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Okay y’all, it’s about to get deep in here.

man i swear sometimes, that sh** just gets so deep. deep. deep.

– Big Sean

Recently, I read an article in The Egotist. In it, a challenge was issued: Share your creative philosophy in 20 words or less.

There were all kinds of responses—some poetic, some calculated, some witty, and some (very) abstract.

It made me wonder about my own creative philosophy, so I decided to accept the challenge (except I know I’m wordy, so I gave myself 100 words to do it)!

Anyway… as I read through this article, I found myself wishing I could learn more about each of those person’s individual philosophies.

  • How do they define creativity?
  • How did their childhoods and upbringings affect their philosophies on creativity?
  • How do they apply those beliefs in their daily lives?

I guess I was asking for a bit much in 20 words or less, but I was just so inspired!

The role of creativity in our daily lives is something that isn’t talked about enough, but is extremely important to The LaziMILLENNIAL Movement.

So for the sake of conversation, I’ll share my 100-word creative philosophy and explain where it came from.

More importantly, I challenge YOU to think about and create your own creative philosophy too! Share it with everyone in the comments below!

My creative philosophy

Anyone and anything that was created has the power to create. Creativity is not a gift that is selectively handed out. It is energy that we all possess but that we each manifest in a variety of ways.

Pin me to come back to this post later!

Let me start by saying I believe in God.

You don’t have to believe in God to read or appreciate this post, but it’s important for me to state that upfront, because that belief is the foundation of my creative philosophy.

To me, creativity = creative energy, which is the essence of Creation. Yeah, the BIG Creation.

Some super smart scientists taught us through the law of conservation of energy that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The same concept applies to creative energy. It doesn’t become or end. It just “is.”

Creativity can be recycled, repurposed, and transformed, but it can’t be created or eliminated.

Anyone and anything that was created has the power to create.

Alright y’all, I’m going deep.

When God created the world—the skies, the land, the animals—He literally used creative energy to do so. That means creative energy was transferred to all of those things, all those animals, and all of us.

And because energy, including creative energy, cannot be destroyed, we all have the ability to create within us.

Create ideas.

Create things.

Even create people!

In the most blatant sense, we can combine with another human being and literally create another human being!

The fact that we all contain creative energy (because we were all made from creative energy) brings me to the second point of my creative philosophy.

Creativity is not a gift that is selectively handed out.

I hate the use of the word “creative” as a noun.

You know, like: “I’m a creative…” “I love working with creatives…” “I tend to gravitate towards other creatives…”

I hate…despise…abhor the use of the word creative in that way. Why?

It’s not that I don’t think some people live more stereotypically-creative lives than others or more closely align with fields that are traditionally viewed as creative. Of course those things are true!

The reason I dislike the use of “creative” as a noun is this: It implies that creativity is something that has to define you in order to be within you.

In this sense, “creative” is being used as a replacement for the word “artist,” even though creativity and art are not necessarily the same.

I know that as humans, it’s our nature to label people. But I believe using creative (noun) to reference subgroups of people undermines the role creativity plays in all of our lives and in our world.

If we’re using “creative” as a noun, then we are all creatives!

We each manifest creativity in different ways.

Quick word association exercise: When you hear the word creative, what comes to mind?

Paint brushes and canvases? Scripts and movie sets? An episode of Project Runway?

Sure, all of those things scream, “Creative!!”

But what about those creative outlets you don’t automatically think of?

  • Teachers who make up catchy songs to teach their students math
  • Architects who design office buildings and skyscrapers
  • Scientists who use data visualization to display complicated information in downright gorgeous ways

We also tend to associate creativity with careers or hobbies, but creativity isn’t confined to what pays your bills.

Creativity also includes resourcefulness and thinking outside the box.

Have you ever jazzed up a bowl of Ramen noodles? An egg, some veggies, some sausage, a heavy hand of Mrs. Dash, and a sprinkle of parsley?

You use creativity when you’re studying and figuring out how to retain information…when you’re trying to find ways to make that money for those Beyonce tickets…when you’re participating in the latest Twitter hashtags, meme sessions, and GIF wars.

I could go on and on.

The point is that there are SO many ways to expend and express creative energy. As individuals, we all choose to spend ours in different ways. That doesn’t make any one way more or less significant than another.

Want to tap into your creative energy more? Check out these suggestions for how you can learn to be more creative.

I didn’t even get to go into the myth of originality, but you can read all about that here (along with a recommendation for a book that’ll knock your creative socks off)!

now i’m itching to know…what’s your creative philosophy?