“I’m sorry I’m just not creative.”
As the saying has it, if I had sixpence for every time I’ve heard that, I’d be a rich man!
And those people have been wrong, every single time.
Are you one of those people? Let’s assume for the moment that you are. Here’s my response to you.
What you mean when you say or think, ‘I’m not creative’, is that you don’t express your creativity in a conventionally ‘artistic’ way. You don’t write books, or paint pictures, or write songs, or direct plays. And that much may be true.
But that’s not the same as ‘not being creative’.
Creativity is hard-wired into us. It runs through all aspects of our beings. It’s actually really hard to not be creative!
What I suggest you do if you tend to think you are ‘not creative’ is become aware of all the ways you are already creative. Expand your definition of ‘creative expression’. Get more comfortable with the notion of yourself as a highly creative person in your everyday life.
And that may be enough. Or it may be that from that point you decide you could try expanding your existing creativity into conventional ‘artistic’ areas, like writing a poem, or drawing a picture, or composing a song.
So here are 10 ways in which you are already creative.
1. Perhaps you cook meals?
Do you always follow a recipe, rigidly, every single time?
Or do you follow a recipe until you decide to change it a little bit, and do it your own way?
Or do you have a rough idea of what you want to cook, and shape it up in detail as you go along?
Or maybe you look in the fridge, see what food is available, and create a meal from what’s there?
Only the first option is ‘non-creative’. If you do any of the other three, you are making choices, trying something new, being spontaneous and ‘in the moment’. Or, as we might say, being creative!
2. Perhaps you like gardening?
Do you just mow grass every week?
Or do you choose where to plant flowers, or how you’re going to prune bushes, or where you might put a new flowerbed, or whether you will grow tomatoes this year, or whether you might try something like swiss chard for the first time?
I was about to write ‘in that list, only mowing grass is not creative’ and then I realised that of course you can mow grass creatively too – trying different routes, emptying the box at different points, doing it a little bit differently from before.
What creative choices will you make when you prune shrubs or fruit trees?
3. Do you like talking to friends, either in person or over the phone?
And when you do that are you following a script, like in a play?
Or does the conversation ‘flow’ without much effort, in a give-and-take of ideas, thoughts, stories, questions, remarks, jokes, laughter…
Do you have to plan your social chats beforehand, with notes about topics, and an agenda?
Or with some people can you happily keep a conversation going for hours: no plans, no problem?
4. Do you go for a walk from your house to exercise?
Even if you follow the ‘usual’ route, do you sometimes think, ‘I might just make a little detour today to see if…’ Or, ‘maybe I’ll go 30 minutes later today in case I bump into…’ Or, ‘today I feel like going the other way round, just to see what it feels like…’
A parsnip gone to seed makes a magnificent plant. But how many people choose the creative option that allows it to flourish?
So. We’ve looked at 4 ways in which you are already creative. In other words, you do things a little differently from usual and notice what happens, or you make choices that are variations on the ‘normal’ way you do things, or you feel a little playful, and decide to mix things up a bit. All those are ‘creative’.
I hope I’ve convinced you that ‘creativity’ is actually pretty hard to avoid in your life!
“But what about the 10 ways you talked about at the start?” I hear you say. “Where are the other 6?”
Ah, well, those other 6 ways (or other 60 ways) are for you to work out.
Be creative about it! It’s easy!
Blog Post by Pete Armstrong
