Recently it was “Be your favorite storybook character” day at my son’s school. Last night at dinner we talked about how best to embody Pete from Pete the Cat. Not one for makeup, my son opted for drawing a picture of Pete and pinning him to the canvas of a white T-shirt.
My son is six, and he must have spent a solid thirty minutes at the dinner table, getting his picture just right. At one point he got frustrated and asked me to write “Pete’s Lunch” on the feline’s lunchbox because he had trouble writing that small. But he got there. Later he walked the school halls proudly displaying a brilliantly colored Pete on his chest.
I loved the whole experience because it was creative—developing a vision and bringing it into reality.
We are naturally creative beings. That’s why we have cities and families and houses, art and architecture, businesses and products and charities. Creativity is who we are and who we were meant to be.
But we all know what it’s like to stand in front of our equivalent of a blank canvas and not have much to offer. The blank canvass can be a business presentation, a manuscript, a conversation, a gift for a loved one, or just life in general.
We know what it’s like to feel burned out, tired, and just empty or dead inside. When this happens, it’s not because we are not creative. It’s likely because we are trying to be outwardly creative without being inwardly creative.
Inward Creativity
Inward creativity is first and foremost about taking care of ourselves. It’s about eating well and sleeping well. It’s about a healthy rhythm between work and play. It’s about exercise and relaxation. It’s about time to oneself and rich time with others, family time and friend time. I don’t know about you, but the fortifying effects of a good time with a dear friend are better than any money can buy.
I don’t have to cite medical studies to convince you of how important this stuff is. We all know it. But we struggle at times. I certainly do. Other forces, both internal and external, run counter to healthy living, and sometimes our obligations prevent it. But being healthy is fundamental to becoming our best creative selves.
We could point to any number of artists who did not engage healthy lifestyle patterns yet were enormously creative. I wonder what they could have done if they had been healthy.
Inward creativity is also about intentionally engaging stimuli that will feed our outward creativity. The number of forms this can take is literally infinite, but we have to be intentional about it. It doesn’t just happen.
Today you will listen to or watch or read or experience all kinds of stimuli, but will these stimuli feed your creative potential? What practice can you incorporate that will help you be intentional with your stimuli? When will you engage them? During drive time? In the evening when you normally watch TV?
Sometimes just a few small changes, nothing dramatic, can make a huge difference.
Outward Creativity
Outward creativity is so much easier if you have done the work of inward creativity, but it is seldom easy in any case. We stare agape at people who say things like “It just came to me” because we all know how rare this is.
Outward creativity often requires getting our calendars to do what we want them to do. It’s so easy to be passive with our calendars, to let others dictate how we’re going to spend our time. And of course to some extent this is right and good, but probably to a larger extent than need be. My advice: force it to conform to your priorities and values.
Then do the work. Steven Pressfield uses the phrase “going pro” for adopting the mindset of a construction worker for one’s creative work. Construction workers rise early, grab their hard hats, lunch boxes, and go to the work site. That’s what creatives have to do if we are going to produce things of value.
The blank page I face on a regular basis is the one that faced me before writing this—the blogging page. What never ceases to amaze me is that when I wake up, show up, and sit down, things happen. Words come. “Eighty percent of success,” said Woody Allen, “is showing up.”
The Third Movement
The third movement of creativity is acceptance. Let me illustrate.
This week was absolutely nutty for me. I had a family funeral to attend in a different state and the work piled up in my absence. The result is that I stayed up until midnight one night and until 1 am another night. If you’re keeping score at home, that means I did not get enough sleep. And I didn’t have as much time as I like to have to engage nurturing stimuli and write.
I could beat myself up. I’m tempted to, honestly. That voice is there.
But what good would that do? “You’re okay, bud,” I’m better off telling myself. “Tough week, but you did as well as you could do, and today is a new day. You are worth your own acceptance. Take care of yourself.”
And then it’s so important to do this: Take. The. Next. Right. Step. My next right step is pushing “Publish” on this blog post. How about you?
As I read this, I’m staring at my computer wondering if it would be more productive to finalize my chapter synopses or go to sleep. I think you’ve convinced me that (desperately needed) sleep wins. My kids are napping for 50 more minutes. I will consider this a 50-minute creativity recharge. 🙂
(On a much more important note, I’m sorry to hear about the death in your family.)
Thanks, Natasha, and wise choice!
It’s nice to be reinforced, to be reminded that some things are out of our control. We do our best with what we are given. Great art from your son!
Patti, yes, I’m reminded of the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Good post. I’ve mapped out my word-count goals for this next novel and am nose to the grindstone. It would behoove me to consider what feeds creativity and what zaps it. Time away from the computer can be just as productive.
Thanks for sharing.
Regina, well said. The right kind of time away from the computer can actually enhance what you’re doing when you are at the computer.
Great article; I liked the differences between inward and outward creativity. I had never thought about it like that before. It does feel hard to force creativity – I tend to wait until midnight when inspiration strikes, and have a hard time forming my creativity around my timeframe (but it is a good discipline to do.)
I will be thinking a lot about your quote today, “Today you will listen to or watch or read or experience all kinds of stimuli, but will these stimuli feed your creative potential?”
Jamie, I can totally relate to trying to be creative at midnight, and perhaps sometimes at least it’s better to try then than not. But clearly the quality of what I produce goes up when I’m in a more sane rhythm. I strive for this, but at the same time I’m not waiting for all the stars to align before I start creating. At some point I have to accept things as they are, and do. A practical idea: when inspiration strikes at midnight, write down a few thoughts and then set a time later in the week when you can pursue them further.
Thanks for this, Chad. I had a tough week too, with my husband out of town and my daughter and I sick and my extended family in a crisis. But this morning I took a walk and told myself, “You did a great job of resting through this. Now you’re working better and faster than ever. Keep it up.” Man is that a change from the inner critic I used to listen to not so long ago. Self-kindness, how essential for artists especially and people in general to thrive.
I don’t think I have ever heard the word “self-kindness” before, but I love it! Thank you, and yes, never was a thing so essential.
Well if it wasn’t a word it is now. 🙂
😉
Aw, my kids love Pete the Cat. I love being intentional about surrounding myself with people and things that have a tendency to feed and not rob me of my creative potential. And I’m also learning about the value of taking care of myself. When I’m doing that well my imagination tends to have a field day, inspiring crazy joy in me.
My next step is shifting into survival mode with my Pete the Cat loving kids home for another SNOW DAY!
I hope your snow day went okay, Wendy! My life is so much richer when I’m in the habit of being intentional about the stimuli I engage. I’m also a lot more fun to be around, I’m convinced, and a lot more helpful to others. Todd Henry recommends having a stimuli plan for each week. What stimuli am I going to engage this week, and when? What experience will I pursue this week, and when? Let’s face it, it’s not always possible, but the point, I think, is to try, to do my best.
We are going to have to check out Pete the Cat. He looks like a cool dude! I love this encouragement. So many times I get entrenched in what I’m doing and don’t take care of myself. Every time my creativity goes out the window. My next step, keep showing up… even when I fall into that pit of doubt and uncertainty. And learn to shut off the computer and all competing noises on a more regular basis.
Lisa, our email in-boxes and social media networks don’t make it easy to take 15-20 minutes each week or each day to consider the best way to take care of ourselves. They are endlessly distracting, and just ten years ago these technologies did not exist. We’re having to learn a fundamentally different way of being human. But the project is worthwhile, and I encourage you to keep after it! You’re worth your attention!
Thank you for the reminder about ignoring the inner critic and learning to forgive one’s self and just take the next step. I had also never considered the relationship between inner creativity and outward creativity–but in looking back over my life, I see that it’s true. I’ll be showing up for work with my hard hat and lunch bucket (filled with healthy food, of course) this morning for sure!
Anita, thank YOU for this comment! And may you and your work have a mutually beneficial relationship!