What is Creativity?
I think of creativity as a lifestyle more than a single action. Creativity is not always about producing something: daydreaming can be extremely creative, as can be the way we choose to relate to ourselves and others. I see resting and doing nothing as supremely creative, because that is repair time for our minds and bodies. What could be more creative than allowing our bodies to repair themselves and actively create new cells?
Cultivating the lifestyle of creativity is what opens the unlimited flow of creating, beyond simply “making art.” To me, it means the full realisation that we have the potential for creativity throughout our day with simple decisions and steps.
We can’t decide everything that is going to happen and how we are going to feel about it, but we can consciously decide how we prefer to respond, and how we use our free time. We get to decide what we fill our minds with and what influences us. We can decide what kind of person we want to be and what kind of impact we want to have in the world. That is possibly the most important creative project we will ever be involved in.
Perpetual work in progress!
When we reflect on any day, we can see it was made of countless little decisions, and when we add this up, we get a sense and maybe a pattern of how we create our lives. Deciding what to wear is an example, totally automatic for many of us, yet it is a sum of little decisions that add up to a whole creative result: an outfit.
From that basis, we can bring creativity to everything we do. How we decide to display our books, how we decide to prepare and present a meal, to tidy our cupboards, to wrap a gift for someone, to write a letter. There are countless opportunities for creativity each day. Below are just a few of mine.
Easeful Ways to Prioritise Creativity
“Create Before you Consume.”
For those of us who want to devote some time to specific creative projects, it can be bewildering to cope with so many distractions that might come in our way. Some of them are unavoidable, and some of them are a choice we make.
For example, there is nothing wrong with scrolling on social media if that brings me joy and nourishing content, but if I repeatedly notice that it takes me away from actively creating things that feed my soul, it’s time for a shift. I love this popular reminder to “create before you consume.” I have made it a habit to create before I consume, and find that it naturally helps me to prioritise creativity in my life.
What would that look like for you? Deciding to build a nourishing meal, going for a walk, having a conversation with a friend, playing a game?
Learning How to Say “No”
This one is tough, but so needed. How many times are we asked if we want to do this or that and say yes, when deep down in our hearts we’d rather be doing something else? Saying “no” is a very liberating skill to master, because it redirects us towards what we are truly meant to do with our time.
Creativity is also in that “no.” When we become discerning, we start creating space in our lives for creativity: we learn the miraculous power of focusing on what is meaningful to us, showing us what truly matters, what we prefer and what makes us feel not just alive, but thriving.
I am not suggesting that we behave like toddlers and yell “NO!” to everything and everyone, but I am advocating for discernment and profound self-knowledge that saves us a lot of wasted time and energy. Assessing our priorities and capacities, being clear about them, directly serves creativity.
Meeting Ourselves Halfway
I have enjoyed making art and crafting for as long as I can remember. Having my hands occupied with creative materials is a top favourite way to spend my time and an easeful meditation. However, as my health declined it became very difficult to fulfill my creative time without causing pain and exhaustion, so I realised I had to adjust my creativity to my circumstances.
I gave up knitting and taught myself to crochet, as my body finds it much easier to do. I had to accept that there are extended periods of time when I cannot paint physical paintings, so I decided to teach myself digital painting. Now I can paint digitally and crochet from my bed or resting chair, and still be connected to my favourite things, which is a real lifeline.
Meeting ourselves where we are is one of the most creative things we can do, because it encourages us to find solutions as we adapt to the reality of our circumstances.
One Minute at a Time
I love this one because it bypasses and resolves overwhelm. If we want to create something big, we might procrastinate forever, it might be too daunting to face even starting, so it’s easier to just not start. But if we break it down into friendly minutes and tiny steps, then repeat, before we know it the massive project is well underway and we have strengthened self-reliance and confidence, as well as accumulated many precious minutes of creative practice.
I love asking myself what can be done while the tea brews, for example. In those few minutes I can add a few stitches to a crochet piece, imagine a new project, maybe stretch my back, add a layer to a painting, plan a nutritious meal… What a glorious thing simple minutes are, one at a time.
One minute at a time, let’s also refrain from comparison: we all have such different capacities and circumstances! It’s really unfair to let comparison and perfectionism get in the way of being creative in our unique life.
Being More Playful
For many people, perfectionism is a huge obstacle to prioritising creativity. We might have lost connection with the very real fact that practice is the most essential component of virtuosity, and that we have to start at the beginning.
Although it is not unheard of to pick something up and be great at it right away, for most people it takes at least a little practice: playing creatively without aiming for perfection is a superb way to practice and strengthen any skill we want to develop. Having fun in our practice can often lead to remarkable discoveries and brainwaves that would be inaccessible when we try to control the outcome.
This favourite painting of mine was born by accident
Committing to What we Treasure Most
When we think about the best people in any field, we might only see their great moments, their best game, their best piece, their best book. But behind that, there is the solid commitment to their craft: every day they spend many hours practicing and getting steadily better. Their dedication to that is exemplary and can serve as a reminder for us to commit to a creative lifestyle if that is what our hearts yearn for. As we get to know ourselves better, we become clearer on what we treasure most, and can learn to—creatively—make space for it in our lives.
Commitment and repetition create good results!