The Death Of Creativity – Nate Turner

 

Sometimes, it just isn’t there anymore. Sometimes you wake up in the morning, walk outside, shake the Creativity Tree, and there isn’t a fruit that falls. It seems like somewhere along the way, creativity died.

 

So, you stand there at it’s imagined headstone giving a melodramatic eulogy about the pain that comes from losing such a dear friend. You weep, wail, and moan at your need for its presence. You walk around in a funk wondering how you will continue your work with this desperate hole in your life.

 

But alas, creativity never died! Sick? Maybe. But, it is never really gone. So, how do you revive creativity from this tentative state? How do you nurse creativity back to health?

 

Here are three creative antibiotics to help cure your innovative ailments.

 

1. Leave Good Enough

Sometimes, creativity gets sick when we settle. It seems easier after a while to mail it in on your creativity, especially when the pile of your work-load seems to rise above your ability. Time shrinks, and so does your desire to produce your best. You look at what you have created, and you say, “Eh, it’s good enough.”. Then, you do it again the next day. And the next day. Until you wake up one morning with a “good enough” mentality.

 

If you want to revive innovation, you must refuse to settle. You must refuse to simply mail in the next project. You must look “good enough” in the eye and push for better. When you do, you will see the pulse rate of your creativity increase.

 

2. Refuel Passion

When passion wanes, so does creativity. When you aren’t mustering up the juices to get excited about your work, your innovative well runs dry. Day after day, the health of your creativity deteriorates. When you finally realize there’s a problem, you are just not sure it is worth fighting for. The real problem, however, lies in your passion.

 

So, if you want to keep creativity healthy, you must refuel your passion. Learn something new. Read a book. Go to a conference. When you actively engage at getting better, you are unconsciously reviving your creativity. When you grow to love what you do, innovation flourishes.

 

3. Find Collaboration

Sometimes, you feel like you’re out there on an island. All by yourself, wondering if anyone remembers you are still there. Before too long, you will be talking to a volleyball. Maybe your creativity is dying from loneliness. You forget that there’s a great big world of creative people out there doing what you are doing today. Alone on that island, creativity is wasting away.

 

 

You need collaboration. You need to be a part of a community of creatives. Whether it’s a lunch to toss around ideas with someone from a different industry, or if it’s an organized community of innovators, you need their presence in your life. Building healthy, collaborative relationships with other creatives gives life to your innovative spirit. You need it, and so do they.

 

 

Do you ever feel like creativity is dead? What helps you fight through those times?