Cultivating and expressing creativity isn’t just for the artist, writer or musician, it’s for everybody. Writer John Updike noted, “Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.”
Cultivating personal creativity is absolutely essential to both economic and personal success. In a recent article from Psychology Today, “…in today’s economic environment, no one can afford not to innovate. You may have to be creative to survive right now.”
Question: So how creative are you? Answer: Wrong question.
Ask instead: How are you creative? Because everybody is, but like physical fitness, some of us don’t bother to work it.
Start by assessing your condition. Ask three questions:
1. Do I really believe I am naturally creative?
2. Do I look forward to solving problems?
3. Do I have a driving passion in life?
If you answered “No” to more than one of these, you may be in a ‘creativity rut.’ Trouble is, only you can decide to get out of the rut.
Think on some of the benefits of creativity to help yourself ‘de-rut:’
• Living life imaginatively is more fun and fulfilling.
• Everyday creativity improves relationships such as parenting, for instance, can be the ultimate opportunity for expressing creativity and building a life-long relationship filled with rewards. Romantic endeavors provide a plethora of creative and sexy moments to enjoy. Elder-care presents multiple windows of meaningful touch in the last seasons of life.
• Professor Ruth Richards has observed, “Engaging in creative behaviors makes us more dynamic, conscious, non-defensive, observant, collaborative, brave.”
• Cultivating our own unique creativity can lead to tangible improvements in our life-experience: a more artful home, a more beautiful meal, a richer experience with a loved one, a more entertaining commute.
Take a risk and ‘de-rut’: I lead a community of faith called Antioch, and we’re always seeking ‘out of the box’ ways to live by faith. We gather every Friday night at 8 p.m. in Old Town Newhall and encourage musicians and artists of all kinds in our own unique coffeehouse style way. It’s just one aspect of our Create Beyond Reason Project. Join us one night to juice up your creativity!
Want to know more? Join the Create Beyond Reason Project and begin to cultivate your own unique creative abilities…it’s critical to your personal success and fulfillment!
For more information, please visit the blog: www.createbeyondreason.wordpress.com .