afraid of taking credit for your accomplishments. If you were successful, you have a right to celebrate. Do not become arrogant, but acknowledge the hard work and the effort you put into whatever you have succeeded in. It does not matter whether you are a doctor who found a cure, an athlete who won the gold, an engineer who built a better engine, or a self-starter who founded your own successful business, be proud and take pleasure in your work. It is your success after all.

Creativity seems out of reach for so many people. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone tell me, “It is easy for you. You are a writer and an artist, but I can’t do anything creative. It’s just not in my system.”

It can seem like this is true. A person sets out to paint, and their parents would not even put it on the fridge. They wrote a poem, but no one would listen. They sang a song, but the dogs started to howl. They sewed a sweater, but it did not fit. They kept trying and trying until they eventually just gave up.

Creativity, to many, appears to be a talent that you are born with. It is a part of your brain that either develops or does not. Some live in agony and keep on trying and trying at things they continually fail at while a few come to accept this and move on to the mundane while simultaneously mourning the masterpieces that could have been. 

I believe, however, that every person is creative in some way or the other. If they have failed at being creative in one expression, I believe they should try another.

For instance, at one time, I loved painting animals. My mother still has some of my old notebooks and it is filled with less-than-perfect renderings of all kinds of mammals, of which eighty percent are wolves. All growing up, I did my best to create animal-based masterpieces, but I was never very good at it, though I later pursued abstract art. I was on my way to give up, but one day, someone mentioned to me that I was good at telling stories and maybe I should try my hand at that. I soon wrote songs, which became poems, that led me to write fanfiction, and then onto other writing endeavors including ghostwriting and article writing.

From this, I began to realize that many people are creative, but have given up. Besides fine art mediums like painting, drawing, writing, music, film, sculpting, fashion, and even make-up artists, I see creativity in other things. When architects design a building, they are being creative. When inventors design something innovative, they are being creative. When computer programmers write new codes, they are being creative. When business owners raise their business from the ground up with no outside help, they are being creative.

There is no such thing as “creative people.” People are creative. Some say, “what is creativity anyway?” Creativity is the ability to think outside the box mixed with the boldness to color outside the lines. Accept constructive criticism, but do not listen to critical people. Create because it is in you, no matter what anyone says.

Who is creative? The answer is simple: everyone. You may try something that does not work, so be it, keep moving on until you find what drives you. Do not stop filing your ideas until you find what works for you. Everyone has something that they can do. Do not stop looking for it and never give up. Just keep creating.

When publishing a magazine or periodical, it seems that there are so many things to consider. There is subject, peer review type, audience, staffing, online or not, and so much more, but not in the least is the type of style guide you will use.

The choice of style appears to be a minute detail compared to the other decisions editors and publishers have to make, but a concrete style guide determines the format of an article and even how you make citations and references.

Medical and psychological periodicals have it somewhat easier than other disciplines. They can just slap on AMA Style or APA Style respectively, and many, rightly so, do. Journalism makes it even easier. There are exactly three press styles that folks take seriously in that field. A few other industries can find solace in the fact that others have created guides for them. For instance, Web Style Guide for publishing online, Harvard’s Bluebook Guide for legal research, and Gregg Reference Manual for business.

For other types of journals, it can be difficult. There are so many different styles to choose from. It can feel like a literal jungle. You want British English? You got the Oxford Guide to Style. You want American English? You got Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. No, you say. You want Canadian English? We even got that covered with The Canadian Style. I have not even gotten to non-English style guides created by international standards organizations.

With the market of styles flooded, some publications have begun to use an “in-house” style that they have either developed independently or have made from an amalgam of several different styles. For example, while the research paper format may follow the MLA Handbook, citations might be done in the style of Index Medicus. Personally, I find the “mix and match” styles very confusing. 

When I was in college, most of my teachers did not care about the style with two exceptions. My journalism adjunct professor wanted us to use the Associated Press Style Guide and my Sociology professor let us choose between The Chicago Manual of Style and MLA Handbook. Of course, I also knew of APA Style.

It was not until I got into the publishing industry that I discovered the maze of guide styles that were floating around in the atmosphere. While examining various periodicals, I would look in the “About” tab and find the randomness that was there. Now to be fair, most used a pretty well-known style guide, but I would still find ones that were so rare that I had not even heard mentioned.

Like I said earlier, choosing a style guide can be considered a minute problem compared to such issues as peer review or staffing, but I disagree. Choosing an acceptable, easy-to-follow style will make your periodical, magazine, or journal seem more attractive to readers, editors, and even your readers.

For more information, I have a list of the top three styles respected by the writing and journalistic community:

• Chicago Manual of Style
• MLA Handbook
• APA Style Guide