3 reasons why EVERYONE CAN CREATE….even YOU!
Updated: Sep 30, 2022
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.”
– Pablo Picasso
As an artist, I have friends who say to me –
“Oh I wish I was creative like you, but I can’t draw a straight line!”
And it genuinely perplexes me! If you can’t draw a straight line, get a ruler! Well, I’m kidding…. Sort of….
I genuinely believe that WE ARE ALL CREATIVE. It is just a case of being open to the idea that each of us has our own unique creativity within us. And the world is a better place for it… not convinced?
Here are 3 reasons why EVERYONE CAN CREATE… even YOU!
1. We still have our inner childhood creativity within us, ready to explode!
Ever see a little child pick up a crayon and make marks on a page with joy and carefree abandon? They’re not worried about how it looks or what marks they make. They just like how it feels, the cause and effect of the mark making, the colours, the control over the crayon. They enjoy the feeling of making something totally unique to them, something that didn’t exist before they put the crayon on the page.
As children, we paint and draw and make without any self-doubt or inner critical voices. We draw with sticks in the sand, with mud on our fingers…. the messier the better! And we love it…. So why do we stop?
As we grow up, we become more wedded to the idea of perfectionism. Rather than believing in ourselves, we seek out the approval of others – parents, teachers, other kids – so that the wild and messy play that we loved is now no longer perfect enough.
So we often just give up. There’s no longer time and space to make messes and doodle all day. Other pursuits of perfection take over. But all of that creativity that we once had is still within us. The colours we liked, the marks we used to make on the page. They are still there. They just need a little nudge to be reawakened.
2. Limiting beliefs CAN be shifted.
Have you ever heard of limiting beliefs? Beliefs like -
I can’t draw a straight line
I’m SO not creative
I don’t know anything about art
My drawing doesn’t look anything like it’s supposed to
I’m no good at making things
My friend is so creative… I wish I was like that
Eh hello?? How do you truly know that you are not creative?
Change the narrative – change the response – something like this:
I can’t draw a straight line so I use a ruler.
I used to think I wasn’t creative but then I looked around my beautiful home that I decorated myself.
I don’t know anything about art but then I realised that art is totally subjective and I know which paintings I like and which I don’t.
My drawing doesn’t look anything like it’s supposed to but who the hell cares as long as I like it and I can always do another.
I’m no good at making things but then I figured out a new recipe for a delicious dish and surprised myself!
My friend is so creative and so am I, because I am human with my own likes and preferences, and a unique perspective that the world needs.
3. You are ALREADY creating!
We are, in fact, creating all of the time, just in different, sometimes less obvious ways. So when someone says, “I’m
not creative”, I like to challenge them and ask things like –
Did you put your outfit together this morning?
Have you put ingredients together and cooked something?
Do you enjoy gardening, baking, buying stuff for your home, matching your cushions to your sofa?
Have you made a playlist on spotify
Written a resume? Made a sandwich?
Picked some flowers? Written a letter?
Do you play sport? Have you created a goal chance? Have you come up with a new play, technique, strategy?
Even having a conversation with someone requires you to construct sentences, tell a story or a joke, make small talk. It is all creating something that wasn’t there before, that’s totally unique and individual to you.
Why does creativity matter?
So why is creativity even important? Why does being creative matter? Because THE WORLD NEEDS IT!
Imagine a covid lockdown without all the Netflix shows we watched, without the books we read, the music we listened to? (the wine we drank!)
Art is connection. Art is humanity. Art is life.
When Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he replied – “then what are we fighting for?”
The world needs your own unique creativity – your own unique voice. Creativity and the arts can change minds, bring peace, create harmony, bond and unite us.
So…. the next time you think you are not creative, please reconsider. The world needs your unique story, your unique creativity – so what’s your next creative venture gonna be?!
