Creativity is within all of us.
It’s in how we express ourselves, our ideas and how we do things. We use our creativity when we pick out what to wear in the morning, what we use our lunch break, how we talk with our colleagues or friends, and solve any issues that arise.
The problem is not that we don’t have creativity. It’s that we mightn’t be used to tapping into it, and if we do we mightn’t have the confidence to truly express ourselves or our ideas.
So it’s about knowledge and practice.
And by knowledge I don’t mean that by learning some fancy creative tool you’ll have the answer to all of your problems. Sorry :-(.
I’m talking more about gaining a knowledge of who you are, what works for you, what gets you excited, and when you do your best work.
I strongly believe that clarity gives you power. When you know who you are and what you want you are more likely to be successful and get where you want to go.
It’s so easy to get caught up in life, just going through the motions. We do whatever it is we need to do to get by, to meet that upcoming deadline, overcome the next hurdle, or get that new client or piece of work.
We can end up living in reactive mode, subject to others’ whims or expectations. And sometimes it might not be about doing what others think you should do, but about living up to a false set of assumptions that we’ve unconsciously set up for ourselves. Creating unrealistic expectations can make a rod for our own back.
For instance, small business owners often feel that they need to be constantly posting on various social media platforms. They create accounts to find that they either get sucked into the social media vortex and end up spending countless hours of busywork posting and not getting any results or ‘real’ work done. Or, they waste their energy procrastinating or feeling bad about not posting enough, so end up just beating themselves up about it or doing a half-hearted job that doesn’t get them anywhere either.
Unfortunately if we’ve been living on autopilot for a long time, it can be hard to work out what it is we truly want amongst all that noise.
Creativity is a great tool to get you that clarity. It helps you understand and reconnect with who you are and what you want.
Using your creativity helps you approach a problem from a different perspective. It opens you up to new ways of looking at and thinking about issues. It triggers different associations and ideas. (For instance, what do J.K. Rowling or Leonardo DiCaprio got to do with your personal or business values?)
Using your creativity lets you bypass your ‘ordinary’ way of thinking about something. It helps you suspend your judgement, and park the logical thinking part of your brain.
Using your creativity lets you tap into your intuition to unearth what you really want, rather than all of those ‘shoulds’ or those obvious ideas buzzing around top of mind.
Once we have this knowledge and understand what works for us, then it’s just a matter of practice. We need to get out there each day and find opportunities to use our creativity and express ourselves. Perhaps in small ways at first – it can be hard wearing bright colours in an office where black is the unofficial uniform. We may need to give ourselves permission to spend even a few minutes dancing along to a song in the kitchen (even if it’s with the blinds shut and the doors closed).
With practice, there’s no fixed destination. We learn more about ourselves and build our confidence in expressing ourselves over time. So that eventually we can offer up our ideas to others (even if they might sound impossible at first), or make choices about things, like our logo or brand, that are a better reflection of who we are.
So while creativity is central to what Inner Creative is about – it’s really all about helping you reconnect to who you are, what you want, and especially in relation to business, what you offer.
With this new found clarity then you can take steps to reclaim your life back, be the person and business leader you want to be, and have the life and business you’ve dreamed of – one that works for you (and not the other way around).
The answers are already waiting, perhaps even hidden within you. It’s just a matter of unlocking your inspiration and tapping into that creativity within you.
If you’re interested in some activities to reconnect with who you are then check out these past blogs:
What and where can you trace your creativity back to?
Discover the magic formula to creativity
Creative Inspiration – What makes you come alive?
Creative Tool: Want easier, better decision making? to work out your values
There’s also a free worksheet to rediscover your creativity and an upcoming Creative Characteristics Quiz when you sign up to the mailing list.
If you want a better understanding of what you want then read:
- this blog on How are you going to live your big dream today?
- or my guest post on InterviewIQ on creating a vision using vision boarding Check out this creative way to move from career confusion to career clarity…
Stay tuned for more ways to reconnect with your creativity, yourself and what you want for your life and business.
Have any of these ideas resonated with you?
What aspects would you like more help with?
