Creativity Shouldn’t be a Burden

People used to think you were either born creative or not. Now, we have learnt that creativity can be taught over time.

Whether that’s through morning routines, regular breaks, even activities like colouring-in.

Why’s there so much pressure to be creative?

It’s because everyone realises you can’t be one of the crowd to fit in any more.

Role conflict – “emotional conflict arising when competing demands are made on an individual in the fulfilment of his or her multiple social roles”.

In other words, adapting your personality to be more likeable to those you are around. To ‘fit in’, we have to be different. To be different, we have to be creative in almost everything we do.

Now I’m talking in the sense of business here but come to think of it society as a whole is doing it. All you have to do is look on Instagram, those who are more creative have more followers, the list could go on. FYI, I don’t have many followers.

My pet peeve is someone saying, “I want to create ‘blank’. But it has to be creative. Make it as creative as possible! You have until ‘blank’ to get it done” Creativity is not something that can be demanded on the spot.

Damn, most viral company campaigns spend months for thinking of a ‘creative’ campaign, but getting something viral is another blog. Here’s why the above statement makes me want to slap someone’s face off.

Creativity isn’t a path you can travel alone

If it’s just you, fat chance it’s going to be amazingly creative in said time. To let your creativity flourish, I feel you need a team. A team to inspire and bounce ideas off each other. You could even use Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method to structure the meeting.

I, for one, have been told to come up with an idea for something and thought it was going to be ‘the bomb’. Once it launched, all I could think was, ‘I wish I had someone to tell me what a bad idea it was. If I had a team, the idea could have been turned into something amazing, or someone else could’ve thought of a better idea that we could develop on.’

Creativity does not have a deadline

Ever had a magnificent idea randomly, but then when you try to think of something, you get angry because you just can’t? It’s not something that can be forced out of you, like squeezing water out of a sponge.

Unfortunately, thinking of something creative does take time. Even when you do have an idea, it’s always changing for the better to work for the outcome you want.

Gain some perspective, take a break, tune in to where you are, be with good company… treat yourself. A light-bulb moment is a sudden realisation, enlightenment or inspiration. Many entrepreneurs have these ‘aha’ moments when gaining perspective.

Creativity cannot be controlled

Yes, you can do things to help the flow of your creativity. But when it’s not there, it’s just not there. Try the fun activities, regular breaks and routines. However, all these have the same thing in common, and I believe, a matter of opinion, that this is what truly enhances our creativity. Each of the above is designed to make you calmer, happier and more positive.

It is our mindset and moods that portray our creativity and ideas. If you’re feeling pressured to be creative, you will not be inspired and motivated to be so. You feel rushed, aggravated and restricted, three things that will stump everything you are being demanded to be. Unless you thrive on pressure, then break a leg.

However, if you have someone in your life that says, “just be creative”, twist it back on them and ask him or her for some ideas off the bat. See how they react.

Don’t do it in a sassy way. Ask them as if you’re asking for help and don’t show your satisfaction until they have left the room. If by some likely chance that your superior does not get your point, show him this lovely little rant and say what a great blog it is and they have to read, anything to get them interested.