Time to Get Creative Again

If you can do one thing each day that will increase your joy, it is to be creative.

That’s the thought that hit me as my son and I cleaned out my Mom’s apartment in Colorado after her recent move to South Carolina. What we found were over a dozen beautifully painted water color paintings that she had created over the last 10 years. I realized that my Mom, who is now 90, rediscovered the secret to a joyful life – it is to be creative. It’s one of the things that has kept her going!

Made to Create

Long ago God set the pattern. For six days straight He created. One of those creations was mankind. He made us in own image. We are to create too. Not just procreate – but make things – shape things –transform things – and bring things to life. Why? Because there’s joy in creation – and God wants us to have joy.

In world of latte sipping, Netflix bingeing, movie watching, food consuming, smartphone browsing, social media posting, couch sitting, and online shopping, what if we replaced just one of those activities with creating something new each day?

To Create. That’s part of our mission!

When I was a kid, every weekend started with a pile of Legos and just making things. I remember how my world was filled with wonder.

When I got older, I loved to make mixed tapes, and create software. I felt the same way.

Later in life I turned to helping create a business. And while it was a challenge, I loved the journey of creating some new – and creating transformation. I still do!

However, I realize the challenge we all face. Overtime we can get comfortable, lazy, and become a consumer over being a creator.

Consumer or Creator?

Consumers – consume. But they get bored – so they consume something else.

Creators – create. They really never get bored.

Both are habits. Which one are you? Consumer or Creator?

In addition to leading at work, one of my outlets is writing and podcasting which is a form of creating. But I realize there are other things that I can do like working a home project, coding, and more. I feel alive when I create. Creation gives me satisfaction. It energizes me for the day that follows.

The Challenge

I want to put the challenge out there for you too. Whether at work or home, what can you do be creative again?

Recognize the joy you get from being creative. Think about the value you might add to not just your own self but others too when you create.

Here's a tip for you. Set aside a 30 to 90 minutes a day. Block it off as your time to CREATE. 

To make most of your CREATE time, be sure to set an objective.  For me, I blocked out 90 minutes today to CREATE this blog post.  I started with a blank word canvas pulling on this idea of what it means to CREATE and how I can share something of value to others.   

Here are a few questions to help you get started:

• What would you like to CREATE on?
• What things do. you need to CREATE with?
• How might you share what you CREATE later?

If you take just 2 minutes to answer these three questions, you should have enough to go on, and make that time a power hour.  

Inspring Quotes on Creativity

Success in creating is found in the first step.  Just start!  But to encourage you further, check out some these great quotes on creativity. Let them inspire you!

• “The creative adult is the child who survived.” – Ursula Le Guin
• “A creative life is an amplified life. It's a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life” - Elizabeth Gilbert
• “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” – Cecil B. DeMille
• "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." – Maya Angelou
• “Creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” – Edward De Bono
• “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” - Mary Lou Cook
• “Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.” – Earl Nightingale
• “Creativity is a habit.” – Twyla Tharp
• “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought." – Albert Einstein
• “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” – Bruce Lee
• “Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” – Oprah Winfrey
• "You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul." – George Bernard Shaw
• “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” - Scott Adams
• “Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status." – Sir Ken Robinson
• "Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous." – Bill Moyers
• “Everybody born comes from the Creator trailing wisps of glory. We come from the Creator with creativity. I think that each one of us is born with creativity. - Maya Angelou
• “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

To conquer the self-doubt, take action! Get creative again. Courage is a result of action.

You Can Do This.

Go. Create. Live!