Three things I wish I'd know sooner about tapping into creativity
Photo by Atul Vinayak on Unsplash
This week I’d like to share the three things I wish I’d known about tapping into creativity sooner. But first, I’m curious about your current relationship to your creativity.
Are you able to access your most creative self easily when you sit down to write or create? Or does creativity feel like a mysterious force to you?
Perhaps you believe some people seem to be more naturally creative than others. You look on with awe at the imaginative leaps and connections others can make to create something original.
I believe that while it may be true that some people are more naturally inclined to creativity than others, we can all learn to be more creative. Anyone can feel blocked and unable to access their creative powers. I also believe that everyone who has the desire to create also has the capability to bring their vision to life.
So today, I’d like to share the three things which have helped me most in my own creative journey.
1. Creativity is an act of faith
Creativity asks you to let go of control and trust in the process. Getting caught up in doubt and worry will block you, and if you don’t have faith in the process, how can you expect it to work for you? Creativity asks you to have faith. It needs you to figure out how to be comfortable with the uncertainty inherent in the creative process.
There are two important areas where we need to have faith. The first is that you need faith in yourself and the skills and knowledge you possess. When you’re a beginner at your craft, you need to have faith in your capacity to learn the skills and knowledge you don’t yet have.
The second is that you need faith in the benevolent force at the heart of all creativity - there’s something outside of you that wants new creation to happen through you. I’m not too interested in naming that “something” these days, but there’s a spiritual aspect to our creativity. Creative ideas often seem to come from something outside of us.
2. It takes years of practice and failure to reach a point where creative acts can seem spontaneous and easy.
Our culture is obsessed with overnight success stories and people who reach creative heights at a very young age. No one sees the years of work that went into achieving those things. And people rarely talk about the personal cost of a sudden rise to fame. Maybe it’s not a realistic or desirable goal in the first place.
Creative output gets easier when we’ve put in a lot of hard work in order to achieve that ease. Hours and hours of practice go into attaining competence. Most of what a writer or artist creates never sees the light of day. And many people could benefit from being in less of a hurry to publish - but that’s a whole other issue.
Then there’s learning to trust your own unique creative vision. Intuition is such a big part of creativity, but most of us were taught to ignore and overlook our own inner guidance. Knowing how to read our own inner compass can take a lot of practice and a lot of getting it wrong and allowing yourself to course correct and try again.
3. Let your Light Shine
There are many reasons women don’t allow themselves to shine. For me, one reason is the way jealously festered in my family of origin. The subtle message I received growing up was that it’s not ok to “outshine” others. If someone felt jealous of me (and I was often told they did) then what I learnt was that it was my responsibility for making them feel bad.
I also encountered a lot of criticism and judgment which became internalised as a fierce inner critic. All of which added up to a lifetime of holding back and failing to reach my full potential. And when I reached for something and achieved it, that’s when the worst - but most subtle and underhanded - criticism would come my way.
But life is not a competition! I never wanted to outshine anyone else in the first place! But I would like to help create families and communities where we all get to shine as bright as we can in our own unique ways.
Side note: When I feel jealous of other people, it’s a sign I need to change how I’m spending my time and energy. I don’t get jealous when I’m giving my energy to my own creative pursuits and doing things which bring me joy. I feel jealous of others when I’m neglecting my own wishes and desires and somehow expecting others to meet my needs for me.
The three things I wish I’d know sooner about tapping into creativity
The three things I hope you can remember from this week’s post are:
Trust you’re creative and that we live in a creative universe that WANTS you to create amazing things.
Give yourself permission to practise, make mistakes and keep trying again and again.
And don’t hold back, shine your light and encourage others to shine there’s too.
Which did you most need to hear today? Let me know in the comments.