There is no right or wrong of being creative: my top 8 tips

there is no right or wrong of being creative: my top 8 tips

I find it rather empowering when I have the realisation that there is no one way of doing something.

I find it rather empowering when I have the realisation that there is no one way of doing something. That there is no right or wrong. You know that feeling when you realise you can be who you want to be, you can approach a task how you want to, you can think about something from any perspective, and you can be so open to what is possible. For me this is what creativity allows me to explore — choice, freedom, and expression. It allows me to connect to the present and be immersed in thoughts, feelings, senses, seeing, hearing, breathing, and moving.

“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert,

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (2016)

Creativity is about problem solving and coming up with new ideas. And it is often associated to innovation, the use of imagination, and inventiveness. There is a strong association to the generation of an idea(s) to make connections and generate solutions. 

We often think we are not creative because creativity is so aligned to the arts fields - visual arts (painting, sculpture, drawing) or dance, acting, music, or even media (film).

But we are all creative.

We all need to problem solve, to attend to thinking that requires more than one way of approaching a task. We all need to make connections.

Creativity is as much about the process as it is about the end product.

Even if we are not in a creative field we have the chance to be creative in how we approach tasks. Think about some of these as possibilities: 

• Cooking and presentation on the plate
• Cake decoration
• Cooking
• Baking
• Gardening
• Brewing beer as a home brewer
• Making sake
• Wine making
• Renovations
• Restorations
• Mapping
• Visual representations
• Designing your lounge room layout
• How you put your outfit together
• Choice of colours
• Singing
• Dancing
• Composing
• Inventing

• Experimenting
• Shoe making
• Design
• Craft
• Coding
• Formula decoding
• Sewing
• Drawing
• Knitting
• Crochet
• Mindful colouring
• Doodling
• Writing
• Blogging
• Designing
• Journaling
• Photography
• Visual narratives on social media like Instagram
• And so much much more

We must come up with new ideas and insights in order to move ahead in all these tasks. There is imagination, exploration, possibilities, ideas, and making of connections.

So if you are exploring how you can be creative or find more time to add creativity to your life think about these ideas. My top 8 tips:

1. Prepare yourself - be relaxed, be true to yourself, find time to allow yourself to experience flow. 

2. Be inspired and notice - pay attention to what you want to create and explore.

3. Set the intention - set the intention around the ‘thing' that you plan to do or achieve and connect to the ‘something' where you show up (what you embody). How do you want to be when you engage in your creative endeavor?

4. Ask questions and inquire - be curious, make connections, observe others, read, generate ideas, and find out more. 

5. Explore - remember there is no right or wrong. There is no one answer. There are no mistakes, just learning moments. Allow your self to explore and experiment. 

6. Be open to more than one creative endeavor - we can rest from writing by connecting with baking a new recipe for example. 

7. Make the time - if it is important to you, then you will find and make the time. Even 5 minutes is beneficial. 

8. There is no one form of creativity - just be open, explore, try and let your curiosity take you anywhere.

So how are you going to add a bit of creativity to your life?