Show Notes
Summary:
If you’ve ever said you weren’t creative, I call shenanigans. I challenge you to take a second look, shift your perspective, and re-claim your creativity. In this episode I will walk you through three steps and help you see yourself in a new way so you can open the door to new possibilities.
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Episode Transcription:
Welcome. I'm Kristi Backman. And this is my podcast Cultivating Creativity. It's about helping you build your creative life. Giving creatives a way to make space for artistic growth, through the insights of an artist , art instructor, and a creativity coach about the creative process and living that crazy creative life.
If you've ever said you weren't creative… I call shenanigans! I challenge you to take a second, look, shift your perspective and reclaim your creativity. In this episode, I will walk you through three steps to help you see yourself in a new way. So, you can open the door to new possibilities.
Have you ever said, “I'm not creative?”
It's honestly, one of the most common responses to when I share what I do, that I'm an artist that I'm an art instructor that I'm a creativity coach and people just immediately say, “well, I'm not creative.”
Creativity has nothing to do with comparison. So, if you have ever heard yourself say this, or think this, my goal is for you to reclaim your creativity. To do that, the very first step is to identify where did this idea come from? Can you remember the first time you had that thought?
Was this idea assigned to you? As children we are often assigned characteristics. The smart one, the pretty one, the athletic one, the artistic one, the musical one, the one that's good at math. And while these are encouraging in one aspect, these types of definitions are so limiting. Because they communicate that is the strength and everything else is the weakness. Even though that may not be how it was intended. Humans tend to categorize things. That's how we understand. That's how we learn. And so, identifying somebody as good at something isn't necessarily saying that they're bad at everything else. But that's what we hear. And when it's over and over attributed to one facet of our personality, we tend to let go of those other aspects of personality.
So, take a moment and think back. What characteristics were assigned to you? Do you remember, were you ever told that you were bad at certain things? That can be a big challenge where something might be a struggle for you. And if you get that negative reinforcement. It makes it that much easier to just say, “huh, I'm bad at that.” And never really try. So, if you were told that you were bad at something my guess is you avoided it like the plague, and this is such a limiting practice. We are often pigeonholed and typecast into roles that become core to our very identity. And while this does give us permission to explore those interests that have been attributed to us, it can also close doors and shut off endless opportunities.
And often we don't think to question this until much, much later when we're reevaluating and redefining who we are and how we want to show up in this world. You might start to question some of those early attributes and wonder was that really me?
If the idea of not being creative was not assigned to you, then I want you to think back and ask, “when did you assign this idea to yourself?” There may have been some creative event or endeavor where you tried, fell short, or failed. Does that sound familiar? Or did this idea evolve over time as you were simply not drawn to the things that you identified as creative. Perhaps you thought creative meant something specific, like realistic painting or knitting? And you had no interest in that particular activity. Or perhaps you identify to things that seem the opposite to creativity. So, this assertion gives your identity more power.
This really depends on your definition of what creativity is and what a creative person looks like. In many cases, we use extreme stereotypes for classification, the starving artists, the emo, the extreme personality, but those definitions never tell the whole story. So, let's think about that a little bit more.
The second step is to accept the truth that all human beings are creative. Every single one of us, it's part of our psychology. It's one of the defining factors that make us human. So, in order to reclaim your creativity, you need to redefine what creativity really means. So, let's look at that.
Creativity is characterized by originality, expressiveness, imagination, and the ability to create new forms or ideas. It's originality. I want you to hold on to three words here, imaginative, expressive, and original. So, if everyone is creative, that means you too. So, how are you unique? While there's a biological need to conform, to some extent to fit into society. There is an equal need to establish our individuality. We all see ourselves as unique in some way. How is that? What does that look like for you? I want you to ask yourself, “what is unique about me?”
What do you do better than others? What do you enjoy? This could be a hobby, but it could also be how you present yourself to the world, your clothes, your hair, your makeup. It could be how you cook or prepare food. It could be how you define and create your space. It could be how you experienced nature or interact with your loved ones. There are endless possibilities to how you bring your unique presence into the world. If this is an idea that feels foreign. I want you to ask your friends and family what your unique characteristics are. They will have answers for you. I'd like you to dive into this a little.
And the third step is to embrace your own creativity. Now that you've thought about it a bit, I want you to own it. This is so important because your previous mindset was limiting. Our minds create our reality. If we tell ourselves we're not creative enough times, we'll believe it. And our actions will reflect that belief. This limits our actions, which limits our experiences.
You deserve unlimited possibilities. When you accept your creativity, you allow that beautiful, unique aspect of your personality to grow and expand into new interests. Embracing creativity allows an openness to try new things. And a willingness to experiment. These are aspects of play and expression. And I think we can all agree that these feelings make us feel young and create positive energy. Your creativity may manifest in subtle ways, in non-traditional ways, but I promise you ---it's there.
How do you make things in your life special? What do you do for fun? What custom, ceremony, or practice do you observe? How do you problem solve? What makes you unique? Throw out all of those old stereotypes and redefine what creativity means to you. If you're struggling to identify your zone of creativity, I recommend my podcast “What Does Creativity Look Like?”This article will give you more clarity on how to look at this in a new way.
You have now reclaimed your creative identity. I like to call this my creative mark, meaning a distinguishing trait, quality or characteristic. I feel this is more accurate than gift or talent as those are passive qualities. Creativity is an active process. You may have a talent, but talent is just raw material. It really isn't anything until you do something with it. You make a mark. It's an action. And I'll talk about this in other episodes, but all creative skills can be learned, they can be enhanced. You don't have to start out with that material. You can build that material for yourself. So, think about making a mark. How do you want to be seen? How do you want to leave your mark? What activities do you want to engage in that will enrich your life and open up new possibilities?
Reclaiming your creative identity is just the first step in beginning your personal creative journey. I want to acknowledge that change does not happen overnight. But every time you feel the impulse to say, “I'm not creative.” I want you to change those words. Fall back on what you identified as creative. The more you start seeing yourself through that lens, the more it becomes real for you, it becomes your experience, and you become so much more open to possibilities. And this opens you up for the next step. How can you bring more creativity into your life? But it all starts with establishing the idea that “I am a creative person.” My creativity may look different than yours. That does not invalidate my creativity. “I am a creative person.” Own that. Make it yours.
So now when this topic comes up, you can share your creative mark and perhaps your definition may help the next person reclaim their unique creative identity. Because it's not a question of IF it's a question of HOW. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to my channel. You can also follow me on social. Until next time!
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