Ever since humans swung naked from the trees onto the plains of the Serengeti, we’ve been creative. We had to be. look at us Scrawny and hairless surrounded by big cats and other predators. If we hadn’t used those big brains, cockroaches would probably be at the top of the food chain today.

But many people do not believe that they are creative. You are. You have unlimited creative capacity, but you have to believe it to file.

Research shows that everyone has creative abilities. The more education you have and the more diverse the background, the greater your potential for creative output.

In addition, it has been shown that quantity equals quality in creativity. In fact, the longer the list of ideas, the higher the quality of the final solution. Generally, the highest quality ideas appear at the bottom of the list.

The average adult thinks of three to six alternatives for any given situation. The average child thinks about 60. Why does this change as we mature? People stop believing in their creative abilities.

A Harvard Business Review (HBR) study of its database of 6,000 professionals who have taken the Innovator DNA assessment further supports the assumption that you have to believe in your creativity to make it so.

The study found that those who agree with the survey statement “I am creative” consistently create new businesses, products, services and processes that no one has done before. Because they see themselves as creative, they are. The HBR data further suggests that if you change your “I’m not creative” mindset, you too can consistently become more creative. HBR has developed a simple five-question test to help you determine your creative mindset.

Answer these questions with a Yes or No:

Associative Thinking: I solve challenging problems creatively by drawing on a variety of ideas or knowledge.

Questioning: I often ask questions that challenge the fundamental assumptions of others.

Observe: I get innovative ideas by directly observing how people interact with products and services.

Idea Networking: I regularly speak with a diverse set of people (eg, from different functions, industries, geographies) to find and refine new business ideas.

Experimentation: I frequently experiment to create new ways of doing things.

According to HBR, if you answered no to three or more of the questions, you most likely have the “I’m not creative” mindset. But you can change.

As cartoonist Hugh MacLeod says, “Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty, the crayons are taken away and replaced with dry books and bored about algebra, history, etc. years later with the ‘creative bug’ it’s just a little voice saying, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please.'”

Let’s get out our pencils, and our belief in our creativity, okay?