September 18, 2023 • 12 mins
I don’t believe there is such a thing as the wrong way to be creative.
Creativity, for me, is about the process. It is about exploration, the journey, not the end result.
In this episode, I explore why, as adults, our creativity has been squashed out of us and I share a reframe so that you can start to reclaim your creativity.
This is a solo episode with just little old me and my musings.
Happy listening!
xo Abi
P.S. There is a miniscule language warning for this episode (seriously, like, one teeny-tiny-not-even-bad swear at the end).
P.P.S. For more information about this episode and our guest, head to: www.crispcomms.co/podcast-episodes/why-creativity-has-been-squashed-out-of-you
Creativity: Uncovered is lovingly edited by the team at Crisp Communications.
Creativity: Uncovered is a registered Australian Trade Mark.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hello and welcome to Creativity (00:00):
Uncovered. My name is Abi Gatling and I'm on a journey
(00:11):
to uncover how everyday people find inspiration, get inventive and open their imagination.
I want to find out how people use creativity at home, work, play and everything in between.
My goal for this podcast is that by the end of it you'll be armed with a whole suite of
(00:34):
tried and tested ways to summon creativity the next time that you need it.
In this episode I want to start to shift your idea about what creativity is, what the outcome
is and just challenge you a little bit.
(00:55):
This is because I just don't believe that there's any wrong way to be creative.
You know, there's no bad art, there's no bad dancing. I mean apart from Elaine and Seinfeld
that was absolutely atrocious.
Well you know, there's no bad problem solving because you know what is bad except for someone's
(01:22):
interpretation. What is bad to someone is good to someone else and meh to a third person.
And so to me, they're so subjective and there is just no bad form of creativity. There is
only doing things without meaning and without intention.
(01:47):
I mean as long as you are approaching creativity, you're doing it, you're having fun and it's
working for you then it's creative and then it's worthwhile.
So I say "YOLO" and just go out and do it because creativity for me is really about the process.
(02:13):
It's about exploration, it's about the journey and you know quite often we're led to believe
that creativity is about producing something beautiful at the end of it. Very simply that's
just not the case. You know, if you can push your focus from being on the end result to
(02:39):
then being about the creative process then you'll be much more likely to dive in and
do it. So many people actually hold themselves back from creativity because they think they're
going to be bad at it. But you know, you weren't good at riding a bike the first time you did
(03:01):
it and if you've ever learned a new language will you ever fluent on day one of downloading
Duolingo? And you know how many cakes did you burn before one turned out actually to be
edible? Oh man that's giving me flashbacks but anyway. You know because like many of
(03:23):
us told early on in our lives that there's a right way and there's a wrong way. You make
a cake that burns, that's wrong. You make a cake that's tasty then that's great. But
really each time that you burn a cake you're learning something, you're refining your process
and as long as you get back out there again it's right. You know so many people think
(03:50):
that there's a right way of being creative and that right way is you only pursue creativity
if you're good at it. And the wrong way of being creative is being an amateur, being
mediocre, unpolished and then still continuing down that creative path. Because the thinking
(04:14):
behind that is that if you're not good enough to sell your products or make money off your
talents then why should you pursue it? This has come up quite a few times in the interviews
I've had with some of our guests is that it's kind of been squashed out of them when they
(04:37):
were kids is that if they weren't actually the best at anything they would kind of steer
it away from that and that's just really sad. I think that this is a really limited view
of creativity and one that is absolutely drenched in capitalist ideology. If you can't make
(04:59):
money out of it then what's the point of doing it? And the result of this viewpoint is that
as you progress from childhood to adulthood is that unless you were typically in inverted
commas typically talented in the very narrow sense of the word then creativity was probably
(05:24):
squashed out of you by society, the people around you, your schooling, whoever, whoever
had influence over you at the time. And unless you were one of those lucky ones who had an
environment that actively encouraged you to stick with it, a really supportive network
(05:45):
around you and a safe space to play and to fail and to try again then it's likely that
if you didn't have that that after a while you set aside your creativity altogether.
And while that seems really dire and sad I want to say to you that all is not lost because
(06:12):
while you may have set aside your creativity in the past and may not be actively flexing
that muscle right now I bet you that the spirit or the drive to be creative is deep down in
there somewhere. It's lurking and it's waiting for a time to bust out and do its thing. And
(06:38):
that's why I like things like paint and sip and the pottery classes and casual dance classes.
All these things are absolutely booming right now and they are being targeted to adults
who don't normally do that thing. I love it. I absolutely love it because there's actually
(07:00):
a whole generation of adults who were forced into a narrow boring path void of creativity
focused on our careers and making money and it's just waiting to be released and these
types of classes that are being offered are providing that opportunity in a small way.
(07:27):
So anyway, go back to what's good and bad terms of creativity. My main point is that
as long as you are pursuing creative endeavors with a curious mind with meaning and intention
then it's not going to be bad creativity because creativity is a journey and it's a long one
(07:54):
at that. There's actually no end point. It's an iterative process where each time you practice
it you get better and you get more refined, more comfortable and it comes with more ease.
And I actually had one of my podcast guests come on and like in creativity as though you're
(08:19):
going to the gym. You can't just go once to the gym and expect to have a six pack. I mean
look that would absolutely be amazing but it's not likely to happen and if you kind
of consider that framework you're going to be a lot nicer to yourself. You're going to
(08:42):
stop worrying about being really bad because everyone is shaky at the beginning. You've
got to start small. Start with those small weights and then go on from there and really
your creativity journey could start anywhere. Look it might start as a paint and sip class
(09:04):
with your pals or singing in the shower but you know whatever it is lean into it and if
you like it start to delve deeper from there and bit by bit trust me it's going to become
more natural. Look you may never be the next Picasso or the next Taylor Swift but like
(09:27):
that doesn't matter. You really don't need a better reason to pursue creativity other
than you enjoy doing it because creativity is not a destination. It is a journey and
it's not so much of a boring commute to work. It's more of like a super fun road trip and
(09:51):
yes there will be hiccups on the road and there will be stumbles along the way but don't
consider these to be roadblocks. Refram them as scenic detours. Okay look I've got to
probably stop now because I go way too deep on my metaphors but in conclusion create bad
(10:15):
art if you want. Dance like you have two left feet. You know invent something completely
useless because you may not have something amazing to show at the end of it but trust
me the creativity and the process of being creative will be good for you. So that's sort
(10:41):
of my two cents and I don't think there's any wrong way to do creativity and the fear
of being bad should not hold you back because everyone's a little bit crap in the beginning
you know what I mean. But I hope this has given you something just to muse on to mull
(11:03):
on to challenge your thinking around creativity. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope this
episode has inspired you to get out there and try and find your creative fit and as
always I hope that it helps you summon creativity the next time that you need it. Take care.
(11:27):
.
[Music]
(11:57):
If you've made it this far a huge thank you for your support and tuning into today's episode.
Creativity (12:04):
Uncovered has been lovingly recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi people and
we pay our respects to elders past present and emerging. This podcast has been produced
by my amazing team here at Crisp communications and the music you just heard was composed
by James Gatling. If you liked this episode please do share it around and help us on our
(12:28):
mission to unlock more creativity in this world. You can also hit subscribe so you don't
miss out on any new episode releases.
you
Uncovered. My name is Abi Gatling and I'm on a journey
(00:11):
to uncover how everyday people find inspiration, get inventive and open their imagination.
I want to find out how people use creativity at home, work, play and everything in between.
My goal for this podcast is that by the end of it you'll be armed with a whole suite of
(00:34):
tried and tested ways to summon creativity the next time that you need it.
In this episode I want to start to shift your idea about what creativity is, what the outcome
is and just challenge you a little bit.
(00:55):
This is because I just don't believe that there's any wrong way to be creative.
You know, there's no bad art, there's no bad dancing. I mean apart from Elaine and Seinfeld
that was absolutely atrocious.
Well you know, there's no bad problem solving because you know what is bad except for someone's
(01:22):
interpretation. What is bad to someone is good to someone else and meh to a third person.
And so to me, they're so subjective and there is just no bad form of creativity. There is
only doing things without meaning and without intention.
(01:47):
I mean as long as you are approaching creativity, you're doing it, you're having fun and it's
working for you then it's creative and then it's worthwhile.
So I say "YOLO" and just go out and do it because creativity for me is really about the process.
(02:13):
It's about exploration, it's about the journey and you know quite often we're led to believe
that creativity is about producing something beautiful at the end of it. Very simply that's
just not the case. You know, if you can push your focus from being on the end result to
(02:39):
then being about the creative process then you'll be much more likely to dive in and
do it. So many people actually hold themselves back from creativity because they think they're
going to be bad at it. But you know, you weren't good at riding a bike the first time you did
(03:01):
it and if you've ever learned a new language will you ever fluent on day one of downloading
Duolingo? And you know how many cakes did you burn before one turned out actually to be
edible? Oh man that's giving me flashbacks but anyway. You know because like many of
(03:23):
us told early on in our lives that there's a right way and there's a wrong way. You make
a cake that burns, that's wrong. You make a cake that's tasty then that's great. But
really each time that you burn a cake you're learning something, you're refining your process
and as long as you get back out there again it's right. You know so many people think
(03:50):
that there's a right way of being creative and that right way is you only pursue creativity
if you're good at it. And the wrong way of being creative is being an amateur, being
mediocre, unpolished and then still continuing down that creative path. Because the thinking
(04:14):
behind that is that if you're not good enough to sell your products or make money off your
talents then why should you pursue it? This has come up quite a few times in the interviews
I've had with some of our guests is that it's kind of been squashed out of them when they
(04:37):
were kids is that if they weren't actually the best at anything they would kind of steer
it away from that and that's just really sad. I think that this is a really limited view
of creativity and one that is absolutely drenched in capitalist ideology. If you can't make
(04:59):
money out of it then what's the point of doing it? And the result of this viewpoint is that
as you progress from childhood to adulthood is that unless you were typically in inverted
commas typically talented in the very narrow sense of the word then creativity was probably
(05:24):
squashed out of you by society, the people around you, your schooling, whoever, whoever
had influence over you at the time. And unless you were one of those lucky ones who had an
environment that actively encouraged you to stick with it, a really supportive network
(05:45):
around you and a safe space to play and to fail and to try again then it's likely that
if you didn't have that that after a while you set aside your creativity altogether.
And while that seems really dire and sad I want to say to you that all is not lost because
(06:12):
while you may have set aside your creativity in the past and may not be actively flexing
that muscle right now I bet you that the spirit or the drive to be creative is deep down in
there somewhere. It's lurking and it's waiting for a time to bust out and do its thing. And
(06:38):
that's why I like things like paint and sip and the pottery classes and casual dance classes.
All these things are absolutely booming right now and they are being targeted to adults
who don't normally do that thing. I love it. I absolutely love it because there's actually
(07:00):
a whole generation of adults who were forced into a narrow boring path void of creativity
focused on our careers and making money and it's just waiting to be released and these
types of classes that are being offered are providing that opportunity in a small way.
(07:27):
So anyway, go back to what's good and bad terms of creativity. My main point is that
as long as you are pursuing creative endeavors with a curious mind with meaning and intention
then it's not going to be bad creativity because creativity is a journey and it's a long one
(07:54):
at that. There's actually no end point. It's an iterative process where each time you practice
it you get better and you get more refined, more comfortable and it comes with more ease.
And I actually had one of my podcast guests come on and like in creativity as though you're
(08:19):
going to the gym. You can't just go once to the gym and expect to have a six pack. I mean
look that would absolutely be amazing but it's not likely to happen and if you kind
of consider that framework you're going to be a lot nicer to yourself. You're going to
(08:42):
stop worrying about being really bad because everyone is shaky at the beginning. You've
got to start small. Start with those small weights and then go on from there and really
your creativity journey could start anywhere. Look it might start as a paint and sip class
(09:04):
with your pals or singing in the shower but you know whatever it is lean into it and if
you like it start to delve deeper from there and bit by bit trust me it's going to become
more natural. Look you may never be the next Picasso or the next Taylor Swift but like
(09:27):
that doesn't matter. You really don't need a better reason to pursue creativity other
than you enjoy doing it because creativity is not a destination. It is a journey and
it's not so much of a boring commute to work. It's more of like a super fun road trip and
(09:51):
yes there will be hiccups on the road and there will be stumbles along the way but don't
consider these to be roadblocks. Refram them as scenic detours. Okay look I've got to
probably stop now because I go way too deep on my metaphors but in conclusion create bad
(10:15):
art if you want. Dance like you have two left feet. You know invent something completely
useless because you may not have something amazing to show at the end of it but trust
me the creativity and the process of being creative will be good for you. So that's sort
(10:41):
of my two cents and I don't think there's any wrong way to do creativity and the fear
of being bad should not hold you back because everyone's a little bit crap in the beginning
you know what I mean. But I hope this has given you something just to muse on to mull
(11:03):
on to challenge your thinking around creativity. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope this
episode has inspired you to get out there and try and find your creative fit and as
always I hope that it helps you summon creativity the next time that you need it. Take care.
(11:27):
.
[Music]
(11:57):
If you've made it this far a huge thank you for your support and tuning into today's episode.
Creativity (12:04):
Uncovered has been lovingly recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi people and
we pay our respects to elders past present and emerging. This podcast has been produced
by my amazing team here at Crisp communications and the music you just heard was composed
by James Gatling. If you liked this episode please do share it around and help us on our
(12:28):
mission to unlock more creativity in this world. You can also hit subscribe so you don't
miss out on any new episode releases.
you
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