How to be more creative…
How to be more creative? I think it’s something many of us ask ourselves and each other. Especially when your livelihood depends on it. So I thought I would write a little about it for the blog. We have actually discussed creativity on the Oh SNAP podcast so if audio is more your jam you might enjoy that more. You can find that here.
Firstly I want to start with what I feel creativity is. I feel like it’s a state of being, it’s something we can all have access too and I feel like we can often mistake skill and experience for creativity. Being creative isn’t necessarily being good at something, I would even argue that it’s the opposite as being in a state of creativity isn’t about getting something right or wrong it’s an openness, a state of flow and comes with plenty of failed attempts. I would suggest that failure is inevitable when it comes to being in a state of creativity.
Creativity is when something comes through you. And then we pick a medium that allows us to express that creativity. And that can be anything from singing, writing, painting, photography, sculpture… You get the picture. I first learnt this when I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. That book changed how I viewed my experience of creativity and I would recommend giving it a read.
So I thought I would share some ways in which I access my creativity. This is not for work. I feel like it can be helpful for future skills for work but most of the time when I am experiencing BEING creative it’s not when I am shooting a wedding or a portrait session even though it might be argued that I am creating something, which I am but it’s based on previously developed skills/ideas so I feel like it’s more responding to make something that is required of me. I feel like I could go deep here but I am going to try and keep it easy to absorb.
So when do I become creative? Before I start none of these might be true for you, or maybe one or two is. These are just ways in which I have found creativity and tend to work without fail for me. As ever, take what resonates and leave the rest.
1: Through rest. I can tell you right now that when I am not rested and when I am stressed, overworked and burnt out I am sooooo far away from being creative. I am currently learning about trauma and our nervous system states as part of training as a somatic therapist and when we are in a state of fight or flight or shut down/collapse we are operating from our reptilian brain and have no access to our neo-cortex which is where we can find a state of creativity. We can’t access flow without regulation and that is found in resting, in deeply relaxing our bodies.
Everyone of my best and most exciting ideas have come from when my body has been relaxed. Whether thats in Shavasana at the end of yoga or taking a slow walk without distraction. I have often found it by just simply sitting.
2: When I am in community. Let’s be clear this isn’t when I am out drinking (almost 12 months sober) or performing for people who have no interest in real connection. This is when I am with my people. The people I don’t have to mask for, those who want to have big conversations about big things and big feelings. Those who don’t avoid pain or joy. And I am incredibly lucky to have so many humans around me I can do that with. Ideas flow from those conversations. These are also the people I can engage in play with and that brings me on to my next point of access…
3: Play and presence. Play is really important and as adults it’s something we very rarely do. We escape to our phones or screens. Those things can be great if you need to switch off but I think for a lot of us it’s actually disassociation. Play brings us back into the here and now. And play can take many forms. It could be a game with friends or doing some watercolours, even if you are bad at it. It could be an embodied yoga class where you experience moving your body however you feel like or a dance class. It could be baking cakes or learning something new, just for fun. The point is that play creates presence, it brings you right into the moment which again creates regulation which gives you access to that part of your brain that opens you up to creativity.
4: Being in nature. Nature is the greatest manifestation of creativity. And we are a part of it. There is nowhere else I can get pretty much instant access to the state of creativity. Whether that’s in the woods, witnessing the sunrises when I sea swim or being around animals. All of it helps me regulate and feel into the moment. I also find that paying attention and leaning into the seasons creates inspiration. The cycles of life encourage us to slow down and witness the world and our place in it. There I can find poems, paintings, essays, music and photographs that will bring me and others joy to experience.
5: Journaling. I have had a pretty regular journaling practise for nearly a decade. While I don’t always journal in the morning I do generally follow the morning pages method from The Artists Way. I try to free write a couple of pages. I put my phone in another room and just let whatever needs to come through me flow onto the page. Most of the time it’s just head stuff, anxiety and a good old whinge but it creates space and sometimes something pretty great will come through. Atm I am really enjoying Elizabeth Gilberts journal prompt; Dear love what would you have me know today?
So there you go. Some of my ways I can get into being creative. I hope you find them helpful and however you find your way I hope you enjoy some creativity today.
To keep up to date with us, learn about our free meet-ups, workshops and when new blog posts land sign up for our newsletter below…
