Quick question:

Are you a creative person?

I would wager that unless you paint, sketch, sing, play an instrument, know how to work a camera, dance, act etc, etc, etc, (you get the gist)…

Your answer would be: No.

But what if I told you, you are. Even if you don’t do any of the ‘typical’ creative things most of us think we have to do, to be classed as ‘creative’.

You ARE.

Do you remember when you were a little’un and the most amazing gift of all was a cardboard box?

Screw the Barbie dolls, and the latest Disney movie.

That cardboard box was the best.

It could be anything from a racing car to a rocket ship, a small family home to a suit of armour. With a few scribbled lines in permanent marker and a wild imagination – we could go anywhere AND be anything.

If you were given that same cardboard box today, do you reckon you would find as many exciting uses for it as you could back then?

When ‘77% of adults think they’ve lost their creativity’… my guess is you’d find it real hard.

The world we live in has shoved the idea inside our heads that creativity is a rare and precious gene, perhaps this is down to all of the recognition and acknowledgement we give to those producers of ground-breaking artistic work…

…but the truth is the creative geniuses we admire are people just like you and I, who have dived deep into something they love, and wake up everyday not allowing limiting beliefs to get in the way of putting their work out there.

They’re ready to ‘fail’ and ready to face any comments that are thrown their way.

As adults it’s not uncommon for a lot of us to keep our imaginations locked in a tightly controlled cage — in fear of not being good enough at something, and that others might think it’s totally ridiculous.

I mean come on, we even schedule mind mapping as if it’s only appropriate to let our mind be free to explore and dream at a given time and in a specific environment.

What’s the worst that could happen if we allowed ourselves to let go and be the creative beings we were born to be all the time?!

Exercise: Say your answer out loud and I dare you not to laugh, because I can 100% promise you, nothing ‘bad’ can happen at all!

It’s not your fault…

It’s sad but in some environments, the practice of creativity is discouraged.

Our immediate situations growing up can have a huge impact on how we foster our inspirational habits.

Negative settings or comments and judgements on unfinished or ‘imperfect’work can have a life altering effect on how we view ourselves as artists.

Those things stay with us, whether we realise it or not!

But here’s what I want you to know…

We are ALL explorers and curious from the very moment we enter this world. We have a primal instinct to seek, test and figure things out, and it’s this curiosity that DRIVES our capacity to be creative.

If we were all born with the potential to create beautiful things, we must let go of this limiting belief and return to our childlike wonder. Be willing torisk despite the fear of failure, and we must be open to change.

So get messy. Sing. Make art however the hell you want. Dance by just letting your body move. Solve problems. Fix things. Cook. Paint your face with make-up a different way. Write. Garden. Change your furniture around.

There’s creativity in EVERYTHING!

Go and unleash that side of you, you beautiful thing.

Because no one, I repeat no one, sees the world just.like.you.

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Ever felt like you weren’t creative because you couldn’t paint, or write a story? If so, I want you to TWEET ME and comment on this post — or I’ll be sad — thanks for staying with me, I love you all ❤

What I’m Working On Lately:The Paul Gough Physio Rooms Show

My ‘Jam’ At The Moment: Sara Hartman — Stranger In A Room

What I’m reading right now: innocent (that’s the fruity smoothie stuff)

Snapchat: atitch

(This post was featured on medium)