Everything can be creative depending on how it’s viewed. People who deem themselves as “not creative” are placing self-restrictions that often hinder their true creative ability. The more we tell ourselves something, the more we start to believe it regardless of if the statement is true or not. Living a creative life is essential for a long-lasting life full of growth and opportunity.
Creative Life: Appreciating the Journey
Creativity has no destination. Creative efforts are constantly evolving, changing, and adapting. Nothing is stagnant in a creative mind; there cannot be self-inflicted limitations throughout the journey.
Someone who calls themselves a creative quickly finds out that creativity is never-ending. There may be times where creative thoughts come freely while other times may feel like nothing comes to mind without extra conscious effort. Living a creative life requires balance in everything. There must be time to recharge and take breaks while maintaining an optimal level of creative production.
Creativity comes and goes and often frustrates creative individuals more than they would like. Ideas and visions come when we don’t force them into our creative minds. Living a creative life is about finding a balance between times of high creativity and creative block.
Creativity and Productivity
Nobody can be creative and productive 24/7. Humans never have been and never will be robots. Creativity and productivity aren’t infinite. An individual’s energy is constantly being pulled in a thousand different directions. Even when someone wants to sit down and create something, their focus and energy might be elsewhere besides their creative endeavor.
Especially in Western cultures, people are expected to be productive all the time. Rest is viewed as “bad” even though it’s necessary for humans to rest and recharge on a regular basis. Even the most productive and successful individuals in the world have to find a balance between work and rest. The same goes for creativity and productivity.
Just because someone may exude high levels of creativity doesn’t necessarily mean they are always functioning at a high level of productivity and vice versa. A creative life will never be creative all the time and definitely won’t be productive 100% of the time. Life throws curveballs- both positive and negative- which may steer away even those with highest work ethics and levels of self-discipline humanly possible.
There is No Answer
Being creative doesn’t always lead to finished products or outcomes as initially expected; creativity may bring answers or may bring no answers at all. The fast-paced world we live in unfairly expects creatives to have all of the answers on a whim. However, true creatives know their efforts may or may not bring them the returns they want and/or expect. Life brings countless things outside of our control; we cannot have every answer at every time we want to have them.
Living a creative life isn’t about being creative 24/7 and having all of the answers. Instead, it’s about making the most of one’ creative abilities using the appropriate tangible and intangible resources readily available.
Creativity has no beginning or end point. A painter may start a particular painting only to realize their creativity can be used more efficiently in different capacities. At the same time, a creative entrepreneur may spend too much time worrying about starting a business that they miss a wide open opportunity to succeed. There is no “end goal” when someone lives a creative life. Creativity is all around us when we open our minds and realize the possibilities of our own energy and abilities.
Anyone can be creative. It doesn’t take someone to be an artist before being creative. Start by being creative now and thinking creatively without worrying about labels all the time. Living a creative life requires an appreciation of creativity all around- in nature, buildings, sneakers, sports, art, and just about anything else in life that can be changed or designed in countless ways.
