You are Creative. Yes YOU!
I recently did a poll on Instagram asking if my audience considered themselves to be creative. As it turns out, about 60% of you do not believe you are! I am here today to tell you that you, yes you, are a creative being! If you are human, you are creative. Feeling skeptical? Read on as I tell you why I believe this to be true of all people.
Think about babies and children
If you have spent any time at all around babies or children, you know that they are all creative. They are constantly experimenting with the world around them, and interacting with their surroundings. All play is creative! Kids are constantly making up new ideas, whether it is an imaginary friend, a storyline for playing “house”, or finding creative hiding spots during a game of hide and seek. They sing, dance, draw, make messes, all from an intuitive place. They don’t need to be taught how to play or sing or dance, they just do it. These are all creative acts! And look how joyful they are! Now I don’t know how old you are now, but I know that you were once a child and that you once did all of these things too. While we all grow up and have responsibilities and societal expectations that can cause us to give up some of this creative energy, remember that it is still in you.
Many of the day to day tasks you do are creative acts
Did you have to solve some sort of problem either at work or at home today? Did you have to come up with a new strategy or way of doing things? Did you play with your child today? Did you make dinner from scratch? All of these seemingly mundane things are acts of creativity. Life itself is a creative act. We create our homes, our families, our surroundings, our meals. No two families are the same. No two households are the same. We all raise our children differently, and we all eat different meals. These are just a few examples of how everyday acts are creative, because they are all outcomes that didn’t exist before. There is great potential to improve your life by simply looking at everyday tasks as creative opportunities. Can you make up a new game to play with your kids or your pet? Can you make a meal more interesting by injecting your own personal touch to it? Can you find a creative way to incentivize your kids to clean their room? There are so many opportunities to be creative in life, start looking for them!
You don’t have to be good at something to be creative
I’m not sure where we learned that in order to be considered creative, or artistic or talented that we had to be really good at whatever we were doing. This simply isn’t true! If you write a new poem about I don’t know, hot dogs, or if you sing out of tune in the car or the shower, or if you dance like Elaine from Seinfeld, you are still creative! Maybe the end product isn’t something you could sell for a profit, or something that all of your friends will like on Instagram, but that’s okay! You don’t need to be good at everything in order for it to be enjoyable. You just have to enjoy the process, the act of creating. I am not a good singer but I love to belt out a song in the car. I am not a good dancer, but I like to dance in my living room once in a while. I have been trying to learn to play guitar for years now, and I am not improving very much, but I still get a relaxing and meditative outcome from focusing and practicing. Some of my artwork turns out less than great, but it doesn’t matter. The joy is in the doing, the self –awareness and introspection that inevitably happens during the process.
Have I convinced you yet? I hope so! This is proof that you were born creative and you are still creative! I challenge you to start thinking about your day to day life and how you can be more creative in just one way. Find an opportunity where you can free your inner child who is longing to inject some fun and adventure into your daily mundane tasks. Maybe try a new recipe, or put on some music and dance while folding the laundry. Or grab some of your kid’s paints and just doodle on a piece of paper. Write a handwritten note to your grandmother. The opportunities to get creative are endless, and so is the opportunity to find more joy!