I love working with creative clients — both those who recognize their creativity and those who may not realize it when we begin. I know in my heart that we are all born as creative beings. That’s why we all need to learn to cultivate the 3 Ps of Creativity!
Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, many of us are taught that we are not creative or that creativity is not as important as other skills.
Oh, how wrong this is!
This is not true! But I can relate to not feeling creative…I would even go so far as to say I have experienced “Falling out of Love” with my creativity. This happens when we try to be creative; we pressure ourselves into thinking we have to do, create, or invent something specific.
When it comes to creativity, remove the words TRY, DO, and INVENT from your vocabulary.
Replace them with the three P’s of Creativity below…
I experienced creative burnout after 15 years of working in commercial design within the textile industry. I chose to leave because I wanted to fall back in love with the creative process and rediscover my creative voice, which I’m still in the process of finding — a journey that may take as long as the rest of my life.
I recently had several ah-ha moments about my creativity…one was while I was meditating. It’s something I’ve heard other people talk about but at this moment it clicked for me and I realized I am not responsible for my creations, I do not own them, my ego doesn’t get to be proud of them or disappointed by them…my creations move through me-they do not come FROM me. I also realized that I can let go of any labels of who I am (artist, designer, craftsperson, etc.). What a release! I felt a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders.
I am now truly free to use and further cultivate the 3 P’s of creativity. These are the aspects of creating that I cultivate, and without them, I am lost:
Practice-I practice creating, creating is my practice!
Patience-I am patient with my creations-they can not be rushed or judged!
Play-Creativity is Play-release the outcome and experience the playfulness of creating again, like a child!
There’s one more P I think I should mention here…Perfectionism. This one thing can KILL creativity faster than a hard freeze on a tender plant so PLEASE don’t hold your creativity to any type of perfectionism. Learn from your mistakes, keep it playful, keep your patience and keep practicing!