Usually, in our minds, creativity is limited to art, music, dance, etc.
And if our work doesn’t belong to these categories, we assume it’s not creative work.
This is the wrong perception of creativity because any work we often consider uncreative can be done in a creative way and also, any creative work we can do it uncreatively.
Simply put, creative work is a thing that makes us express our authentic selves through the direction of energy in an organized way, which will lead to growth.
It doesn't matter what kind of job it is; it's just a trigger of authenticity, a canvas for our energy.
Creativity requires productivity, doing the same moves, creating habits and rituals, until we make the image we have in our mind for ourselves or something we want to see that expresses us; this is the "creative" mindset or the mind of an artist.
But when we are working the same way every day, doing the same moves without having any long-term vision, and the movements are not aligned with our values, then this means we lost touch with the previous mindset, and we are starting to fix our energy in one cycle just to maintain a position we created.
We're moving, increasing something but not growing; this is what I like to call the "productive" mindset, where emotions are not involved anymore.
So in these five points, I will explain the differences between the two mindsets and why we lose our creativity, although we are efficient and productive.
1. Self-knowledge and awareness of our needs
The productive mindset is a product of social belief, where work becomes a big whole that sucks energy and time by adopting the most important values of my society as my top values.
Trying to have what others have or want and spending our energy to protect it after getting it, without really knowing what we want authentically.
However, the creative mind understands that my values might differ from those of my society and tries to search inside for what's authentic for me.
Getting in touch with my own true needs and trying to fulfill them consciously is going to serve me and others better.
Knowing is awareness about what I truly need and clarity around what I want to do to fulfill that for real and in a deep way.
2. Freedom
The productive loses his freedom by mixing what’s important for him in one phase of life, and mostly it’s things we have achieved that reflect these adopted values, like work, family, house, etc., with his own identity, so the process of evolving the self now is more complicated.
It’s to deny your true needs, which will change from one phase to another throughout life. This makes the one a prisoner of his own achievements, either because the belief that this is enough or growing is not going to work in my situation.
Also, depending on the idea that one relationship with a person or a thing is all I want and can fulfill every aspect of me,
Creativity is not to identify with an external thing or person, even if you know it's important for you, so the relationship is more conscious because you're not going to blame the thing or person consciously or subconsciously for your problems in life.
Knowing that there's no relationship can fulfill all that I want; otherwise, I would lose my freedom and prepare myself to be a victim sooner or later.
Freedom is knowing that I am responsible and that I am able to act upon this responsibility.
3. Growth
The productive limits growth to society's idea about what growth is, which is having more of the same, or "productivity", Maybe differences in little details don't require so much change, and that reflects our attachment to safety. It also misunderstands growth as work, increasing my income, or getting more in less time.
The creative understands that growth is not limited to one path or another; it's only limited to my own choice and point of view, which will lead to alignment between what I love and what I do, between desire and will.
Growth is fulfilling one solid psychological need in my own creative way.
4. Self-expression
The productive idea of self-expression usually involves competition and comparison between oneself and others.
And if the productive is ambitious, he is going to make sure that he is the number one always.
Rating my success and growth on external results like numbers of followers, income, likes, etc., and focusing on increasing those even when my needs are not related to them, and my current position in life requires going psychologically beyond that.
This is bound to lead to not knowing my fullest potential and what I am really capable of doing.
For the creative, self-expression means expressing my intelligence and exploring what it can do rather than copying what works with others.
My components are not my enemy, yet my only competitor is myself.
Success is built upon my ability to express my values, creativity, and authenticity in any piece of work I produce.
Constantly grow until my ultimate vision is more valuable in my mind than any imitation of someone else.
5. The way we manage life
The way we express ourselves is going to determine the way we try to manage our lives.
When it comes to a productivity-based mind, most tasks are adopted and not authentic, so doing the task right rather than doing the right task for oneself.
Focusing on competition, validation, and numbers is going to create too many external disciplines in the day, creating a bad relationship between me and time, and this gives birth to the term time management.
Managing life by trying to manage my time, so I will try to fit a task into a deadline even if there’s no engagement.
Being productive and efficient but not having a big picture of why I am doing this and where it is going to take me.
Slowly turning my life into a race, grinding and developing an addiction to movement and a fear of pausing.
My work doesn't necessarily advance me; rather, it's just to maintain what I already have or to increase it.
But, when I adopt the creative mindset, most of my tasks are going to come from a big-picture vision, which reflects my understanding of what I really want.
This makes the thought clear and strong in my mind, which will attract my energy and make it flow whenever I work on actualizing it, focusing on energy management and being engaged in the task at hand more than time management.
Being concerned about balancing work with relaxation and, more importantly, knowing what rejuvenates me and gives me the energy to support the goal instead of random entertainment.
I understand that disengagement from my mind would not allow my energy to flow while I was doing my work, no matter how well I structured my schedule.
I value health to get my body support; otherwise, I won't be engaged or energized, even if I like the thing I am working on.
Working is an expression of intelligence, creativity, and growth.
Conclusion
Creativity and productivity are intertwined; to create, you have to discipline yourself with daily habits and repeated moves to turn a desire in your mind into a reality.
”I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” — Bruce Lee
This is true because mastering that one kick for someone is part of a big picture in his mind where he is an advanced fighter.
Mostly, we are doing our daily kicks just to get by and go randomly in our lives without a clear vision. Although we might kick perfectly, this is not enough for such an intelligent mind to live in happiness.
