Iss. #6 A Few Holistic Creative Practices

I am often told such things as "I wish I was creative", "I'm not good at drawing", or other comments along those lines.

First of all, I truly believe that we are all creative, and have the capacity to increase our creative skills, like any other skill.

Secondly, creativity manifests in countless ways, in any and every field, from abstract mathematics to law, art to archeology. Take science: thinking up of a hypothetical thought experiment to then link it to our physical reality and support it with experimental observation and abstract mathematical equations is an extremely creative endeavor—indeed, some of the most creative thinkers in history have been scientists.

Thirdly, saying that you're not good at drawing or music or writing is akin to saying you're not good at coding. If you haven't studied coding, practiced coding, read a lot about coding, well, it's a given that your coding skills will not be refined or advanced. It's the same for creative skills.

We all have the capacity to improve our creative skills, the same way we can improve any other skill by studying and practicing.

I thought I would share a short list of some creative practices that are cross disciplinary and may support your own creative endeavors and aspirations:

1. Be a curious observer: Many creative arts are about being a good observer. When you observe the world around you with curiosity and reverence, you are bound to capture moments of serendipity. In this way, art is very similar to mindfulness and science. Creative writing and photography, for example, are more about patience, consistency, and observation than about technical ability.

• Observe how people interact and talk with each other. Observe micro facial expressions and body movements and what emotions they signify.
• Observe how light reflects on different surfaces, how animals behave, how places look
• Observe your own responses to thoughts, situations, and emotions. How do you feel in certain situations, and how does your body react? This is essentially mindfulness practice.

2. Write things down: We all have interesting stories and ideas—exciting and strange moments that we witness, crazy things that happen to us. The advantage that artists such as creative writers have is that they have a habit of writing things down. Observation can take you far, but writing things down can enable you to grow out your observations and ideas over time and utilize them more effectively. Keep a digital notebook/second brain and make it a habit of writing thing down—ideas, observations, etc. You never know when they’ll come in handy.

• Keep a list of your favorite words and their definitions—words that sound interesting or unfamiliar words that you come across.
• Keep a list of interesting conversations or dialogue that you hear.
• Don’t be afraid to copy. There is no such thing as a completely original idea, only ways of bringing together existing ideas in new and unique ways. You grow your own creative palette by copying (not plagiarizing, but practicing and using inspiration from others).
• Create a Second Brain (recommended reading: Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte)

3. Be A Life-Long Learner: It’s simple, learning about different things expands your creativity.

• There is no such thing as a completely original idea. All ideas take from other ideas. Through our lives, we build our "artist palettes" from the things we see and read and consume. So consume things of substance, and consume things that are varied. We understand this quite well when it comes to our body and nutrition, and even when it comes to feeding information to AI, but we don't seem to make the connection when it comes to our own learning and our own minds. So: give your mind a good mental diet; remember, everything your mind consumes contributes to your creative palette. Just like paints, the more colors you have to draw from, the richer the combinations you can make will be.
• Enroll in a course from time to time. Try different things, different from what you would normally do. Culinary classes, illustration, animation basics, Figma prototyping, etc. There are plenty of cheap and free courses online. The knowledge and experience gained may not be directly used, but it will contribute to your creative palette and you’ll learn transferable skills.
• Read, read, read! The material doesn’t have to be highly technical or “productive” to start. Start with things that are easy and enjoyable to help make it a habit. Once you get into the flow of reading, expand into different topics; biology, astrophysics, psychology, etc. This feeds your creative palette and overall understanding of how different areas are interconnected. Don’t pick textbooks. Pick books written by great storytellers that inspire curiosity and wonder—Carlo Rovelli, Neil Gaiman, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Bryson, Carl Sagan, etc.
• If you really can’t get into reading, try audiobooks, podcasts, videos, etc.

4. Connect with Communities: Much, if not most, of what happens in life is based on luck and circumstance. But we can create more opportunities for luck to happen by putting ourselves in situations where collisions occur. Networks are especially important in this interconnected world.

• Attend networking and industry events. You don’t need to have great technical knowledge to contribute. Be led by curiosity and ask good questions; people love talking about their passions and having someone who will listen. Network effects are exponential, so multiple touch-points is key. In other words, continue to show up and support others. Network compound value is a long-term game.
• Go to events and connect with communities that have nothing to do with your industry. The best ideas are often found at the intersection of seemingly distant fields. Again, learning different perspectives and about different field fuels your creative palette and skillset.
• Look for niche areas of opportunity, show support and initiative, and you may be surprised as more people start to see you as a community leader in your niche area.

5. Believe in the Power of Neuroplasticity: Don’t underestimate your brain’s adaptive ability.

• Traits like “introversion” and “creativity” are less like traits and more like sets of malleable skills that can be practiced and improved. One of the most important keys to improving is believing that these “traits” are not set in stone, but are skills that can be worked on. This reframing allows you to open up yourself to taking the necessary steps to practicing and improving those skills.
• Your inner dialogue can make an impact. Be kind and compassionate to yourself and have patience. If you catch yourself thinking that you are or are not a certain way, try to reframe your thoughts. “I can improve my communication skills” is better than “I am not extroverted.”
• Write out your values, missions, goals, aspirations. Use this as a compass, but be open to evolve.

6. Enjoy the journey: Creativity is more about the process than the result. Don’t just do things for their “productive” value. Doing things for fun, and even doing “nothing” and having periods of rest and boredom, is important and can be equally productive. So be curious, enjoy the process, and have fun!