Reviving The Artist Within
I’ve recently been reading Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? and it’s been a very mind-opening experience. The book is stirring up a lot of thoughts and emotions that I’ve been struggling with for quite some time now. I love the way he challenges me to think and poses interesting questions instead of printing a step-by-step instructions manual.
Do you remember the feeling you used to have as a kid when you were ready to do something you loved?
I’m talking about the actual feeling, not the memory of it, but the feeling.
For me it was drawing, building things out of LEGOs and just using my imagination. Any time I participated in any of those activities, my consciousness was 100% preoccupied. I was in the zone and the possibilities were endless. There was nothing more thrilling than a blank piece of paper, or a giant tub of LEGOs or a giant empty cardboard box with my flashlight and Batman figurines. What ever happened to those feelings? I don’t feel it anymore. Sure, it surfaces for a brief moment every once in a while, but it just doesn’t feel quite the same. As I grow up, I think we’re programmed to believe that losing these feelings is just part of the process. Responsibilities, jobs, bills, etc., it’s all part of the natural order of things.
Godin’s book really hit home the fact that the last 10-20 years of my life has been spent suppressing the inner creativity within me to conform to a system that I might not want to be a part of. I think subconsciously, I’ve won some battles to keep my creativity alive, but I think I’m losing the war. Gone are the days when you run around the supermarket singing your favorite song while spinning around in circles until you collapse on the floor. You can’t do that now because the system has taught us to be aware of what we’re doing and to be afraid of what people think. Maybe that’s an extreme example, but maybe you have no desire to do that because it’s been beaten out of you by society. I’m lucky that in high school, I realized quickly that for the most part, the only thing people think about constantly is themselves. If I do something stupid today, do you think everyone is going to wake up tomorrow thinking about it? It’s highly unlikely. So why keep yourself from experimenting and doing what you want? I think I’ve lost that mentality through the years. It’s not dead, but it’s grasping for its last dying breaths. It’s time to resuscitate and bring that idea back to my life.
So what am I saying? Break out the LEGOs and Ninja Turtle toys, run around at Safeway in your underwear? Not exactly.
Our lives are too short to support the process of suppressing our creativity while “real work” is happening. The things that we look forward too shouldn’t be saved for after 5PM. I think there’s room for creativity in whatever we do. I think in most cases we’ll find that not only is there room for creativity, but that it is essential in keeping our mind and body at peace.
Take a few moments tonight to close your eyes, think about the fun activities that you always look forward to. When you wake up tomorrow, don’t wait to exercise your creativity. Integrate it into everything you do and forget about the “standards” and “best practices”.
Note: I highly recommend reading Seth Godin’s book if you get a chance, he does a much better job of illustrating the point that I’m trying to make.
