We are living in a moment of unprecedented freedom to be creative–to tap into your expressiveness. If you have the desire to make something, please do it.
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“It’s all I do is dream, all the time. I’m not playing, I’m dreaming. This is not piano; this is dreaming.” –Duke Ellington
The quest to find your calling can be an exciting and rewarding experience that often finds surprising pathways. Fulfillment is an ongoing process. There is no one right way to bloom. We all find our way. It is said quite often that we need to keep creativity in childhood––that schools cannot bear to lose education in the arts. After all, if children are not nurtured in the arts, who will be creative in the future?
Many people are held back by the fear that they will not live up to their expectations.
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I claim that we go several steps further and understand that, just as the child needs nurturing in the arts, so does the common man. I do not necessarily see a slipping away of creativity in people today though I do believe an understanding that creativity is vital to move forward––is important.
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Thus, here are three reasons why we are still in need of the creative man.
1. Creativity Breeds Courage
It has been said many times that all you have on your side is courage. If creating is important to you, you will find a way to incorporate it into your life. Many people are held back by the fear that they will not live up to their expectations of their selves or others. What if you create that film of your dreams, and no one goes to see it? A seemingly rational thought. But, this is also a self-impeded roadblock of a question. Fear is the main reason so many people never fulfill their dreams. Of course, if you let it be in control, fear will paralyze you.
If harnessed correctly, however, fear can work for you. Fear can be a beautiful motivator. When you want to do or create strongly enough, you will not let barriers or any other roadblocks stand in your way. If you feel the need to get creative, realize that people are waiting to see what you have to offer. Don’t keep it inside. Your poem, your song, your article, painting, whatever it is that you need to express–will have a viewer waiting. The more that you realize you are creative, the better you will be at what you do. You will only continue to become excellent at your expression––if you keep working on it.
2. Creativity Breeds Success
Finding the correct path for your future may be one of the greatest challenges you will ever face. If you begin to believe in yourself and follow your intuition, you earn the ability to meet your ideals. When you become so determined to be extraordinary, nothing is good enough, so you do nothing at all. Moving in the path of creativity eliminates these self-sabotaging patterns. In fact, moving towards creativity allows one to become true to their real self. Thus, success becomes inevitable.
Get creative and strive high––and your big goals will not seem so big anymore. Becoming creative pushes you into being alive. Being creative makes you… you. You learn to value yourself and see what you are worth. Grab ahold of your creativity when you feel the drive, as it will easily slip away if you do not do something about it.
3. Creativity Breeds Innovation
We are living in a moment of unprecedented freedom to be creative.
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Creativity means expanding one’s horizons in a serious way. One who is in touch with their creativity is clearly seeking to express. The creator in the whole of creativeness is not even looking for admirers–the creator is looking to express. This temporary selflessness breeds innovation, for it teaches the creator more about the self and all others. The active process of creativity involves problem-solving, trusting intuition, being resourceful on the spot, and essentially, being fearless. When you create, you are beginning anew. In The Art Spirit, Robert Henri said, “We are not here to do what has already been done.” He says that we, of course, need to understand the past and have knowledge of foundations, but each of us is here to create something new.
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We are living in a moment of unprecedented freedom to be creative––to tap into your expressiveness. If you have the desire to make something, please do it. With each step you take toward your creative side, the bigger a man you become. As you confront and conquer your need to create, the experience will become complete exhilaration. The payoff–the feeling of accomplishment in expression makes it all the more important not to run away from the things you fear. Real joy comes from living up to your fullest potential with intensity. In essence, the more you do, the more you will feel like doing. But, doing the thing comes first.
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Photo: Flickr/ Film Fledgling
Creativity can also help you think outside the box. In my freshman year at the chicago Art Inst. one of my fist classes was what was called back then “foundations class” and to this day I’ll not understand the correlation. The class encouraged us to look at art in nontraditional ways. Example “art in food.” … typically students would approach this as painting, or taking unusual photos of food. Nope, nothing like that. We really had to step outside ourselves and look at the nontraditional. The results was everything from using food as a medium to bitter to sweet representing… Read more »