"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong". This quote says a lot about us as humans and our hesitation to try things which we think we might not be so good at. This is something I can totally relate to as I tend to want to get things right and at times I can put a huge amount of pressure on myself to do so. The problem is, when it comes to creativity, the more pressure we put on ourselves the less likely we are to create something wonderful.
The beautiful thing about fostering our creativity is that; it can be messy, out-the-box and there is no 'right' way of doing it. The whole point of the exercise is to think differently and foster innovation, not generate'correct' copies of the person sitting next to you. Creativity comes in so many shapes and forms, and it all begins with a simple thought or intuition.
As kids, we are generally told that we each have our own strengths and talents and that some people are creative, others sporty and others academic. I think that this is intended to make us feel better about our shortcomings or weaknesses but I personally find it to be very limiting. Why can't we be more than one or even all of the above? By saying we are either one or the other, we put each other in boxes and discourage ourselves from extending past our boundaries.
In my experience as a therapist, educator and yoga teacher, I can tell you that I have not come across one single person who doesn't have the ability to be creative. Sure, there have been many that don't believe they are creative but with a bit of guidance they tend to prove themselves wrong with relative ease. You see, it's a lot to do with the mindset and perception we set for ourselves. If we believe we are not creative, then indeed, we are not creative. It all begins with our train of thought and breaking through past patterns of doubt is key if we're going to be open to push ourselves and try something new.
So why am I going on about creativity? Because it's AMAZING. It's a way of expressing ourselves, our thoughts and our emotions. Which is why it is one of the primary modalities I use in my therapy practice. The act of being creative can help us to get out of our overthinking-heads and allow us the freedom to use our intuition. There doesn't even need to be an end result, a masterpiece or something to show off. It can be simply the act of expressing something or even thinking innovative thoughts, coming up with new ideas and writing them down.
There are many benefits to unleashing our creative minds; it builds new pathways in the brain; releases feel-good hormones and relieves stress and anxiety, to name a few. The tough part is letting go of our perfectionist tendencies or the desire to be 'right' and just allowing ourselves to be free and live in the moment. In order to live creatively, we must let go of our fear of being wrong. I am of the opinion that we all want to live creatively, why wouldn't we? Creativity doesn't have to be a verb it can be an adjective; so do what you do, creatively.
So what shall we do today?
Write, paint, draw, scribble, dance, sing, move, think, meditate, explore, make food, show love, take photos, tell stories, redecorate, write a poem, knit a scarf, invent , analyze, question, listen to your heart, craft, scrapbook, visualize, plant, notice? The possibilities are endless!
I would love to know some of your ideas as to how to let the creative juices flow, leave a comment below.
