Creativity is Highly Overrated, and Not Even Necessary
I fear that every time I get a new person to this Blog they just skim on by and never stay long enough to really understand what this Blog is all about.
I know I have a lot of work to do to add more content to Creators Create, but from what I have seen already the trend is becoming more and more obvious to me.
People frequent Mark McGuiness’s Blog Lateral Action, which by the way is a tremendous Blog. I can’t say enough good about it. And there are many more Blogs and Forums that deal with creativity and creatives.
But that’s not what this Blog is about.
This Blog is about Creators and the things they create – creations. It’s not about creativity.
Many, too many people believe that in order to create a creation you must have creativity.
That is the biggest bunch of whooey I have ever heard. The fact is you don’t need an ounce of creativity to be able to create creations.
The problem is that most people don’t know what a creation is, therefore they don’t know the role of a creator, nor do they understand the process of creating.
So if you don’t mind, I would like to take a few minutes and go back to the very basics of what this Blog is really all about.
Definitions:
Create = to bring into existence.
Creator = one who brings things into existence.
Creation = the thing that is brought into existence.
There you have it. It’s really not any more complicated than that. Creators bring creations into existence by the act of creating.
The truth is that every single one of us on this planet are powerful creators. We cannot not create. We daily create creations.
Everything you bring into existence is a creation that you create.
Here let me give you a few examples:
- You created breakfast this morning.
- You created a few emails just a few minutes ago.
- You created a “Good Morning” smile for your boss this morning when you got to work.
- You created a better or worse relationship with your spouse today.
- You created a resume.
- You created a clean room.
- You created a hungover body.
- You created an argument.
- You created a funny moment when you told that joke.
- You created an endearing experience when you shared your feelings with a close friend.
Are you starting to understand now what a creation is? Are you starting to see that you are constantly creating? You are a creator, and you are always creating creations.
The question now is: Are the creations you create valuable, important, that improve and bless your life?
Or are most of the creations that you create created by default, without purpose and therefore are useless, unimportant, and do nothing to improve or bless your life?
The chances are since you don’t look at the things that you bring into existence as creations that you probably aren’t all that worried about the quality.
Come to this Blog often and I promise you will begin to look at your whole existence in a whole new light.
With that whole new light you can begin to create on purpose. You will create consciously amazing creations that improve, bless and inspire.
You will find you are a powerful creator. Come back often to learn how.
Oh, and I did I even mention that it doesn’t take an ounce of creativity to be a creator?
By the mere fact that you bring things into existence is proof enough that you are a creator.
You don’t need creativity to create. Creativity is only one tool in the creator’s tool box, and not even a very important tool at that.
Creators create creations, and every once in awhile they might use creativity.
We’ll get into the details of this later on. Come back often to learn more.
If you have thoughts on the subject please don’t hesitate to leave a comment, and engage in a discussion. I look forward to it.
Creators Create While Right Fighters Fight
I don’t know who coined the phrase “right fighters,” but I bet if you’re reading this you know exactly the kind of people I’m talking about. Why, you might even be one of them. You see, a right fighter is someone who at all costs must be right.
A right fighter will sacrifice happiness, peace, friendship, and almost anything to be right. A right fighter will argue till the last drop of blood has been spilt. A right fighter would rather be right than happy.
Are you a right fighter?
When it comes to discussions with other people do you always have to be right? Do your ideas always have to be validated and heard? Does your need to be right become more important than your need to be happy? Or do you are erroneously belief that being right will make you happy?
I was once a right fighter. I used to sacrifice happiness all the time in order to prove my point’s, in order to be heard, or to be validated. It didn’t matter what I was fighting for I had to be right. I would fight with my mother, I would fight with my father, I would fight with my wife, I would fight with my coworkers, and anybody in order to be right. I didn’t care if I hurt other people’s feelings, it didn’t matter to me if I made others angry, all I really wanted was to be right.
Did I mention that I sacrificed my happiness? That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. I would fight to be right thinking that that would make me happy, but the truth was I never really was happy. I had conquered too many people, had fought with too many people in order to be right. And by the time the skirmishes were over there were way too many casualties to experience happiness.
So I ask you again, are you all right fighter?
Here’s a few signs that indicate that you might be a right fighter:
- You feel angry if people don’t listen to you
- You don’t listen to other people’s point’s of view
- You don’t care about other people’s ideas
- You think that your ideas are the only ones that matter
If you find yourself guilty of any of these then you might be a right fighter. I don’t want to insult you, so I’ll come right out and say it: being a right fighter is a very sad existence. Especially when being a right fighter destroys so many relationships.
But being the creator doesn’t destroy relationships but creates creation’s that strengthen, and improve, and bless relationships. You see, creators don’t have to be right. Creators create. Creators creates creation’s that are valuable and important not only to themselves but to other people in a relationships.
Let me give you a few ideas of creations that creators create:
- A beautiful day. The creator could decide to create a beautiful day starting with the very moment they wake up in the morning. They roll over and give their partner kiss and a gentle caress. And then in the shower they hum a happy tune, make a delicious breakfast, and then plan the rest of their beautiful day. Then today set out to create it.
- Give the gift of love. Creators create gifts of love for the other people in their relationship. These gifts of love are as simple as a smile or a get well card or a small Post-it note that says thank you, or I was thinking of you. These gifts of love could be a flower picked in the yard, or a funny joke to brighten someone’s day, or a piece of candy. It really doesn’t matter, these gifts of life are just random acts of creation.
- Yield the right-of-way. Since creators are more concerned about creating creations they are not so concerned with being right, therefore, it’s very easy for creators to allow others to be right. In fact, this yielding of being right is a very important piece in the process of creation. Creations require many different pieces in order to be complete, and most times other people’s insights and ideas are integral pieces to the finished creation.
- Joy. Creators love their creations, and bringing their creations into existence is more important than anything to a creator. The reason for this is that true creators experiences euphoria, joy, a happiness like no other when their creation finally exists.
Next time you feel the urge to be right, stop and think for a moment about the creation’s that you would rather create instead. I guarantee you if you create creations of value it won’t be so important to you anymore to be right.
You Don’t Need Creativity To Be A Creator
Did you know you don’t need creativity to be a creator?
Every time I talk about creation, creating, and creators inevitably someone brings up the thought that they don’t have a creative bone in their body, that they’re not creative, that they are not imaginative, they’re not artistic, they have no creativity, and that whatever I’m talking about is not interesting to them, because they just have never been very creative, and they don’t want talk about creativity.
Believe me, I understand. But what I’m about to say might actually clear this up for you forever.
You don’t need to be creative in order to create.
I want you to put a smile on your face. Do it right this very second.
Good.
There, you created. You just put a smile on your face, and that is a creation. The definition of “create” is to bring into existence, and the definition of “creator” is someone who brings things (creations) into existence. So by definition you are a creator. You brought something into existence – the smile that wasn’t there before.
And you didn’t even need creativity in order to create the smile. Creativity is not a prerequisite in order to create. It’s not even a necessary component. Creativity relates to the quality of your creation but it’s not necessary in order to bring a creation into existence.
So what does all this mean to you?
You need to recognize that you have the power to create whatever you want to create. The fact is, you are where you are today because you created what you are today. You are sitting where you’re sitting because you made the choice to sit there; you created that experience in your life. If you had desired to create a different experience you would be sitting somewhere else or walking somewhere else, or in a different place altogether. But you are where you are right now because you chose to be where you are right now – you created this experience.
If you recognize that everything you do is a creation then you can start to quantify or measure your creations. You could start to quantify and measure the creations that you create.
Then you could make your creations more valuable and important to you.
Have you sent out an e-mail today?
If you sent out an e-mail today you are a creator. You created that e-mail. That e-mail did not exist until you wrote it and sent it. Recognize that you created it.
Now you can measure it, and improve it. You can measure how fast that e-mail went out, how fast you typed it, and you can even measure the quality in which you typed it, how many words you typed, how many paragraphs, or how many sentences. You can measure how fast you typed it. You can measure even the quality of what you typed: did it communicate the message that you wanted it to communicate? Did it accomplish what you wanted it to accomplish? All those things you can measure and improve upon to make your creation more valuable and important. And again not a single one of those requires creativity, but nevertheless, sending that e-mail was indeed a creation that you created.
Since you can measure the creations that you create you can quantify the quality and value that you give your creations.
Too many people do not consciously create creations that are valuable in their lives. Instead they live their lives on autopilot, or they create by default; they don’t consciously create experiences that are valuable and important to them – they just live by default.
This morning did you consciously create a wonderful experience? Did you create a wonderful creation called “getting ready for work?” Was it a wonderful creation? Did you have joy in it? Did you make it a beautiful creation for the people around you to enjoy as well? Did you make it a beautiful creation for yourself? Did you make it a memorable beautiful creation for you? Or did you just wake up, hop in the shower, brush your teeth; you know, do the regular rigmarole and then come in to work?
Today I challenge you to look at the creations that you create and ask yourself is this a creation that I think is important, is it valuable, or is this a creation that I created by default?
Stop Resisting and Create Something Great!
In my work I have chosen the positive approach. I never think of myself as protesting against something, but rather as witnessing for harmonious living. Those who witness for, present solutions. Those who witness against, usually do not–they dwell on what is wrong, resorting to judgment and criticism and sometimes even name-calling. Naturally, the negative approach has a detrimental effect on the person who uses it, while the positive approach has a good effect. When an evil is attacked, the evil mobilizes, although it may have been weak and unorganized before, and therefore the attack gives it validity and strength. When there is no attack, but instead good influences are brought to bear upon the situation, not only does the evil tend to fade away, but the evildoer tends to be transformed. The positive approach inspires; the negative approach makes angry. When you make people angry, they act in accordance with their base instincts, often violently and irrationally. When you inspire people, they act in accordance with their higher instincts, sensibly and rationally. Also, anger is transient, whereas inspiration sometimes has life-long effect.
Peace Pilgrim
What you resist persists. If you are pushing against something then it is for sure pushing back. This just happens to be one of those irrefutable laws that cannot be changed.
It’s as powerful as the law of gravity. In fact the law of gravity helps this law out. Think about pumping iron. What force pulls the weights downward? Gravity.
I’m just want you to think about it for a few minutes. Is there something in your life that you don’t want, but day in, day out you push against it, you resist it? If so, then know that you are giving it life. You are the one giving it the strength to live on in your life.
If you are poor and you are resisting poverty then you are the one who is allowing poverty to live in your existence. If you are sick and you keep popping pills, or going to the doctors, or thinking about how awful you feel – you are the one who is giving that disease the life it needs to live on.
I know this is all so much easier said than done, but you are your creator. Always have been – always will be . . .
Create something great!
The Impossible Exercise
Do you think you have impossible dreams? If so, try this exercise: Take a piece of paper and write down some of your dreams in your life. Under one header, list down things ‘you know you can do’. Under another header, write the things ‘you might be able to do.’ And under one more heading, list the things that that are ‘impossible for you to do.’
Each day from now on look at all the headers and strive every day to accomplish the dreams that are under things ‘you know you can do’. Check them off when you have accomplished them.
As you slowly are able to check all of your dreams under that heading, try accomplishing the dreams under the other header – the one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’
As the items you wrote under things I might be able to do are accomplished, move them to the list of things that you know you can do.
As that list becomes smaller move the dreams that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do’ to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’
As you iterate through this process, you will find out that the dreams you thought were impossible become increasingly easier to accomplish. And the impossible begin to seem possible after all.
You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high, dream big, and start working towards that goal little by little.
Also, one of the major side effects of this little exercise is that not only do you find yourself accomplishing more of the most cherished and long valued dreams that you have had throughout your life, but you find an increase in your faith, and confidence in your own abilities to accomplish – even the impossible.
So go out there and make the impossible possible.
