CREATIVITY | Part III – The Core Value Series

I never thought of myself as a creative person when I was growing up. I always felt like art was for other people, for ‘creative types’. I know I’m not alone  – people the world over have denied their artistic talents, believing they never can nor will live a creative life. Well it doesn’t have to be that way. You can create. You must create. We are all creators!

 

When I look back on my life I can remember the ways in which I expressed my creativity in my youth. I loved to write stories. I made up songs. I danced. I played the piano. I had so many different avenues for my creative talents – but once I reached the age of 13 years old I decided that piano wasn’t ‘cool’ anymore and I made up my mind that I was no good at art! I stopped nurturing my creativity and because I denied it within myself, no one else ever turned to me and said ‘hey you can be creative you know!’ I didn’t give myself permission to create and no one else did either.

 

I dabbled in belly dancing in my mid 20’s and I also felt called to start a blog which I called ‘Health Wiz’. During this process I discovered a passion for blogging about wellbeing, and making healthy recipes while I studied to be naturopath. I could write! Who knew? I was being creative and it felt so good!

 

It wasn’t until my 30’s that my creativity accelerated. I took up more dance classes – salsa and primal dance (expressive group dance sessions set to tribal music) which brought me closer to my divine feminine and I loved that.

 

When I became pregnant with my little boy I totally took my creativity to the next level. I realised that I was actually super creative. If I could create life – well, then I could create anything. I felt this crazy all-consuming urge to write articles, to journal, to draw with chalks and watercolour and to dance like a wild woman.

 

And now at the ripe age of 32, I’ve decided I’m giving myself permission to be creative like never before. I’ve discovered that creativity is something at the core of me that I value deeply.

 

I’ve been incredibly inspired by the likes of Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote the book on Creativity – literally (I’m 144 pages into ‘Big Magic – Creative Living Beyond Fear’ and LOVING it). Wow – Elizabeth is one beautiful, inspiring woman!

 

I love Elizabeth’s take on creativity – she believes every single person on the planet is creative and actually needs to create in order to be happy.

 

I also vibe with her opinion that sometimes it’s great to create just for the sake of creating and not necessarily to show anyone or to prove anything. In fact she went as far as saying:

 

“never delude yourself into believing that you require someone else’s blessing (or even their comprehension) in order to make your own creative work. Just keep doing your thing.”

 

Don’t mind if I do Liz! Don’t mind if I do.

 

Brené Brown is best known for her research on Vulnerability and has several TED talks and a few great books to her name. In her opinion creativity is not necessarily about discipline, struggle or hard work (although it can be at times) it’s actually about self-forgiveness. It’s about looking at the work you did the previous day and forgiving yourself for your shortcomings! It’s also being prepared to get in there and start again.

 

I also asked some beautiful and talented entrepreneurial women what creativity means to them in light of Brené’s perspective. Intuitive Life Coach, Writer, Teacher and gorgeous soul Samantha Wheatley, shared these words:

 

“I have realised on my path for self-love that it is essential to forgive myself for mistakes I’ve made and to allow myself the room to begin again. If I try to stifle my creativity, I feel unsettled and I know that this is because I feel free when I am giving myself the gift of being creative.”

 

The beautiful Christine Barnes – Certified Life Coach, Writer, Photography Enthusiast, and Creator of Thriving Adventure also reflected on creativity:

 

“We are all creative beings whether we recognise that about ourselves or not. To me, creativity means fearlessly showing up day in and day out while also forgiving myself for flaws and imperfection. To live a creative life is a life well lived.”

 

A creative life is indeed a life well lived – one that is bursting with passion, fire and self-expression.

 

In the Oxford dictionary creativity (noun) is defined as:

the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.

 

I love this definition because imagination is at the very heart of creating. Allowing yourself to be with your thoughts, to dream up new ideas, to feel inspired and then to take action is so powerful.

 

Practically speaking – how can you add more creativity to your day?

• Carve out time for creativity – whether it’s for 5 minutes or half an hour it’s all worthwhile
• Start journalling – it’s a beautiful way to capture inspired ideas
• Pick a medium and have a play – choose pencils and a meditation colouring book, or paints and an easel, start writing a story or poem on your computer, plant a garden, create and enjoy some new recipes, film a short documentary, play around with photography, dance to your favourite music!

 

Below are my go-to affirmations for creativity (inspired by the beautiful American author, publisher and thought-leader Louise Hay):

• I am a creative person
• There is plenty of time to do everything that I want and need to do in a day
• Everything I produce is beautiful and perfect in its own way
• When I am creative the whole world benefits from my expression
• Creating is fun and fulfils me

 

Lastly here’s a few discoveries I’ve made about my own creativity.

1. I can’t ignore it or it keeps me awake at night. If I can’t act on the creative impulses immediately at the very least I have to write them in a special journal to catch the magic.
2. I love the thrill I get when I take action and bring a creative idea to life.
3. I get caught up in flow when I’m inspired and lose track of time.
4. Creating makes me feel alive.
5. While creating is very important to me, there are other things that come first – and I’m okay with that. Things like self-care, healthy eating, and spending time with my family and beautiful baby boy – every moment is so precious. I currently sneak my creative work in when he is napping (and sometimes I forget about being creative and I just nap too!)

 

No matter which medium you choose to express your creative muse – when she comes knocking… open that door.