I’ve often heard it said that creativity is the spice of life. I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds pretty important. Whether you consider yourself a writer, an artist, or just an average Joe businessman, creativity is an important part of the human experience.
But there are habits and thought patterns that – though common – are prone to turning your creativity into nothing more than a slog through the mud. No fun. No progress. Pointless.
As someone who loves to write and create digital art, creativity is near and dear to me. So if something gets in the way of that, it’s a problem. These are some habits or ways of thinking that I have found that personally affect me. Do they affect you too?
Perfectionism to absurdity
If you’re like me, you hate to hit publish on anything that you aren’t certain is “perfect.” Oh it’s so easy to let something sit and sit because it just “needs something” even if you aren’t sure what it needs.
I face that struggle with every article I write – either on Medium or on my blog.
But could it be that this tendency to wait until it’s absolutely perfect is actually hurting your creativity? I’d argue yes. At least in my case, the answer is a resounding “yep!”
When you’re stuck on making sure something is perfect, are you really truly enjoying the creative process anymore? Maybe you are. But I think most likely, the answer is no. The problem is, when you get caught up in trying to dot every “i” and cross every “t” every time, your brain gets hyper focused on the minutia instead of the larger picture.
And this can happen with anything – whether you’re writing, working on a design, planning a meeting, or working on anything else that requires a creative brain cell.
I’m not saying don’t make sure what you’re creating is good. No. Of course not. But don’t get so hung up on microscopic details that you get stuck in a loop. Maybe you never have, but let me tell you… I have.
Constant comparison
As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. I’d add to that and say that comparison is also the thief of creativity. When you’re constantly comparing yourself and your work to others, you’ve lost focus.
At that point, you’re no longer creating what you want to create. You’re creating something that compares to someone else’s work. You might think it’s better than another’s, or you might feel inferior. Either way, your work ceases to be unique and starts to exist in relation to something that someone else has already created.
And that’s not cool.
Don’t get me wrong here. There are times when it’s helpful to look at what others are doing and ask yourself some questions, but when you do that constantly, you’re not doing yourself any favors. On the contrary, you’re only holding yourself back if all you care about is being better than someone else or not as good as your competition.
Focus on your own work, and make it great. Do you think the best people – in any field – got to where they are because they were constantly comparing themselves to others? I would argue no.
Run your race, and run it well. If you’re giving it your best, you’ll likely pass those who are so consumed with what others think that they forget to run well. Remember the story of The Hare and the Tortoise. One of the reasons the tortoise one the race is simply because he slowly but steadily ran his own race. He didn’t focus on what the hare was doing. Sure, the hare was faster and should have won, but he got overconfident and lost sight of his own race. He compared himself to the tortoise and found, in the end, that if he had been more concerned with his own running than that of the tortoise, he could have won.
To reframe that tale, how do you think the tortoise would have fared if he had all but given up when he saw the hare far in the lead? After all, the hare was the faster contestant. “Why run at all?” the tortoise could have reasoned. Instead, he slowly and steadily did what he needed to do, not regarding the other runner’s progress or lack thereof.
The moral I’m trying to impart to you here, dear reader, is simply this: Focus on your own work. Create without fear of inferiority or the weight of arrogance. Your artistic endeavor is your own. Don’t let comparison weigh you down.
Not loving what you do
I love to write, so I find it easy to be creative with my writing. I like finding creative ways to mix words and paint literary pictures on the canvas of a blank page. Whatever it is you do, some measure of enjoyment is essential if you’re going to be truly creative.
Can creativity come out of drudgery? If you hate what you do, will you truly find the mental fortitude to create something new?
For many over the years, creativity has been born out of drudgery and boredom. But if a creative endeavor is a source of boredom… what good is that? If you don’t love what you do, you’ll find your inspiration and your drive to create sapped. If you don’t love what you do, ask yourself why and figure out if it’s something you should be doing.
Let me put this into perspective.
If you’ve started a creative project, and you’ve found that your heart just isn’t in it anymore or you don’t really see the point in it, you’re going to find it difficult to be truly creative. If you’re in that situation, it’s (typically) okay to take a step back and remember why you started in the first place.
I’ve been in that situation lots of times. I’ll start a project and then part way through lose interest or get bored. It happens. It’s normal. It’s what you do when you hit that roadblock that makes the difference.
Sometimes a reset is helpful
If you’re like me, you can get so caught up in the minutia of whatever it is you’re working on that you just need to walk away for a bit. And I say that as a creative person. Being creative is one of my passions. Yeah, I know. I’m weird. I’m an IT guy whose passion is to be creative.
But you know what I’ve found? If you don’t take a break here and there, you’re likely to burn out – even if you’re doing something you like. Give yourself time to refocus and readjust. Otherwise, eventually, you’ll just wind up hating what you used to enjoy. And that applies to creative pursuits of all types – writing, design, or anything else.
Above all, remember that there’s more to life than your creative projects. I think it’s when we forget that fact that we truly start to lose that creative spark. That’s when we start to get hyper focused on making every last thing perfect that we never hit “publish” or we start comparing ourselves and our work to others so much that we lose the joy we once had.
No matter what it is you like to do creatively, don’t let these pitfalls rob you of your creative spark. And if you already have, give yourself some time and space to take a break and get back on your feet.
After all, if creativity is the spice of life, it’s important enough to protect. Agreed?