Taming the elusive beast

If you’re going to be successful in the future, you’re going to have to foster your ability to create. Here are a few ideas on how to do it

“THE desire To CREATE is one of THE DEEPEST yearnings of THE Human soul”

– dieter f. uchtdorf

We talk about creativity like it’s this majestic state reserved for creatives and visionaries. Or that it’s a skill purely exhibited by those who can sculpt, draw, paint or photograph.

It’s not. It’s the art of creating. The Latin root of the word creativity is “to create or make”. And if you’re going to be successful in the future, you need to foster your ability to create.

I’ll share a few ideas with you on how to do that, but before we get there, I’d like you to also draw inspiration from one of the greatest creators of all time, Steve Jobs, who nailed the importance of creativity with this quote: “Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact – everything around you that you call life was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, influence it, and build your things that other people can use.”

This isn’t only about creating things, but also your life. By extension, you influence the lives of those around you for the better.

Find the silence. Life’s busy and noisy. Radio in the car, conversation at work, music at the gym, TV at home. Noisy. Noisy. Noisy.

All that noise drowns out your thinking. Even good things, such as podcasts or books. When we’re always consuming, we don’t allow ideas to enter our mind and turn into something tangible.

Whenever I hear something profound on a podcast, I habitually stop the episode straight away. It gives me a chance to breathe. I get to think of how this idea fits into my current understanding of the world and, perhaps more importantly, what I can do with this idea. Creation starts with thinking. And thinking requires space. How will you create space in your life?

Find your why

A muse is defined as a “personified force that inspires an artist”. Put simply, it inspires you to create, do something and be better.

It can take the shape of many things: an idea, such as to provide fresh water to people who’re in dire need of it, a person you care for deeply and want to take care of, or a business you want to see expand and grow. In each case, what matters is that because you care and are inspired, you start thinking of ways to create and be creative organically. What or who’s your muse?

Build up your courage

In my experience, people don’t lack creativity; they lack conviction and courage.

We’re scared of creating new things because we fear failure, or that the people who’re important to us won’t approve of our labour of love.

I wish I could give you some sage advice that would make it easier to cope with the burden of creating in the public domain. But the reality is that every creator must conclude, of their own accord, that what they’re doing will never please everybody. And that, at times, you might fail, but that’s also okay.

Seth Godin has this great line. He says that whenever someone doesn’t resonate with your work, simply smile and say, “This isn’t for you.”

It’s extremely liberating when you adopt the belief and approach that you’re not for everyone, and neither is what you create.

Go back to basics

When I was writing the outro to this article, I faced the same dilemma we often face when we’re confronted with creative acts. We try to think of new, innovative and different ways of approaching them. This is a sound endeavour and a worthwhile way to spend our time.

But way too often, this gets in the way of something more important; the simple act of creating. It’s time to face the beast, head-on.