Allowing yourself to be creative in this day and age (I say as though I have lived in any other day and age), is very hard. I feel this is because we live in a capitalistic society; where the main aim is to earn as much money as possible. And in doing this, we forget that life is for living, as well as surviving. But in order to live, we need to survive. It is about getting that difficult balance. There are some trains of thought that allow us to realise that creativity is all part of existing and living — part of what makes us human.
What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity can mean many different things to many different people. For example, it could mean making progress in knitting your next scarf, or writing the next few chapters in your upcoming novel (I naturally drift towards using writing as an example, not least because I'm literally writing while typing this). It just depends what creativity means to you, and your strength and weakness — and how your skills have developed over time. This means to say that creativity is not pointless because it gives us meaning for ourselves introspectively, and allowing us to escape the rat race of everyday life. Therefore, it is not pointless. The reason I say this is because creativity — as we've said — is quite often squashed out of us in order to pursue success and achievement. As though creativity and success are entirely separate and cannot at any point align. Ultimately disregarding the need for enjoyment in life.
So, I want you to proceed with the mindset of creativity not being something to be aside, but rather something that can help sustain us in all aspects of our lives. It could even help us achieve these successes that society yearns us to strive for. Even then I feel it could be said that the need for success is not to benefit the individual, but more so those around them.
Who is going to care?
With creativity, there is an element of who is going to care. Who is going to care if you create something? More to the point, who is going to care if you do not create something?
This is something that I have to remind myself of in both capacities. Just because I've written a book — for example — does not mean to say that somebody needs to read it, or would want to read it. However, if I did not complete and publish the book, then the people that would have wanted to read the book will have never got the opportunity for that experience. With that logic in mind, nobody's really going to care if you have a shelved manuscript, if it's not something that they are not going to be able to read. Having several shelved manuscripts, however, may be a different story (haha). This is because it holds the implication that you are working your way through finding an appropriate manuscript to publish. That may intrigue readers, as it would suggest an overflow of creativity; the need to get ideas at least started and out of your head before moving on. For both the writers who produce, and the readers who consume and the readers do consume. Asking the question of who's going to care, allows you to remind yourself of why you do it, and why creativity is important to you.
For example, I treat writing as catharsis for my own mental health, and the idea that through my writing I may somehow, somewhere, be helping someone else. To be honest, everything else aside, if I know that I've helped at least one person through my writing, then I feel like that is a success. It is partly what I like so much about creativity; that it takes us back to the bare bones of what it means to be human.
To have that catharsis on a regular basis, not only does that help maintain introspection, but also help us improve as people. That does not mean to say that we constantly need to be improving ourselves, as though we are constantly imperfect. Especially as — by that logic — nobody will ever be perfect, and it's a fruitless endeavour. Creativity, on the other hand, is not a fruitless endeavour.
Just like any other vocation, there is a point to creativity
As we've already said, there is obviously a point to creativity, because it provides us with hope, it gives us a sense of purpose, and it allows us to get through everything that we experience in our everyday lives.
Writing a book, for example, is a serious commitment, But it is a commitment and process that allows us to achieve so much besides having a finished manuscript. When writing a book, you can learn a lot about yourself, and the world around us. In writing a book, we are having to constantly consider ourselves as a writer, and how the reader may interpret what we are writing. Using our skills as a writer, we can influence the reader’s perspective and build upon a narrative; suggest another perspective.
Routine
Another good thing about creativity is it allows you to create a rigid routine. Not only is this helpful because it allows you to set aside time every day, or in certain periods of time, in order to indulge in your creativity, but it also allows a kind of safety net for you to rely on in harder times, As I have said previously, writing offers catharsis for me, so if I'm particularly struggling, my go-to is to start writing about this experience. This either helps me figure out the situation, or it may provide me with a new angle for a piece that I'm writing. Or it could add a layer of personality to a character that I'm developing.
Creativity makes you happy
If you're anything like me then creativity makes you happy, and that in itself suggests that creativity is not pointless. Finding things that make you happy is part of life and the experience of being human. And we all know that not every day is going to be the perfect day, so we are going to need something like creativity that allows there to be a constant within our lives; something we know we can rely on, something that brings us even the tiniest bit of light into the dark times. The line between being productive and being creative can often be blurred because — particularly from a writing point of view — we are writing in order to complete a piece. Whether it's self-reflection or the latest fantasy epic, we have some goals that we want to aim for, which can get more and more; faster and faster. That can lead to a sense of overwhelm or resentment towards ourselves because we may not be able to achieve the high expectations that we have of ourselves. It is important to remind ourselves that creativity is an opportunity to express ourselves — and actually have fun. Not everything is about succeeding, and getting onto the next thing, or making loads of money.
I know that one or two people will read this and take quite a bit from it. That is good enough for me, and adds to the effectiveness and impact of my creativity — because not only is this creativity helping me, but it's helping others. And the fact that I get to help others further helps me. So there are so many layers of impact in the importance of creativity.
I want you to keep in mind that creativity is not a wasted endeavour, it is not a waste of time. You never know of the opportunities that will come from it, or the people you will meet. It is not necessarily a traditional route, admittedly, but we must do at least one thing in our lives that we enjoy. Otherwise, is it really a life at all?
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