Creativity

Finding Your Creative Talents

How do you respond when asked, “What are your creative talents?” If you’re like many people, you might answer—“none.” Why? Because you might falsely believe that creativity or talent is synonymous with only those activities associated with the artistic fields. Like many, you think that if you can’t act, sing, dance, write, draw, paint, etc., you lack talent. In fact, in over twenty years of clinical practice as a psychologist, I’ve often heard people say things like “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body” or “I couldn’t carry a tune if my life depended on it,” when describing their picture of creativity. They simply can’t fathom that they are oozing with creative energy through all kinds of activities.

Lisa, a mother of two young children, and an elementary school teacher, failed to recognize how much productive energy it took to raise her kids and work a full-time job. Haley, an awesome twenty-something year old, was surprised to learn that her ability to get people to loosen up and enjoy themselves at parties and office meetings came out of her creative energy. Like all of us these two women are multi-talented and we all deserve to embrace our gifts!

Creativity defines the essence of being human and allows each of us our own unique identity.

When we fully acknowledge our creativity we become more alive and inspired toward growth and enrichment. And, while if may not always seem as such, every action we take can have creative energy behind it. Even if we don’t consciously recognize our gifts, each and every one of us has them nonetheless. But, we can be ever more empowered toward positive contributions when we can fully realize our talents.

So what are your creative talents? They can include crafts like cooking, sewing, gardening or woodworking. Or, your gifts may be related to personal relationships like being skilled at getting people to communicate their worries and fears, making friends easily, or calming people down when they appear anxious or stressed. Your talents may center around caring for children or inspiring people to give to charity. You may be great at planning vacations for your family or arranging the flowers at a dinner party so that everyone who attends says “WOW—the table looks so beautiful!”

Go on, be bold! Give yourself credit for any creative talent no matter how big or small. All creative energy has merits. Therefore, one talent should never be compared to another as better or worse.

Unfortunately, if you’re not careful, your creativity can get buried and become difficult to reach. Creative energy can be very sensitive and temperamental, vulnerable to being bruised. As much as we may want to express our positive energy, often times, life gets in the way. Conditions of stress, overwork, worry, anxiety, depression, poor self-care all minimize the ease with which we can tap our creative juices. And if we don’t develop a fertile ground for our creative talents to flourish, we’re likely to miss out on experiencing the awesomeness of this powerful energy.

So how can you rev-up your creative motors? Below are FIVE tips.

1. For every activity you do in a day, identify the creative energy behind it and acknowledge it fully. For example, if you put forth effort to address a difficult issue in your life, acknowledge the creative energy of problem solving.
2. Ask a friend or loved one to share with you her ideas about your creative talents. We’re not always in-tune with our creative forces, but others may see them more clearly for us. So don’t be afraid to ask.
3. Keep a journal, praising yourself for any positive energy you put forth toward bettering your life or others. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate effort, but writing things down has a tendency of making them more real in our minds.
4. Keep stress to a minimum by keeping your body, mind and spirit in good shape. Clearly in a fast-paced culture pressuring us to go, go, go and do, do, do—this is no easy task. But it’s essential if we want to make room for our creativity to shine! For example, take a walk even if only for ten minutes, take a yoga class, lounge in a bath loaded with bubbles, practice deep breathing, and say positive affirmations. And if you’re really ambitious, take up meditation. Whatever you do to de-stress, make sure you create a ritual that you practice daily.
5. Everyday engage in an activity that makes you feel inspired. While most of us have many things we “have” to do in a day, it’s important to all make time to do something you truly “want” to do for no other reason than because it feels good. By doing so, you build a channel through which your creativity can flow more freely.

If you’re having trouble tapping into your creative energy, find a hobby or anything that interests you and just start doing it. Don’t put it off and don’t judge your performance. Just have fun and get the energy going. Once it’s in motion, it will become unstoppable. So forget about being Michelangelo or a superstar musician. Just enjoy being you!