CHAPTER
19

Applying Creativity in Everyday Life

In This Chapter

• How your creative essence is who you really are
• Being on the lookout for synchronicity
• How handwriting helps your creativity
• Finding balance between creativity and other daily tasks

Many people who go on diets complain they don’t work. They go from one type of weight loss plan to another; one of them may work for a while, but then they get off track. Your creative life can be the same way—unless you start to look at creativity as a lifestyle, not just activities, hobbies, or passions you choose to engage in when you feel like it. Creativity is a way of life, a way of being, all the time. It’s an attitude, a habit, a perspective, and a choice.

While sometimes you may feel more creative on some days compared to others, if you incorporate even a fraction of the tips you’ve read in this book, you are already on your way to developing a creative lifestyle, one that you truly can maintain for life! In this chapter, you begin to consciously apply different strategies and techniques you’ve already learned and are given a few more tips to consider to make creativity a natural part of your daily life.

Keeping Creativity Alive and Well

If you look at creativity as an entity that falls outside of yourself, you are putting separation between “you” and “you.” In other words, you can’t detach a wave from the ocean any more than you can separate your creative essence from who you really are. While you may not choose to consciously exercise your creativity every day, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s an innate part of you that’s available whenever you decide to make it a priority. This doesn’t mean that deeming creativity as important will necessarily lead to a multi-million-dollar innovation, but it does mean your life will be more attractive and rewarding as you are nourishing your inner being’s calling.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“There are no rules here—we’re trying to accomplish something.”

—Thomas Edison

If you embrace your creativity daily, you may find it not only impacts you, it also touches others. A great example of this is Matthew Hoffman’s campaign to add a little sunshine to someone’s day. It began with an idea in 2002, when, at age 23, he decided to print 100 stickers with the simple but powerful message “You Are Beautiful.” He began handing them out to friends and soon afterward, the stickers began showing up everywhere—including China—bringing joy and smiles to the faces of those who encountered the message. He expanded the campaign with the creation of a website inviting people to request his ready-made stickers (You-Are-Beautiful.com), and people got them and started taking snapshots of where they placed their stickers and sending them to him. The campaign has since gone global, with more than one-and-a-half-million stickers posted in public places throughout all seven continents. It’s an affirming message Hoffman believes everyone needs to hear every now and then. In a YouTube video, Hoffman said “It all comes down to intention. I’m interested in creating moments.”

Just as Hoffman had no clue that his idea would be so embraced, you also should not underestimate the effect of your own creativity. However, your idea does not have to spread worldwide to have significance. Positively impacting just one person’s life makes creating worthwhile, even if the only life that is affected is your own. Therein lies the real beauty of living a creative life. It’s putting you in touch with a power greater than yourself. Some people call that power God, the divine, the universe, nature, or your inner being. Regardless of what name you give it, when you are engaged in your own form of creative expression, you are conveying the essence of who you are meant to be.

Fun with Synchronicity

Psychiatrist Carl Jung first coined the word synchronicity after a session he had with a patient who was not responding well to therapy. She told him she had dreamt that someone offered her a golden scarab, a rare and expensive piece of jewelry. Just when she was describing the dream, Jung noticed a large insect that was flying and hitting the window. He opened it, and in flew a scarabaeid beetle. The story goes that he caught the bug in his hand and said “Here is your scarab.” It was enough to cause a breakthrough in her therapy.

According to Jung, synchronicity like what happened to his patient is “a meaningful coincidence of outer and inner events that are not themselves causally connected.” The more significant the events, the more amazing they seem. The key is they are meaningful in some way. While a lot of people pass off these moments of synchronicity as “out of the blue,” “happenstance,” “dumb luck,” or “serendipity,” some describe these synchronicities as “mind-blowing” or “gifts from the universe,” depending on the meaning they hold.

DEFINITION

Synchronicity is when two related events occur unexpectedly in a meaningful way.

The following are a few examples of situations that demonstrate synchronicity. Think about how you’d describe these if they happened to you:

• You’re thinking about calling your mom. However, before you can pick up the phone, it starts ringing. When you answer it, it’s your mom.
• You make a purchase at a fast-food restaurant and the cashier hands you 31 cents in change. As you’re waiting for your order to be filled, the person behind you in line places an order and his total comes to $6.31. You then notice the 31 cents in your hand, which causes you to look at the person in line. It turns out he’s a long-lost friend you had been trying to track down.
• You’re driving home and the song “Who Let the Dogs Out” comes on the radio. When you arrive home, you notice your backyard gate is open and your dog is not in the backyard. Fortunately, he’s not far off.

One of the most synchronistic events that has happened in my lifetime is the how book you’re now reading came into my experience. I was traveling from Florida to Vermont when I stopped in Maryland to visit with my cousin. Over dinner, I told her I wanted to write a book on creativity. We started having fun brainstorming possible titles. A few days later when I arrived in Vermont, I met some friends and started telling them about my intention to write a book. Five days later, the publisher of this book contacted me to see if I would be interested in writing a book about creativity. I would say that chain of events falls into the “mind-blowing” category!

What about you? Can you think of any synchronistic events you’ve experienced? It’s possible that a synchronicity will just pass you by if your head is stuck in the sand, oblivious of what’s happening around you. However, if you engage in daily creativity, you will be operating with an open, aware, and receptive mind and therefore will be more likely to experience synchronicity.

You can have a lot of fun with the whole concept if you start paying attention and inviting such synchronistic experiences into your life. Whether or not you’re someone who believes there’s no such thing as a coincidence because everything that happens is meant to be, I recommend writing down or recording your “coincidences,” even if they seem like small occurrences at the time. Sometimes events build on each other and what may seem insignificant at first glance becomes meaningful later as the pieces get fitted together. By recording these events and exercising your creativity daily, it’s very likely you will notice an increase in these meaningful coincidences.

Boosting Your Creativity with Handwriting

Another opportunity to live creatively every day comes in the form of writing longhand. Do you remember learning how to print the alphabet letters by hand? Years ago, students typically were taught how to print in the first grade and began learning cursive writing in the second grade. Today, far less emphasis is being put on teaching kids how to write in cursive; instead, with technology at the forefront, more and more students are simply learning to type on a keyboard. Handwriting is becoming a lost art.

However, writing by hand offers benefits that typing on a keyboard does not. Studies have shown that typing on a keyboard, printing, and cursive writing are associated with different and separate brain patterns. When you write, you automatically stimulate a neural circuit in your brain that is prompted solely by writing, according to Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the College de France in Paris. While you may be able to type faster than you can write by hand, you may be losing ground when processing new information. When you write by hand, you give yourself more of a chance to process what you’ve written, which can lead to additional insight and memory function.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“Poets don’t draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.”

—Jean Cocteau

Other research points to additional benefits. An online article by Meredith Knight of the Genetic Literacy Project said “Writing by hand may open a conduit to human creativity.” She noted that studies have shown a link between handwriting and three key areas: creativity, reading comprehension, and information retention.

You can find countless examples of creatives who have benefitted from handwriting. For example, self-help guru Wayne Dyer, PhD, has written more than 30 books by hand—no small feat. Novelist Ernest Hemingway, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, usually wrote his first drafts with pencils and is quoted as saying “Wearing down seven number-two pencils is a good day’s work.” Director Quentin Tarantino doesn’t use keys of any kind, instead opting to write his own screenplays using pens. Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist, also writes her initial drafts longhand. She stated in an interview with The Atlantic, “Writing by hand helps me remain open to all those particular circumstances, all those little details that add up to the truth.” The book you’re reading also illustrates this point. I am writing it using a combination of longhand and typing on my Mac. Personally, I have found it helpful to initiate and flesh out ideas by writing them down first and then finalizing my thoughts when I type them.

As you can see, many people have established for themselves that the pen (or pencil) is mightier than the keyboard. This doesn’t mean you should ditch your keyboard altogether, but as part of your daily creativity, you might try experimenting to see if writing by hand rather than typing makes any kind of difference for you, especially if writing is your forte. You may not notice anything right away, but be open to the possibility that you will be more creative as a result. After all, science backs up the notion that writing by hand can make you smarter and more creative!

Creating a Balance

There’s a whole world of possibilities that awaits your creative expression. However, you might be thinking “But wait! I have more ideas than I could possibly execute!” Combined with the other responsibilities in your life, that can feel like a heavy weight. Whether you’re working for a living, taking care of children, caring for your aging parents, or volunteering for a charity, sometimes the tasks can feel so overwhelming, you may not always feel you can take the time to engage in one of your creative passions. Paradoxically, those responsibilities are the reason you should create. Creativity can help relieve some of the daily pressure you feel to complete tasks. It’s all about achieving a balance and remembering that being creative doesn’t always involve a monumental task.

To help find that balance, challenge yourself by taking one small step each day that represents your unique voice. Consider one way you can explore your creativity each day in some way without it feeling like yet “one more thing to do.” For example, when I got my new iPhone, I started capturing at least one nature photo a day while taking my morning walk. At first, I was just testing it out to compare the quality to my old phone’s camera. However, I soon decided to start sharing the images on Facebook with the hope of inspiring others to pursue a creative aspect of themselves.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”

—Thomas Merton

It doesn’t take that much time for me to take a few pictures; I’m already carrying my mobile phone with me. I also don’t always get around to posting them on Facebook, but I’ve decided in advance that’s okay! Decide for yourself what’s okay and what isn’t, what’s realistic and what’s better left undone until another time. You can always switch things up, which will keep your experience fresh. Just make it something you look forward to doing.

If you’re stuck on ideas, here’s one that’s fairly simple and at the same time will cause you to think and use your imagination: Do one nice, unexpected thing a day for at least one person either at home or in the workplace. For example, compliment a co-worker on her dress, make breakfast for your spouse (if that’s not something you normally do), or put a love note in your child’s lunch box. Don’t tell anyone you are making this part of your everyday routine. It’s kind of like being a “Secret Santa” without the ho-ho-ho and the fact that your gift isn’t materialistic. The real present is your presence with another human being and taking the time to be supportive.

The key is that you must be sincere in whatever action you choose. See how creative you can be with this commitment and what kind of difference you feel within yourself as you try to capture a balance of work and play in your life.

Times When You Have to Force Creativity

Even when you maintain a creative awareness and try to keep a nice creative balance, there will be times when you’re not feeling very inspired and you either feel you need to be, perhaps due to a work initiative, or you simply want to be because you now have everything you need to start your project. During these times, no matter how many times you repeat that old cliché “Think outside the box,” all you can do is picture yourself inside the symbolic four walls and a cover. You’re feeling boxed in, with not a creative thought coming to you. Can you force yourself to be creative? While the outcome may not be as desirable compared to creativity that arises more spontaneously or genuinely, it is possible to force creativity.

If you’re in a situation where it’s absolutely essential that you must force your creativity, such as a work project with a critical deadline, it may be helpful to shift your perspective to view the project in front of you as more of a discovery process. Even if it’s something you’ve done many times before, what can you do to make it fresh and new? “But I can’t think of anything; that’s the problem,” you tell yourself. That’s when you must rely on one or more of the many techniques you read about in this book, such as developing a playful mind-set, lightening up with laughter, writing in your journal, thinking in metaphors and similes, involving the five senses, combining unlike ideas, mind mapping, and so on.

Another technique is to recall experiences in which you felt on top of your game, energetic, driven to produce, and stimulated—that “in the flow” feeling. Can you remember with any clarity what brought on those feelings? Is it possible to recapture them at a time when you’re being pushed to create? Perhaps you wrote about your creative moments in your idea journal; you can either reflect upon ones that motivated you in the past or look for ideas you wrote about but never developed to spur you. And for those times you’re really having trouble on a mission-critical project, you can even look into hiring a creativity coach (see Chapter 12).

But what if you’re simply getting antsy all on your own, feeling restless and wanting to get beyond that boxed-in feeling? When the pressure isn’t so demanding as to threaten your job or diminish how others view you, sometimes you can force creativity in a light and fun way. For example, I used this approach for the first song I ever wrote. My college roommate and I were both taking a guitar class as one of our electives. Toward the end of the semester, once we learned the basic chords and some picking patterns, we challenged ourselves to write a song, even though neither of us had ever attempted this before. We went into our individual rooms with our guitar, some paper, and a pen, and made a rule that we couldn’t come out of the room until we wrote a complete song. I can’t remember how long it took us, but the mission was accomplished, and we emerged from our rooms at about the same time with a complete song. This self-imposed directive started me down the path of songwriting.

CREATIVITY KEY

Sometimes what can keep you from creating is overthinking. You imagine all of the possibilities, oftentimes focused on what might go wrong, which keeps you from beginning. However, when you finally take action and complete your creative project, you realize you spent more time thinking about it (otherwise known as procrastinating) than it took to go through the steps and finish. Stop thinking and start doing!

Sometimes you can use an activity you’ve never tried before as a springboard to tackle the creative project you really wish to take on. For example, if you’re a watercolorist and you’re feeling uninspired as you sit before the blank canvas, step away from it and try another creative interest in which there is nothing at stake. You might attempt cooking a dish using an untried recipe or sitting down to write a poem. Another option to force creativity is to pursue something you already know you’re good at. It doesn’t even have to be what you would consider a creative undertaking—just something that gives you a feeling of accomplishment, pumps up your self-esteem, and takes your mind away from the other task. Perhaps you enjoy gardening or working out. Choose your activity and when you return to your original creative project, see if your inspiration has returned.

Remember, the more you practice being creative, the less likely you will need to force it. With creativity as a part of your daily life, these moments will hopefully be few and far between.

Fighting Burnout

Feeling energized and alive usually only happens when you’re balanced in all of the main areas of your life. However, when you repeatedly force yourself to be creative or participate in activities that previously inspired you but have since lost their glow, you can feel burned out.

A key to avoiding burnout is setting reasonable expectations for yourself. It’s so important to give yourself the space you need—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—and to not place demands that bring any of these areas out of alignment. If just one of these gets out of whack, that’s when signs of burnout surface.

Once you’re feeling burned out, it’s already too late to stop it—you’ve arrived. Fortunately, burnout doesn’t mean going to a place of no return. Using any or a combination of the following tips, you can work your way back to a healthy and creative state of being:

• Take whatever time you need to feel at peace again. Realize that in the beginning, you may only be able to capture fleeting moments of calm. Be patient with your progress.
• Reflect upon your original motivation. What prompted you to get involved with your creative venture in the first place? Do you still have the same interest or passion and just need a break or have you lost interest?
• Don’t worry about taking on even more or using creative thinking techniques. However, do engage with some of your “loves,” perhaps activities that you put on the backburner because you were so intensely involved with a creative activity. Examples are getting together with friends, reading a book, taking a walk, or anything that comes naturally to you and doesn’t add to your stress.

Also, if you haven’t already, take a look at Chapter 16, which presented information and tips regarding creativity burnout on the job. While it is geared to burnout in the workforce, the effects of work burnout are similar to exhaustion you may feel from a personal situation.

CREATIVITY KEY

In coming up with ideas or solutions, you can consciously select a creative thinking technique or choose to walk away from a project to distance yourself and give it space. Both are valid. The paradox is that these opposing tools both work in creative situations. It’s about achieving a balance between the two.

Developing a Daily Creative Practice

In establishing your daily creative practice, remember that it’s not so much about the projects that you engage in—although they are an important part of the overall creative process—it’s more about the attitude I spoke about at the start of this chapter. Tell yourself every day that you are a creator and that you open yourself to the opportunities that are presented to you and the ideas that you initiate and act upon. If you can maintain this awareness most of the time, you will find that ideas, as well as synchronicities, begin to flow more naturally to you.

The following are some tips to help you create your own practice:

The old adage, “Practice makes perfect,” may not actually be true, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to your creativity. I’ve already established that perfection is not what you’re after with your creative expression. However, practice is important. Make a commitment to work on some aspect of your creativity every day, and eventually it will develop into a healthy creative habit.

Become keenly aware of your creative “high times” and “low times.” Yes, time of day is part of what I mean. I’m also referring to other factors that I covered in previous chapters, including your ideal surroundings and where you find your inspiration. This may require some experimenting, but once you know what works best for you, build them into your creative routine.

Focus on what matters to you. How often do you get stuck in negative thoughts that go around and around? Instead of paying attention to what you want, your mind churns worrying about situations happening that you don’t want. Catch yourself doing that and immediately shift your thoughts to what you really wish to create. You can use the affirmation technique you learned about in Chapter 7 or simply bring images to mind of your most meaningful desires. Take a multidisciplined approach to what you want to create and write it, speak it, think it, and sleep (on) it!

Be consistent with your creative efforts. Consistency leads to continuity, or flow. This may seem counter to a suggestion I made earlier in the book, which was to mix things up occasionally. That still holds true for times when you’re feeling uninspired or your habits have become too routine. But being consistent means finding exercises or techniques that will help your creativity grow more each day. It could be writing in your journal or walking your dog to clear your head. Or perhaps you enjoy reading a poem to start your morning or listening to a favorite song that motivates you. It’s better to do something small every day than to have a “creative explosion” once or twice a year.

These are just a few suggestions I hope you find helpful. Revisit previous chapters for additional ideas and talk with other creative people whom you admire to find out what works for them. You may be able to “steal” some of their methods or adapt them to better fit you.

The Least You Need to Know

• Living creatively every day means focusing on the true essence of who you really are and then engaging in your own form of creative expression.
• You cannot separate yourself from your creative expression. It’s always there, just waiting for you to tap into it.
• You’ll begin to notice that the more you are in tune with your own creativity, the more you’ll experience synchronicity—those seemingly unrelated incidents that coincide at just the right moment to create meaning in your life.
• Make it a point to write by hand every day. You’ll open up different neural pathways to your brain that can actually aid in creativity. Many famous creatives pen their works by hand before getting to the final draft.
• Use creativity as a fun way to balance out the more stressful parts of your daily life.