Do You Have a Creative Side?

This is something a lot of people need help with.

I hear a lot of people saying, “I’ m not creative,” “I really don’t have a creative side,” “I just can’t do this,” “I can’t do that because I’m not creative.” It’s absolutely not true.

Every single person has a creative side. I hear this a lot from people who are doing technical work like computer programming and software creation. They think they’re not creative.

Here’s the thing :

Every single person has a creative side. I’m sure you know those people who feel like they’re just going through the motions of life. They’re waking up, they’re doing the same routine – they’re going to work, they’re coming home, they’re cooking, they’re going to bed, they’re waking up, then they do the same thing all over again…These people feel like there is no point to life and everything is boring and monotonous. They feel like there’s nothing exciting. That’s because they’re not getting n touch with their creative side. We all have it!

No matter what your profession is, no matter what background you come from, no matter how old you are, you have a creative side!

I actually hear a lot of people who are middle aged say that they’re not creative, and “it’s not my age to be creative. I’m too old.” Now, that’s just crazy talk – you are creative! You’re just seeing ‘creative’ in the wrong way. When people think of being creative, they think of being an artist. This just isn’t the case!

People always think, “I can’t draw, I can’t paint, I’ m not creative. I can’t design a home, I’m not creative.” All these things that you’ve attached to the word “creative”, that’s actually something that is attached by society. The word creative really does not imply anything in the arts.

Your creative part is that inner voice that you have that gives you ideas; ideas to create things and to put awesome things out into the world. The thing that makes you so special, that makes you different (and you’re all different and unique, there is no one like you in the world), that’s your creative side.

The thing that people say most frequently is “I am not creative, “I’m very technical,” and “I’m very logical.” Since when does logical mean not creative? The simple fact that people in the technical field are creating programs, that they’re putting new technology out into the world, means that they ARE creative. Not everyone can do that. The average person like me can’t be doing stuff like that, so they are creative.

Why do people feel like they’re not creative?

Because the thing is, now with all this technology, with everything that’s out there, we don’t have time to spend alone with ourselves. It’s when you’re alone with yourself and you’re getting in touch with your true authentic voice, that your creative side comes out.

I’m not trying to say anything negative about technology. I love technology. Sometimes I feel like I’m attached to my phone, I feel like I can’t live without my laptop. These are great things and now we have the tools that people back then didn’t. Edison created the light bulb and he failed a thousand times. He didn’t have all the tools that we have now at our disposal so if he had all the tools that we have now, it would have probably taken him one-third of the time. But the fact that we have all these tools at our disposal, means we’re also distracted easily. I don’t think we know how to use them all correctly. Our brains have not evolved at the same rate as technology has evolved.

Technology is speeding up but our brain is still in the same capacity that it was hundreds of years ago. It gets distracted easily.

Have you ever wondered why people get great ideas in the shower? This is something I’ve always thought about. Why in the shower? Why do I need to be in the shower to get great ideas? It’s because this is the only time we are alone with ourselves! When we’re out to dinner with friends, as soon as they go to the restroom what do we do? Take out our phones and look at our social media. We’re answering texts. We never spend any alone time with ourselves. When we’re watching TV and a commercial comes on, what do we do? We takeout our phone, we start looking on social media, we start answering our texts or returning phone calls and checking emails. This is why we get creative thoughts in the shower because it’s the only time that we aren’t doing other things. We’re washing ourselves and it’s just us, it’s alone time with our brain and this is when our creativity is coming out. We can’t be texting, we can’t be doing other things while we’re in the shower, so it’s really important for you to spend some time with yourself, with that true authentic voice of yours.

One way that I’ve started to do this is by doing a brain dump every morning. I put a notebook in my car on my passenger’s seat. When I get in the car I see the notebook and I remember that I have to write. We’re so busy and we don’t have time for writing. We don’t have time to spend time with ourselves. So I put my notebook on the passenger seat. When I get in the car I see it and that triggers me to do my brain dump. I sit there and write. It usually takes five to ten minutes.

So start small. Spend five to ten minutes and write down everything that’s on your mind whether it’s a to-do list or it’s a feeling that’s coming up or it’s an idea that you have. Anything that comes to your mind! Write everything down and that’s when slowly you start seeing your creative side come out. Your true authentic voice coming out. Don’t attach any other meaning or connotation to the word “creative.” It has nothing to do with art. It has nothing to do with design. It’s the uniqueness that you have, those great ideas that come out that only you can have because you’re you and there’s only one of you out there. Like Dr. Seuss said, “No one is more you-er than you,” so dedicate five to ten minutes a day to this. YOU AE WORTH IT.

My assignment to you:

Tomorrow when you wake up spend five to ten minutes and do a brain dump and just write everything that comes to your mind. It doesn’t matter what it is, don’t filter anything! Whether it’s a feeling, it’s something you have to do, it’s an idea.... Just write it down. This gives you alone time with yourself. It allows your creative side to just come out.

If you think you’re not creative and you don’t have a creative side, try it out and see how amazing it is. See how creative thoughts will come to you. Some of my greatest ideas have come out of these brain dumps! It’s not a miracle pill though, I’m not telling you that it’s going to work overnight, it’s a process!

I noticed that when I do these brain dump in the morning, the rest of the day my brain is not all over the place and I’m not thinking about everything – thinking about what I have to do and trying to remind myself of things and telling myself to schedule things. It allows me to focus more because my brain isn’t worrying about these things and trying to schedule things because it knows that I have written them down.

Just write things down. It’s freeing. It’s liberating. And it’s amazing.