When I ask people why they don’t spend time on creative things, I often hear a similar set of responses:
- I’m just not creative.
- I just don’t have the talent to do creative things.
- My end products just aren’t that good.
- I wish I was creative, but I’m just not.
Over the years I’ve evolved my thinking on creativity. And what I’ve learned is that through the many creative endeavors I’ve engaged in, I just feel better when I’m doing it. It took me a while to get that, and once I did, I knew it was something I just had to share and help others find.
Being creative is not about being a master artist, or creating something that others will want to buy. Creativity is about finding a passion and getting lost in it. And the more time you spend in the process of it, the better you’ll feel, this is creativity at it’s best. It’s being in a state of forgetting who you are and finding yourself back again, only a better, more expanded version.
There’s an additional bonus I’ve learned since engaging in creativity: being in a creative state links you more closely to your own innate intuition and guidance. Many times, as I’m in the middle of a project or development of a project, I’ll start to feel “the flow.” The flow is a state where you aren’t questioning or second guessing, you are just allowing. The moment you hear, a little more pink there, you don’t second-guess it, you just put a little more pink there…and it works.
You can use this flow for other things, as well, oftentimes as you face other issues in your life. Take time to write down what you’re trying to figure out, and once you get into the flow, and forget yourself, the response just comes to you.
Creativity isn’t limited to one medium. Many people assume that you are only creative if you can make something in the traditional sense. I’ve seen the most beautifully decorated houses, the most ornate meals planned, the best articles written, and they are all ways to connect to your creativity.
Reserve judgment, that inner voice that tells you, “Oh, that’s pretty good” or “That looks pretty bad.” Set that voice aside while you are in the flow, and just go with it. Stay connected and committed to being in the stream of creativity and development. See it through.
Often I will start to do something and my immediate thought is, “Oh crap, that’s not going to look good.” The key is to just keep with it. It’s going to develop. It always does. Stay connected to it and see it through, even if you can’t always silence the inner critic.
We are all born with a creative spark inside us, some unique thing that we are bringing to this world. Many people wonder, “What is my life’s work? What is the thing I am supposed to bring?” Engage in creativity and grow your own abilities, even if it’s not the same as somebody else’s “thing.” You’ll find it just by staying more in that flow of creativity.
By engaging your creative senses, you’ll find expansion in other areas of your life as you do it more. New ideas will come to you in unexpected ways, because you are using and expanding your creative muscle!
