Allow yourself to be more creative

One of the greatest gifts from my friends in Sydney was to show me that it was okay to be creative.

I grew up thinking that you either do something really well, or you don’t do it at all.

I had always had an appetite to try new things — from embroidery to glass painting, ballet, rollerskating, and many more funky things.

However, I would never share that with my peers, probably from a sense of conforming to the mass. From 5 to 17 years-old, I went to school with the same people, and we had quickly categorized each other: this guy was the sketch extraordinaire, that girl an incredible dancer. I was the nerd who was great at school. Not an artist.

Most importantly, some things I would never try because it was engrained in me that I just didn’t have the talent for that.

I never drew because, well, I couldn’t draw anything pretty from the top of my head.

I never wrote because I was never praised on my writing at school.

So, the first time my colleagues invited me to a painting afternoon, I was a little nervous — me, painting? What? How?

I asked my colleagues for more details.

“Don’t worry, we’re just going to sit together and do some artsy stuff! You can paint, sketch, do some collages… anything you want really!”

Okay. I got some charcoal, as I had decided to sketch, which was less intimidating to start with. After an amazing brunch with D. and L. — brunches in Australia always are — we went to L’s house. I wasn’t sure where to start, until D. got her phone out and started looking for sketches to replicate.

“So, it’s okay to follow a reference image, it counts as art as well. Hmm.” — I thought to myself.

I relaxed, found a reference of my own, sketched away and was pretty happy with the result. More importantly, I felt liberated that I didn’t need anyone’s confirmation that I was “doing it right”. As long as you’re doing it, you are doing it right.

We did that again with other colleagues, and it went just as well. Everyone was doing their own thing, and happily showing each other the results — no judgement, just celebrating creation.

Blogging is another activity I’ve wanted to start for a while, but couldn’t resolve myself getting passed the limitation I had created. I have been, and still am in a great extent, shy of sharing my full self, especially with my closest ones.

But being create-ive is about creating. Not about talent. There is no judgment in creation. Getting in this mindset allows for freedom in being, and in showing to the world all the layers of who you are.

Call to action

Think of an activity that appeals to you but you’ve never tried because you always thought you weren’t made for it. Can you identify why you’ve limited yourself to this belief ?

Make time to try it out anyway, on your own, with friends or even colleagues. You don’t have to block a whole weekend — a few hours or even minutes can be enough. Simply allow yourself to do it without judgement.

How did you feel during, and after that?

Do you feel like you can share that with your close circle?

Let me know!

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