Creativity has often seemed like some illusive thing that I could not grasp. Where did people get their ideas? How did they come up with such amazing things to draw, paint, photograph, write about, etc? Was it something that only artists had? All the way through college I felt as though only some people were made to be creative. It wasn’t even that all artists are creative, but that only a select few humans are creative. I went to art school for several years and I knew that art was a skill that could be developed. I knew had some skill, but a lot of it I learned in school. But what was creativity and could I have a little?
Did I mention that I also was a Math minor? Math was somehow comforting to me because there was usually a very clear answer: one plus one equals two. But with creativity, there isn’t an obvious answer.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines creative as:
- creative: marked by the ability or power to create
- create: to bring into existence; to produce through imaginative skill
The longer I was in art classes and art school, the more I actually began to believe the lie that I wasn’t creative at all. It’s a bit ironic isn’t it. Sure, maybe I had a little talent, but the more I looked at those around me, I didn’t have anything compared to them. How did they think of those things?
Slowly over time, I left my sketchbook and paints aside and focused on work that was tangible.
Your story may be similar and it may be completely different. One way or another, the majority of people hit a place along the way that they feel they’re just not an artist, a creative, etc. Most people actually hit this stage somewhere in between Kindergarten and Second Grade, but others hit it later on in life. Kids start out drawing, painting, scribbling, making “messes”, or just simply trying out new things. Everything is new, therefore everything is discovery, and everything is creative. But, we’ve all been there: one of our ideas gets shut down or compared and then slowly we stop creating. For some, this happens much earlier in life, and for others it comes a little later.
When this shut down happens early on in life, we don’t have the same coping and self-talk to tell ourselves to ignore that and move on. Creativity is usually the first thing to go out the window in the midst of comparison, performance, trauma or stress. Ironically, creativity is also something that is very needed to heal each of these things.
As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. I would go on to say it’s the thief of creativity as well. Joy and creativity are inextricably linked.
Creativity brings healing for a great many reasons and has been researched for many many years. It’s not a new concept. But I would like to propose that one of the reasons that creativity heals is because we are made to be creative, so when we allow room for it, we bring an element of wholeness into our lives. Brené Brown dedicates an entire chapter to creativity inside her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection.” She states that creativity is necessary for wholehearted living. She also found in her research that there is no such thing as creative or non-creative people. As she says, “there are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t.”
As I mentioned previously, creativity is not always “art.” Most of us will picture some form of art when we hear the word creativity, but, while they are certainly related, they are not the same thing. Did you know that engineers can be creative? Teachers, mathmeticians, administrators, athletes, and business men and women can all be creative. Conversely, artists can become stuck in a box and lose their sense of creativity even while “creating” art.
This is such an important distinction. If we refer back to the definition of what it means to create, we can see it a bit more clearly: it is to “bring into existence” or to “produce through imaginative skill.”
The imagination is key here. Even Albert Einstein once said “imagination is more important than knowledge.” And that was from a man who was known to release incredible knowledge to the world.
What can you do to allow more creativity, and thus more healing and wholeness, into your life?
Exercises
There are about 1,000+ ways to unleash your creativity. I am merely scratching the surface and will have future writings going in more in-depth.
For now, I’d like to take a little pressure off of trying to “create” something beautiful and call it creativity.
To truly unlock creativity, you actually need to be okay with mistakes, failure, and mess.
So, let’s start simply:
- Make time.
In order to truly let everything unwind and teach your mind and body that you’re allowing room for creativity, you need to make unhindered time. This can be as little as 1 hour a week. Just set aside the time and see what happens. Let your mind and imagination flourish in this space. If all you do is sit still and imagine fresh and new ideas, then you’ve accomplished a lot in that moment. - Make space.
Secondly, you need a space for your creative outlet. Creativity looks different for everyone. You might like to sing, write, paint, draw, or do any number of things. But you need a space for it that’s dedicated. This can be why taking a class can be very helpful: it is a dedicated time and space. But once the class is over, how do you integrate it into your life? It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as every Saturday from 12-2pm your kitchen table is your creative space. Clear it off and make room.
If you can start with these two things, you’re automatically setting yourself up for success.
Here’s to your creative journey!
Resources
- The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown
- Creativity, Inc – Ed Catmull
- Draw Your Day – Samantha Dion Baker
- Flora Bowley on Creating through paint and movement
- The High-Performance Mind: Mastering Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and Creativity – Anna Wise
- Expressive Art Therapy Techniques: Healing the Soul Through Creativity
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2164-4683.1997.tb00375.x - Transforming Depression: Healing the Soul Through Creativity
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FO0lCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=healing+through+creativity&ots=wOsDbypG6m&sig=gzAlkzcya89QMHW-ZVqnN42Al4k#v=onepage&q=healing%20through%20creativity&f=false - The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/
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Kirsten Larsen is a wholeness coach, helping people experience freedom and breakthrough in body, soul, and spirit.
