Creativity

Creating isn’t about identity, It’s about ideas. Those you want to bring to life. Ideas and desires.  You can create something just because. Just because an idea randomly popped in your head and you were curious to see it actualised. Even an idea unrelated to anything you’d expect of yourself. 

I noticed that a lot of the cool things I created were just one time things. It was never me telling myself, this is the type of stuff I’m gonna make and this will become a career. An idea simply came into my head, and I followed my own curiosity. The few things that weren’t one-offs were simply because i just wanted to do it again, and again, and again, until eventually, i thought huh, maybe i could make a career out of this. A process of organic iteration. 

I am sure you’ve seen one of those videos, where someone realises that the button sounds on their microwave can kind of make a melody of a popular song. Before you know it, they’ve created a microwave rendition. And for one kid out there, that was probably the start of their music production pursuit. But sometimes, it doesn’t have to be anything more than what it is. A matter of the moment. If it’s a waste of time, then let it be. Creativity never had to be a mountain. It doesn’t have to be evolutionary, it doesn’t have to be part of some wider objective. It doesn’t have to represent who you are. And it definitely doesn’t have to be a money making machine. Creativity is primarily a matter of curiosity. 

And if you’re fortunate, or unfortunate enough, that curiosity will be followed by a compulsion to create it. An itch that must be scratched. A quest to match reality with your vision. 

The issue that kills a lot of great ideas is that it’s led by what you want to be, rather than what you want to create. I want to create this, so I can be like that, so I can be perceived as that. A strategic decision about your position in the world rather than a desire to bring a certain thing into the world. The primary focus should be about making something be, not about being something. Allow the art to exist independent of you. Simply because it’s something you’d enjoy. Forget the prison of your identity; the one that says what you “should” make. Saying “my career is going to be creating this type of stuff” is committing to desires you haven’t had. Let your inner vision consume you. 

The former will require unwavering discipline, and the latter will simply add structure to your nature. Like icing on a cake. 

So never ask yourself what type of creator you want to be, just ask yourself what you want to create. And if you like what you create, follow the path of why. Don’t commit yourself to creating something you haven’t tested your love for. To create it because it’s what makes sense, because it’s part of the trend. Instead create as though there will only be one. As though it can stand alone. Create for the creation, not the career. And if you like it enough, create another. 

Just like this 🙂