On "I'm Not Creative"

How often do I hear that as a facilitator of creative workshops?  Especially as I design my workshops for people to not need any artistic experience whatsoever. I would argue that everyone is creative, it is just finding that flow and tuning into one’s self and finding that energy of engagement with the creative process. When you find that flow, it simply flows and there are no barriers.

Easier said than done.  Even artists find themselves staring at a blank canvas/screen/notebook and the energy of creativity is not present.

Let’s explore, why are “not Creative”? My first step is tune in. Take some breathes, do a guided visualization or meditation. Tune into your body.  What do you notice?  What is your mind saying?  Is it, I can’t do this?  Is it I don’t know where to start? Perhaps, I just suck at art making? Maybe simply feeling uninspired.

I’ll start with the messages of I can’t do this or the basic I’m not creative.  Did you get messages about that when you were a child?  Maybe whenever you showed a drawing it was not acknowledged, or you were always told what needed to be fixed?  Take time to acknowledge what that younger part of yourself needed?  Imagine what would have happened if someone took the time to hear about what you drew and reflected that back to you.

Also with the messages of I can’t do this or I’m not creative is also a function of society not providing much recognition of creativity – there is of ‘great artist’ but then you must strive to be of gallery/museum quality… lots of the handicraft genre of art-making is reduced to child’s play or old fashion women’s work, it’s value questioned. Basic art, music, dance is relegated to primary school or specialty programs. It is not supported to be part of one’s everyday life and that which is, say baking, cooking, sewing, finding solutions to household problems are often not seen as part of the creative realm.

This speaks to the need to put aside the negative bias about creativity. It means suspending the messaging and deciding to take a leap.  I often suggest to look at any creative activity as play and an experiment, just something to try out with no real expectations of what the outcome in the end looks like.

When ‘I can’t do this’, I don’t know where to start, or even feeling uninspired arise.  I have a few suggestions to these states.  The first is look at what you are doing as an experiment and something to play with, as mentioned before. There is the tactic of set a time and just give yourself 10 minutes to try out the activity.  This can look like writing over and over again, I don’t know why I’m doing this, or even this is stupid, I have nothing to say… and just keep writing. Likewise with any artmaking, just start it off: with clay, shape it crush it, repeat. With drawing or painting, again just start with the movement of the activity and see if flow starts. Also, there is a lot to be said for taking a break. Stepping outside into nature and just intend to walk, taking in the small details: noticing your steps, noticing how you breathe… seeing if your busy mind is slowing down or can take a break from it’s endless thoughts and chatter. Sometimes these sorts of breaks allow a re-centring that allow one to re-engage with the creative activity.

I love how Matteo Di Pascale describes in his book Intùiti with Alessandra Mazzucchelli,

Consider children for a moment: have you ever seen a child who doesn’t know what he wants? Who stares at a blank page and says “Oh I have a terrible Creative block”? That’s impossible: a child always knows he wants to go from A to B and in doing so, he finds a series of creative solutions without realizing what he is doing.  Most of all, he doesn’t struggle through the process.  He doesn’t know how he go to B. And that is the real Creative Flow, real creativity.

So what happens when the child grows up?

He has to redefine his goals, compromise with society, school, family etc. Suddenly he focuses on what he has to do and soon he’ll have to go from A to C…. at some point C replaces B, for the child starts believing that C coincides with what he wants. For example he might think he wants success, he wants to feel secure, he wants to be an asset for society.

But the time he is an adult he is stuck in the ring of MUST. He knows something is wrong,,, but he can’t even remember B so he gets stuck in a circle of actions around point A…. So how do we break free of this circle? There is only one way: to tell the Truth. The Truth about everything: our job, our expectations, our dreams… (then) we have to say the Truth out loud and live it embrace it and behave accordingly…. There’s no certainty: it’s an act of faith. We have to believe that if we open that door, well finally see and hear what we long for. We’ll get our Creative Flow back. We won’t even have to look for solutions to make it work: it will glide on its own.

The purpose of all the courses I create and workshops I offer are to encourage returning to that Creative Flow.  When there are no preconceived notions of outcome, then we are playing with your “true” internal world, not the socially constructed one. It is here that you get to see yourself and explore who you really are. If you just want to dabble and try being more creative, check out the Soul Nurture Project Community Page.