Tag: define

What gives you that creative inspiration?

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Recently, I have felt uninspired, ready to do the status quo, complacent….  or in other words not very creative! This is a very strange place for me I have frequently and actively chosen to follow my passions, trusting that, by following my passion I am on right path and everything will work out. To this point in my life that has been true. When I am passionate about something I cannot help but to talk about it,  strive to do more, and come up with creative solutions. Like everything in life with time, comes change, and my passions have changed. I cannot pinpoint the moment when it happened, nor can I describe in words what the shift is to.

So I have been thinking a lot….

  • Did I choose to stop following my passion?
  • What is my passion?
  • If I can’t name it or describe it, how can I do it?
  • Have I settled into my default self?

This idea of default self really has me thinking? When I say default, is there a place or stride that I just get into when there is nothing else that inspires me? Yes, I think we all have this default space. I am starting to realize that mine is quiet, passive and task oriented. Another characteristic of my default self is a need to keep things close, I don’t really want to spend time with lots of people, I just want to stay to small social circles. Let me be clear, my default self isn’t sad or unhappy, it just isn’t the inspired person I think of myself as when I am at my best.  If my default self is not my “Best Self” then what is?  How do I re-ignight my passion to jumpstart my super productive self, the self that I see accomplishing the lifetime goals I have?

First, is this default self really showing up in every aspect of my life or is there one specific area I can identify the default is creeping in? I think it is safe to say that this lack of umph is not a universal malady in my life, instead it is very focused. I am currently my default self in my work life. For better or worse we spend almost a 1/3 of our adult lives focused on “Work”. That is a huge chunk of our time!  Even with a fairly flexible job where I worked from home I have found that while I may be able to use daytime hours to do life things, work is still there, maybe evenmore since my desk is in my house. Two weeks ago, I would have told you that I was in an ok place with work, maybe not my dream job, but it was fulfilling all of my basic needs as an employee and as a member of my family. One week ago I was told the company is closing and my services are no longer needed. Honestly, I’m ok with that, maybe somewhere deep inside I am relieved.  I accept this opportunity to refocus myself….. What do I want to do????? Before I start my search for something new, it is time to ponder my passions, my strengths and my weaknesses that I will bring to the next step of my work life. There is a lot to consider, the first question I am going to look at is “What truly wakes you up each day?” or asked a different way: “What gives you that creative inspiration, that you love so much?” Hopefully this will help me move past the default work self and help me find my next opportunity for my best work self!

What gives you that creative inspiration? If you have an answer to this question I would love to hear what ignites you. Leave a comment below and let me know!

What is Creativity?

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It’s been a while since I last posted. Recently, I have been pulled by nature to observe its beauty. This is part of my inspiration and part of my inquiry. Observing what is around me and what I am drawn to has started me thinking. Thinking has led to questions of self, such as, how do I define myself, where do I want to direct my focus? Inevitably this leads me back to creativity. So in my free time, I have been doing some research around what is creativity, what are its origins, what makes it so special? 

This has really started me questioning creativity, how I use the word, practice creativity and define or hold myself to a creative standard. Am I actually “creative”or am I consistently using others ideas and just working them to fit my need in a more “creative” way? I have to admit, I haven’t found my answers yet. I am not ready to share my manifesto on creativity. For now I am willing to share my process: here are some of the thoughts/ ideas/ questions about creativity that I am mulling over:

Questions I have about creativity:

  1. What about the idea of creativity  am I so drawn to and why do I want to define myself by this noun?
  2. How do you define that something you did was creative?
  3. Why is creativity most often perceived as related to art?
  4. Isn’t the scientific method is documented process of creativity?
  5. If I make a new recipe based off of similar ones I’ve read is that “creating something new”, if not, then is my new recipe not creative?
  6. If there is a limit to what can be created, why is the idea of being creative so exciting/ new business skill so popular?
  7. How is size or scale of output related to creativity?
  8. If I value creativity so much, what am I creating?

Ideas about creativity that I am grappling with:

  1. Creativity is only when you truly create something that has never ever been created before.
  2. Having access to or buying art/craft supplies enables creativity.
  3. Creativity is a special skill or talent that comes naturally to some and others just can’t do it.
  4. Groups can come up with some of the most creative ideas during activities like brainstorming.
  5. Creativity is messy.
  6. Creativity is best when the outcome is simple.

Ideas about creativity that resonate with me:

  1. Creativity is problem solving with the intent of coming out with a new or different answer.
  2. Creativity is not magic, there are no ah ha moments.
  3. Ideas happen all the time. Creativity comes when you act on that idea.
  4. Creativity is a process filled with the constant cycle of trying, failing, ask more questions, research, try again….
  5. Everybody’s a critic, to be truly creative, you must persist.
  6. Everyone is creative.

The more I read, the less answers I have. What I do know is that I am still drawn to the idea of creativity. I know that there is something special to creativity, and that we all have the potential to be creative. I know that there is intent and action in creativity.  I want to continue this exploration and I plan on sharing it here. Potentially I will answer my own questions or create more. Potentiallly this is my creation space…. More Soon.

Where it started

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Imagine “rumble, crack……. Boom”, summer thunderstorms in Denver are such a gift. From the sounds, to the warm rain while the sun is shining, to the short lived splash pad just outside your door. To some it is a nuisance, to others it ruins their day, to my mom it was an opportunity to create, explore, and play. From the first “Boom”, we were in search of something to use as a boat in the deep gutters on our street. Makeshift craft in hand we ran out into the rain and raced our boats down the gutters. I remember this time so vividly and it is just one of hundreds of examples of a time when my mom asked me to imagine something and to bring it to life with only what we had right here and now. This in my mind is where creativity became a way of life for me. Everything can shine with a bit of creativity.

As an adult, I find myself drawn to jobs that celebrate creativity, Non-profits that use a creative approach to address their mission and people who are not willing to settle for the first answer they find. Creativity is a skill that can be used in every part of your life. I intend to define, discuss, and celebrate creativity. Check back frequently to see what I am up to.