What if…

Our first thought was our most creative?
Our first idea was our most inspired?
Our first draft the most moving and ingenious?
Our first response the most intuitive or Spirit led?

In the last few weeks I have been contemplating these questions.

Much of this pondering began as a result reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Blink: the power of thinking without thinking’. In his book, he explores the notion that our spontaneous decisions are as good as, or even better than our carefully planned and considered ones.

At the time his book got me thinking about living Spirit led and following my gut instinct more often. Then recently his ideas were stirred in me again during some Christmas planning that my hubby was involved in. After sitting for a while brainstorming creative ideas he said:

“I’ve realised that my first idea is always my best. I keep thinking hoping to come up with a better one but most of the time I go back to the first one it is usually my best.”

The concept of ‘blink’; our spontaneous or intuitive response, grabbed me again but this time specifically in the area of our creativity.

What if we stopped overthinking our creativity?
What if we became less concerned with product and simply enjoyed the process?
What if we responded to the first thing that came to mind when it came to creativity?

We are too safe with our creativity. We sit back, we wait, we plan, we think, and then the inspiration passes.

Maybe our first ideas won’t be our ‘best’ but we need to give ourselves permission to create without constraint. A series of firsts will lead somewhere. We learn in the process of creativity, when we get fully involved with what we are doing and let go of the product of perfection that we yearn to create.

In his book Steal like an artist, Austin Kleon says:
“If I’d waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started “being creative,” well, I’d be still sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it’s the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.”

My point is that if you want to approach life more creatively then doing anything creative is never a waste. We are made in the image of a creative God. It is who we are.

Paint, draw, sing, dance. Create memories, create momentum, create wealth, create in the way that you were designed to create.

What creative impulse could you like to act upon just for the sake of creativity?

Let go and have a go.

Inspired,
Carly xx