Something I hear often as a teacher in the creative arts, is “I’m not creative”. This feels like an unbreakable wall for those who truly believe this about themselves and believe it means they are not able to participate in any creative venture. Today we’re going to debunk this myth and discover 3 ways to invite creativity into our everyday lives. Ready?
The “I’m not creative” myth
The truth is that everyone has creativity. It is not limited to activities like art and music. For example, take the everyday action of problem solving.
Who has not solved any problem in their life? As soon as we start trying to figure out how to get something done, we are being creative. Creativity can sometimes feel like a spark of inspiration, but it can also be the act of listing different ways to fix a broken cabinet drawer, or even the act of deciding what to do instead of fixing that drawer. The act of being creative can be as simple as having one idea.
If everyone has the capactity to be creative, why don’t we think so?
Even people who are fully engaged in creative fields doubt their own creativity. This observation comes from personal experience, and I’ve given it a lot of thought.
Why we doubt our own creativity
Our brains and thought processes are running all the time. We are having ideas, and figurng things out quite often. We grow accustomed to our own thoughts and ideas, and we experience the repetition and patterning of our thoughts and ideas. We might gravitate to a similar color scheme for multiple contexts, we might have a certain order to our problem solving process.
Then we see what another person is doing! They are putting colors together we hadn’t thought of, and they might have had an idea for an approach we had never considered. It’s easy to think “wow! they’re so creative! I could never have done that.”
I think that the other person also is accustomed to the way their own brain works. They have established patterns as well. They might look at what you are doing and be thinking the same thing.
We are all creative
I posit that we all have the capacity to “be creative”, that it is not limited to any particular activity space. It doesn’t always feel that way, and we can feel blocked by this notion. What do we do on “I’m not creative” days? How can we unblock ourselves? How do we invite creativity into our life when we feel it isn’t there?
Three 10 minute “creativity moments” to try:
- Automatic writing. Get pen and paper or a text app, and write words without hesitation. If you can’t think of a subject, you can start by describing not being able to think of a subject. If you don’t enjoy writing by hand, or typing, try speaking aloud. It doesn’t have to be good, or make sense. Only flow.
- The Walk of Noticing. Travel around the block, either walking or by using a mobility aid. Go slowly, look around you and notice what you are able to see. Listen and notice what you are able to hear. For extra credit, note down a list of everything you notice. For extra mega credit, draw a list of everything you notice!
- The Third Item: did you get an idea by reading the first two on this list? Do that!
About the illustration
When considering what image to use with this article, my ideas for a narrative illustration of the content didn’t work for me. So I went with one of my old stand-by “what should I draw” prompts, drawing my own hand drawing. It’s a challenge for sure! Have you tried it? If you’d like, tag me on social media and share your work.
Related: Why is it so hard to be a beginner?