Everyday Creativity
Nope, this isn't the only evidence of creativity.
What do you think of when you hear (or read) the word “creative”? Go ahead and try it. Close your eyes and picture a “creative” person. Depending on your interests and personality, you may have pictured anyone from Picasso to that neighborhood Mom who makes the world’s coolest hand-knit sweaters. As for me, lately I just picture the crew from Project Runway. (But why does Irina have to be so mean?)
Anyway, I’m betting that the first person you pictured was not…yourself. If it was, then good for you. Because according to my latest issue of Psychology Today, we often sell ourselves short, assuming that creative people must be artists, chefs, designers, or the like. We associate creativity with the pursuit of the arts, when in actuality, creativity is much broader. Says author Michele Root-Bernstein,
I don’t know about you, but I think this is fabulous news. For someone who can’t sew, draw, paint, or play a musical instrument…it’s good to know that creativity comes in many packages. And I’m also intrigued by the emphasis the article places on problem-solving as a means of creativity. I can’t say I’ve ever considered myself much of an innovator or problem-solver, but who knows? It seems we do this more than we realize.
Finding creativity in the everyday...
The article also claims that embracing your creativity can be energizing…giving you a little push throughout the workday or week. This I believe. There’s nothing I love more than starting or ending my day with an exciting project or idea—even if it’s nothing more than planning a killer menu for a dinner party.
So I have to wonder…if creativity energizes, does a lack of creativity bring us down? I my case, I think the answer is a resounding yes. I can feel it when work becomes mundane, when housework becomes drudgery, and when I serve the same variation on sautéed vegetables 3 nights in a row. I feel drained, boring, and predictable. I think in the past, I always associated those feelings with stress. But maybe it’s stress that produces a lifestyle in which I fail to embrace my creative juices and ingenuity. There’s no time for a novel approach to carrots. And hence…I feel drained and unmotivated.
The show that never fails to elicit a whiny, "I wish I were that creative!"
The article suggests approaching your work or life with creativity in mind. It encourages us to change things up, or even plan time to begin your day on a creative note. Now there’s an idea I can get behind—planned creativity. It may sound counterintuitive, but I have a feeling…it just might work for me.
When do you feel your most creative? Do you consider yourself a creative person?
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 am
Oh boy, oh boy. I could go all day on this one! (note: since I can’t find a way to make italics, I’ll use quotation marks) First, the religious: God is a “creator,” and we are “created” in his image. So, we must create. And of course, if we are not doing that, we’d not feel particularly on top of things. Second, personal: one time, my older daughter told me I was creative, and like you, Anne, I’d not considered myself creative. It was most gratifying to hear. Third, cultural: if you want an example of how NOT-creative people tend to be, just stroll through a grocery store. The overwhelming majority of food items are pre-packed and pre-cooked. (watch out for one of my personal soapboxes here…) Why shouldn’t people think homemaking is boring drudgery? It’s not creative any more. What’s so stimulating about buying pre-cooked bacon? It also applies to what the 4-H folks would call “the domestic arts”. The snarky saying, “Housemothers love her; she makes her own clothes”, is a real rally-killer for someone who wants to be creative with fabric. (We’re not all destined for Project Runway–and you can tell, I’m sure, I think those clothes are stupid.) In closing, Anne, why on earth would you–a writer–think you’re not creative?????????????????????????? YOU ARE !!!!!!!!
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 am
My first thought was the Dexter kill scene and Tim, Liz, and Maikael’s costumes from the last post.
I am not crafty and I sucked at art class. Last winter I wondered how much of this is due to the pre-packaged world I live in where everything is premade and handy; where life is too busy and chaotic to spend time on crafts.
Then I found myself living off grid during an internship last Christmas. I love Christmas. But there I was without my family for the first time; without even an outlet to play my favorite holiday tunes.
Instead I sang my own carols—my favorite moment being when we made solstice brunch at some friend’s home and Margo began playing the piano while we sang together. It felt like a scene right out of Little Women. And one day, having nothing pressing to do, I began gathering small branches of pine that had blown off the trees during a storm the night before, making my own Christmas wreath. Normally I’d never bother, but that wreath was our one decoration and it smelled so nice every time we entered our cabin.
That Christmas turned into something I never would have expected: a joyful memory.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 am
This is a big topic for me, too. As you probably remember, I did my master’s thesis on the role of creativity in the career counseling process. A lot of people were first confused by this idea — you mean career counseling with artists? or you’re going to do drawings in sessions? — but I came to discover a much broader definition of creativity in my research. The counseling session ITSELF — sort of like the problem-solving that’s discussed in the article — became a creative process. People love to demure, “I”m not creative.” I think that we ALL have creative abilities and potential: some more than others, some expressed in different ways, and some not yet unearthed. Creativity is, as Jan said, creating, and that comes in many packages (no pun intended).
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:47 am
When I think of creative, I think of my mom sitting at a sewing machine. Too bad I have to teach myself now… I love the subject of creativity. It reminds me of a talk I once heard by an LDS General Authority on the subject. Attached is the link. See the section on the Work of Creation. And by the way, did you do that tomato plant painting thing? I’m totally impressed. It looks like something they would sell in Kohl’s
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=15674bb52a73d110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 am
I think it’s easy to feel that creativity has to just come upon us in waves; that we don’t really control it. I like the idea of being proactive about creativity. I don’t really know how I’ll do that. But it’s a good thing to think about.
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I – in a state of hum drum – began working on a goal with creative intentions recently. Working at it I found that I snacked less so I’m down a pant size…but more importantly, I found that if I waited for energy to come, it never did – I had to start where I was and the energy and creativity has grown along with it.
Along those lines, that has been true about times of depression and housework, ect. I have to work myself out of it. I start depleated and finish energized.
Great topic!
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Agreed: creativity needs to be a daily practice. It’s the whole adage that if we wait for inspiration to strike, it won’t happen very often. There are so many days that I have to sit down and force myself to write.