how to dive into your creativity

When you hear the word creative or creativity do you automatically think of an artist, musician, fashion designer etc? I used to think so as well. I always thought I’m not creative only artists or people who are famous are creative. Especially when I think back to school, I was always bad at drawing, bad at my ceramics class pretty much anything that had to do with art. For a long time I thought this way. My best friend had gone to art school and she's a natural artist and creative girl. I always thought that's her path (which it is) but I thought I could never be super creative and be good at art. Overtime I learned that it was only a limiting belief I was putting on myself. Everyone is creative, some people just have to tap into it more than others!

When I was in community college I got into making tiktoks and I even created my original website. These were things that got me excited and I started unlocking more of my creativity through making videos and blog posts. I picked up the hobby of skateboarding and I always hd a skate edit in mind but not always the tricks lol. From then on I was posting my fun video edits on social media often not really thinking much of it. A few years later go by and here I am. This past year I was unlocked more of my creativity more than ever. I started picking up hobbies like collaging, simple animations, drawing on procreate, making content, and learning garage band. Of course I am not a master in all of these categories but I like to rotate these hobbies that keep my creativity going. It took me a long time to understand my creativity and leaning more into it. That's why I’m writing this blog post, to hopefully help you dive into your creative side learn that YOU are CREATIVE and you can make/do ANYTHING you want. Let’s dive in!

What's blocking your creativity in the first place

The intro I shared with you is an example of a creative block that I put on myself because I didn’t believe in myself, and you might feel the same way as I did. Just automatically assuming you aren’t a creative person because you don’t have something you’re good at. Or let’s share some other examples. You are good at drawing but can’t show any of your drawings to anyone because you think they are unfinished or they aren’t detailed or good enough. This would be an example of trying to be a perfectionist and not sharing something someone might REALLY like because you don’t think any of your pieces are ‘ready yet’. Another example could be you are into style and fashion but you can’t afford certain clothes to try and evolve your style so you just let ideas pass, instead of trying things like making cheaper versions of your idea or even just using photos to share your fashion ideas with people until you get to a spot where you are able to buy some new pieces. Everyone is into different things and has different ideas and that’s what makes you so unique with your creativity because it is fully YOU.

Input vs output balance

What you consume is often what leads to what you create. The music you listen to, the content you consume, what books you read, the places you go to, the people you converse with. If you’re always doing the same thing then there is no perspective for a new idea. People are always focusing on the output (including me), you just think about your idea when it’s all done and finished and looking good easy peasy no hiccups or nothing. WRONG that’s the best part of the process because you are learning new things in the thick of it and the only way to improve is by doing. So make room and space for new ideas and inspiration to flow in.

Showing up without a “good reason”

When you try to create only when you’re inspired is a myth. It’s similar to building a muscle the more you consistently work your creative muscle the more it will grow and help you be even more creative. Bad work is a part of any process, especially this one and if you are just learning a new skill you can bet that you will create “bad” work. It’s an essential part of the process. Also feeling the need to create without anyone seeing your work. You are supposed to create for you and when you start to create solely for the purpose of trying to show off for other people and creating for them is where you can lose your magic and get lost in your creative purpose and direction. Create for you and others will love!

Morning pages/brain dumps

There is no room in your brain for cool new ideas when it is already full of an overload of thoughts going on. Getting your thoughts on paper really help make room for new thoughts and to not be so anxious. Write without judgement and let your thoughts out on paper to help spark creativity.

Mix your interests

Sometimes your best creative thoughts come from mixing two completely unrelated things together. For example mixing one of your hobbies with a skill can bring different ideas and perspectives to an idea. I like to snowboard and recently I made an animation of a photo of me on my snowboard and I was going off a jump and did a back flip in my animation. I used a picture of a large ski jump and then used cute stickers for the trees and snowflakes and it was just something fun and small I made. Your range of interests is actually an asset to you.

Observe like an artist

Study what skill you are into and the work the ‘great’ artists in that field. Really dissect their work and why it works. Imitation is how every creative started out before they discovered their own voice, practice work by recreating and the more you build the skill the more inspiration for your own work will come.

Boredom is necessary

We are constantly overstimulated in this day and age of the digital world. There are so many videos online where you compare yourself and think, I wish I would have thought of that. Guess what! You can think of something even better if you just give your mind a minute to stop. Stop with the constant dopamine hits, it kills creativity like no other. Have you ever been on a walk with no music or distractions and just enjoyed the fresh air and beauty around you? That’s where some of my great ideas has come into my head because they just appear when I let my mind think about nothing. I recommend trying it weekly, it is awesome.

When you start to dive more into your creativity and you start to put less pressure on yourself is where the creative flow happens. Learning to embrace your creativity and just doing creative things for fun is so great for the soul. What are some of your creative activities? Is there any tips that work for you that's not written in this post that help you be more creative? Learn to express yourself more without the pressure!