Creativity is Allowing Yourself to Make Mistakes

This title of this is from a quote by Scott Adams. It is hanging up on my dining room wall and I think about it often because it resonates with me. In a conversation that I had recently with a friend, we discussed both the joys and trials of being creatively minded or walking the path of a “creative.” This word is misconstrued.  Everyone is creative or has the potential to be creative, but not everyone lives their life in a way that creating things-whether that be career-wise or personally-is central to their existence. This led me to ponder over what being creative means to me. It allowed me to see that being a creative person is a huge part of my identity, my way of life, my thought patterns, and my idea of freedom.

What are the most important aspects of life for me? These are some words that come to mind:

• Expression

• Exploration

• Diversity

• Experience

• Freedom

• Connection

• Optimism 

• Expansion

I pivot often. I am messy. Sometimes I start things that I don’t finish. Many ideas occur in my head at once. I am effortlessly optimistic one minute and deeply cynical the next. This is who I am. It is time I own this part of myself, lean into it, and stop letting fear paralyze me in the name of all the things that could interest me or paths I could go down. 

Why is it that time and time again, I continue to be led toward a creative career? What is it that I keep coming back to no matter how many times I stray? The answer is this: creation, storytelling, a non-typical path, deep exploration of the self in the context of the collective, making the mundane beautiful and the beautiful mundane, provoking thought and evoking emotion. 

I am here to explore what speaks to me, to follow what is incendiary within me, to connect with others, and to spread light by allowing myself to find my own light source regardless of what is “reasonable” or “realistic.”

It has always been so, but how wonderful it is that we are shown what is right before us through the simple act of conversing with someone we admire.