Many of us have meaning 100% backward. And The #1 Personal Development maxim of all time.
Many of us have meaning 100% backward. And The #1 Personal Development maxim of all time.
Some people do not believe in the clean slate principle. This is ironic because that is a guilt-based assumption. We encounter clean slates many times in our lives and it is up to us to determine what we’re going to paint on them next. Those among us who do not view themselves as creative paint rather abstractly, with wide brush strokes and no clear vision of what they wish to create. They’re metaphorically painting blindfolded, barely able to find the clean canvas. Those of us who embrace the discipline of creativity paint like Bob Ross: happy; determined; confident; at ease with its inherently ambiguous process; barely aware that the camera is on and shooting; and with a detachment from the outcome. We’re not entirely sure how it’s going to turn out, but we’re quite confident in our ability to figure things out and to power through the unknown. This is the very essence of self-confidence: to blaze through opacity determined that things will turn out just fine.
Creativity is not an either-you-have-it-or-you-don’t value. Creativity is a discipline, something you put into / invest yourself into each day. Every day is a creative day — we simply need to decide how to create it. What will we choose? What does it look like for us? What will we contribute? What is required to be of service here? How can I create that now or help others grow into that? How can I transfer my confidence onto others to help them believe they possess the ability to do that which they don’t think they can? Affirm.
Creativity runs parallel to meaning. So many of us have meaning 100% backward. We don’t derive meaning from certain activities, from certain people, or from certain events. We inject meaning into certain activities, people and events. There’s nothing much inherently meaningful in most of what we do each day. It is our attitude. It is our perspective. It is our unique way of going about things that puts the meaning into the thing. Note that this is 100% under our control. We don’t derive meaning from our work. We put meaning into our work. The artist doesn’t derive meaning from the canvas. The artist creates meaning through the canvas. Our relationships are not 100% inherently meaningful. We put the meaning into them through contributing our time, talents, and tenacity, through creating and sharing with others.
Take cooking. Most people don’t like to cook while to certain others, cooking is life. Cooking is creative expression. Cooking creates energy. Cooking creates happiness. Cooking creates meaning for both the chef and for the people the chef cooks for. Those who do not enjoy cooking would not admit to getting great meaning out of the activity. While those who are passionate about food and its preparation inject tremendous meaning into their creations. Same activity. Same behavior. Different perspectives on meaning. The passionate chef isn’t looking to derive meaning out of cooking. She injects it into her cooking through meticulous preparation and presentation.
Your creativity doesn’t take weekends or holidays off. It’s still there, waiting to be unearthed and tapped into. It doesn’t need an environment, though certain ones do help its exhibition.
The #1 Personal Development maxim of all time, You are the average of the 5 people you hang around with the most, is highly applicable within the creative context. If you’re feeling less-than-creative lately, how much are you exposing yourself to creative people and their works? How many of your friends would you classify as creative and how much time are you spending around them? How much time have you spent around the arts lately? What live music have you seen that’s inspired you? What exhibitions have you seen in-person in the last few weeks? Creative people and their works rub off onto others. It is a social value.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about Creativity is it is abundant. Some might say that Creativity is Abundance. There is no creative cap. There is no limit to your prolific quality output. There is no limit to the amount of words you write. There is no limit to the paintings you paint. There is no limit to the number of songs you publish. There is no limit to the number of photos you take. There is no limit to the number of takes you shoot. Creativity is boundless abundance. If you believe it is.
