If you believe you were created in the image of your Creator, then you must, therefore, be creative. Then, if you’re willing to see yourself as creative, you can begin to cultivate it in everything you do. -Steve Chandler
1. Remember the other day
when your kid/best friend/significant other was in a smells-like-rotten mood, and you pulled out your best, Youtube worthy collection of corny jokes or horrible impressions and made laughs happen? That was creativity.
2. Or how about the day you came up with dinner
and it was awesome – that dinner that was constructed from leftovers 20 minutes before the man got home with a phone ringing or a kid crying or a dog barking or whatever… Remember that? Creativity in cooking.
3. The last-minute wardrobe adjustment
when you realized that dress you were going to wear to the wedding has a rip by the zipper… you had to think quick, pull something together, and still get out the door on time. You did. Creativity in clothing.
4. Or the time you came up with something fun to do
when your lame group of friends couldn’t think of anything but the same-old “Uuuuuh let’s go get some food” or “Uuuuuh let’s go get some beers and drink them!” or “Uuuuuh let’s go to a movie!” and you were all: “Hey, people, there’s more to life…!” And you talked them into trying something different and, well, maybe enthusiastic is too strong a word, but nobody killed you… Creativity.
And bonus points for forcing others into creative action, too…
5. You regularly see a resemblance between your husband and famous movie star
/actor/politician/writer/awesome celebrity-type person. Creativity.
6. Then you tell said husband about the amazing resemblance in a way that’s sincere
and not like you’re just trying to get him to do the dishes… Also creativity. Communicating creativity. Very important in relationships.
7. You found a gracious, or at least civil, way to respond to the 15th comment
in a day from a stranger about your a) pregnancy or b) kids or c) dog or d) hair cut or e) wardrobe or f) career or g) fill-in-the-blank. Creativity saving the social process. (Bonus points for all the incredibly snarky, witty, and clever comebacks you came up with in the car on the way back home…).
8. Somehow you come up with breakfast for your kids every single day.
And you’ve only fed them ice cream that one time… Creativity and nutrition are a powerful pair, my friend.
9. You made a friend.
If that isn’t a creative process, I don’t know what is. You have to test the waters, break through all the initial conversations, figure out if you’re going to mesh or if it’s just more like mush… all while juggling the regular obligations of life ongoing.
Creativity: adult friendship requires a lot of it.
10. You came up with a sincere compliment for your friend
whose shirt/performance/last major decision was, in reality, awful. Creative compliments hold society together.
11. You wrote that birthday card to that one person you really don’t like
(you know who I’m talking about, don’t pretend) and you came up with something nice to say. Creativity.
12. You see the potential in your child, your spouse, your client, yourself…
even when you have to dig deep to bring it to the light of day. It takes creativity to see what isn’t obvious, to look beneath the surface.
13. You’ve managed to answer 67 consecutive questions
from your preschooler/toddler about a) the nature of space, gravity, and the sun and/or b) where babies come from. Creativity… without it, parents would be dead in the water.
14. That big ugly spot in the yard, you know the one?
Or that little ugly room in the house? You can totally imagine it with a new flower bed, a little hardscaping… or a coat of paint, a few well-chosen accessories… That’s creativity.
It’s vision, creation, the best kind of creativity.
15. You’ve made something new out of something old.
No matter what or how, that requires creativity, and I bet you’ve done that a lot more than you think.
16. You’ve realized this isn’t right for me about something that everyone said was right for you.
That’s creativity + courage, and it’s a tough one to pull off, but it can change your life forever.
17. You found a way to turn cleaning the house
or doing the laundry or waiting in the car or any other mundane activity into a game for your kids. That’s saving the day.
It’s creativity in a superhero cape.
18. Every time you find a way to relate to a total stranger…
you’re being creative.
19. If you’ve ever pictured yourself in a totally new role, career, future,
that’s creativity. It’s imagining the what-if. It’s letting yourself dream. Speaking of:
20. You dream. Day dreams, big dreams, little dreams:
a new business, another kid, the kids all-grown-up-and-some-time-to-yourself, a new car, a minimalist lifestyle, a published book, a date night, a great outfit, a deep conversation. Those dreams are birthed from your creativity, and letting them come to the surface of your mind is the first step you take toward letting them become part of reality. Creativity is powerful stuff, people.
21. You help solve a problem.
Your own, someone else’s, doesn’t matter. Problem solving is Creativity 101.
22. You help someone feel beautiful.
Creativity imbuing confidence.
23. You interpret your child’s gibberish into meaningful words,
phrases, whole sentences! Creativity in conversation.
24. You found a way to put a positive spin on the latest crisis.
Creativity in catastrophe.
25. You’ve planned another menu, or birthday party, or family night,
or date night, or time-to-yourself, or vacation, or summer-without-a-vacation, or trip-back-home, or day-stuck-at-home… and you’ve done it without all the money or time or resources that would make it much easier and simpler. Creativity and planning are actually good friends, you know.
26. You take your own dreams seriously.
Maybe you’re just starting to? Maybe you’re just building up the nerve to put some real value on your own secretly treasured what-ifs. But you are. In closed-eye, quiet moments, or jokes, or the pages of that notebook, or the kinds of books that are starting to stack up by your bed, or the monologue running quietly on while you do what you do… You’re taking your own dreams seriously. Creativity in the most important way.
27. You see the what-is and you see the what-if
and you manage to walk with the two balanced, one in each hand, and not go crazy or hide behind fearful or give up on hopeful. Creativity in real life.
related reading:
- How to Be More Creative, Confident, and Productive from AnnieMueller.com. (And better-looking, too.)
- The Joy of Self-Expression from Your Creative Success.
- How to get the Most out of Creative People from BNET. (Squeeze ‘em really really hard, I think….)
- How to Find Your Inner Genius from Entrepreneur’s Journey.
- Creativity Primer from Abundance Blog.
The ultimate truth of our personality is that we are no mere biologists or geometricians; “we are the dreamers of dreams, we are the music-makers.” This dreaming or music-making is not a function of the lotus-eaters, it is the creative impulse which makes songs not only with words and tunes, lines and colours, but with stones and metals, with ideas and men… -Rabindranath Tagore