The 1 Thing You Need to Be Creative
We can all be more creative by doing this one simple thing…
Have you ever heard the saying, we should be living life with three hobbies: one to make money, one to make you fit and one to make you create; but what if you have 12 hobbies? What if you never stop trying to learn?
We are supposed to set aside 5 hours a week to learn a new skill, set aside 30 minutes a day to meditate, an hour a day to do something fitness related, set aside 2–3 hours on Sunday to meal prep. Write more, paint more, hang out with loved ones more. Make our bed, organize our rooms, tidy up, and all the while taking care of our skin. Just thinking about all the things I should be doing is exhausting. That in itself could be a full-time job.
With all the woulds, shoulds and maybes out there, I found myself craving the only thing I couldn’t seem to get more of: peace.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I grew up with the notion that I couldn’t turn down an opportunity. That if I was good at something, I had to put those skills to a new opportunity; all the while continually growing new skills. The idea of all the things I need to do and all the possibilities quickly turns into a moment of turtles all the way down; a vicious cycle where I just continually fold in on myself and destroy any ounce of motivation I had in the first place.
Don’t be like me.
We shoot ourselves in the foot when we come at creativity thinking that we need full freedom in order to come up with the best ideas. Something we can do, that always yields new creativity is actually the opposite. I give you the…
Art of Limitation
When we give ourselves parameters, or a set of rules to follow, something magical happens. Robert McKee, screenwriting expert, identifies that:
“Limitation is vital the first step toward a well-told story is to create a small, knowable world… The constraint that setting imposes on story design doesn’t inhibit creativity; it inspires it.”
Now this advice doesn’t just apply to screenwriting, but envelops all creative endeavors.
In the simplest example known to man, let’s say you want to create a new brand name. If a task for a brand name was the only thing written on a piece of paper from an anonymous person or company…you would go absolutely insane. The possibilities are endless and excruciating when there is no limits. How would even begin that?
BUT, if you get told that it’s for a coffee shop, there’s rule number 1. And you learn that it’s in Portland, Oregon. Rule number 2. The coffee shop wants to be known as the place for creators to come and their work, while also getting an artisan beverage. Rule number 3. Coming up with a brand name just got even easier, right?
This idea applies to every.thing. that uses your brain power. Ideas for businesses, inventions, marketing strategies, even coffee flavors, don’t just come from thin air, so neither should any art you create. Here are some tips to get that creative genius a flowin’:
Create a ritual
If you use the same medium, draw the same thing, or even write the same story, you will slowly blossom into a 1,000 different ideas. Famous portrait photographer Platon explains in the docuseries Abstract how he keeps his methods the same. Keeping methods consistent allows for creativity to flow through the work and allow for true rawness. Simplicity can lead to greatness.
Make art science
Creating experiments is the epitome of anything creative. Start with a what if question. What if I only used a bamboo stick as a paintbrush? What if I just painted galaxies as many ways imaginable? Get as crazy or as simple as you’d like. Then test, test, test. You’re already creating!
Limit your time
Setting a timer to draw or to think of new ideas, from 5 minutes to 20, restricts us and allows our minds to stay focused on the task at hand. You are much more likely to accomplish things and come up with new ideas when you have a set time, instead of the entire day.
For even more ideas, I found Belle Beth Cooper’s piece to be really inspiring.
I hope you find some use for this idea and start creating, creatively!
Find me at https://www.talularose.net and on Instagram.