what is actual creativity & why is it overpowered by perfection culture

the museum of art at byu

i never thought much about what creativity really was until i started watching videos and music made by jacob collier earlier this year. as i watched his music and came to know his overall creative energy, i began to be filled with curiosity. my mind began to challenge how i had always thought of creativity: as performance. what is art if it isn’t good? what is music if it isn’t perfectly played? what is writing if it sounds clunky? this is obviously the extreme, but it is deeply ingrained into our society. as i began to think about all of this, i started to realize: what is creativity, truly, if it doesn’t fill me with excitement?

let's start in high school: i played volleyball, tried track, and did band and choir. but after two years, i dropped almost everything. i got burnt out, but more than that i was unhappy in all of it. but why? i think it was the lack of creativity.

sports, by nature, are competitive. there is not time for play, only for working harder than you did the day before. there's no end to this spiral, because you can always do better. music in high school seems to revolve around concerts: we practice the music every single day, we perform, then we start with new music. the cycle continues. we get ranked on how well we perform. it seems to be a game of perfection: how flawless can the performance be.

and then there's art. bless my art teacher, i think this is one place where i didn't feel perfection culture. he did such a good job of encouraging us to be better without judgment. it wasn't a competition, it was an opportunity. but still, was i good enough to really be an artist? when sports are the main focus in this society, it can seem like art is only worthy of attention if it's, well, practically perfect.

even academics have become a competition. fighting for the highest gpa, the best test scores, the perfect essay. where did the fun in learning go? yes, we need motivation to study, but wouldn't a better motivator be a real love for learning? something like curiosity?

i never really knew much about the montessori method until i shadowed at a montessori school. the montessori method of education prioritizes the natural interests & activities in children rather than formal teaching methods, emphasizing hands-on learning & real-world skills. what intrigues me the most about the montessori method is how it views children as naturally eager for knowledge: capable of iniatiating their own learning in a supportive & prepared learning environment, discouraging conventional achievement measures such as grades and tests. there's still lots i don't know about the montessori method, but i am sold on the idea of giving kids more autonomy and freedom to choose what they want to learn. they are masters at play, which comes from curiosity (i also think nature schools are awesome for this reason). i hope that we will continue to flip the emphasis: instead of performance > play in schools, i hope it can be the other way around.

if kids can do it, how do we shift our perspective on creativity as teenagers and adults?

first, i feel we need to change our focus, reprioritizing exploration > expectations.

“creativity is when you’re not afraid to make a mistake."

-- jacob collier, in an interview with hank green

how do we replace fear with curiosity?

• there's this video i saw called we are all artists. it's a short film about the struggle to overcome fear of creation. the description reads, "it's easy to forget about the innate ability that we all share: creativity." i think one thing julian is trying to encourage us to do from this film is to begin. it doesn't matter what we create or how good it is, it only matters that we create. once we begin to make something new, then creativity will flow within us. we can't think too hard about it, we need to do it and trust that we have the ability within ourselves. we were made by God, the master Creator, and He has given us the opportunity to create.

• get off your phone and start observing the world around you. yes, there are many places to find inspiration and learn new things online, but nothing works better to spark your creativity than the physical world around you. an artist is always observing... nature, people, places, energy, movement, sensations of life. no wonder kids are so creative, they have the mental time and space to observe, dream and imagine. their mind is not filled with notifications, news, social media and other clutter. if you're stuck in a consuming cycle, then take a break and see what new vitality feels your creative mind. making space & silence will open up time to daydream.

• make something bad on purpose. just for fun. see what fun it is to "fail" !!!!

• find things you created as a kid. take some inspiration from your younger self. as picasso said, "every child is an artist. the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

• explore something new... an art style, a genre, a language, a place, a mood, a friend, etc. trying new things is the joy of life & it can invigorate your creative juices, giving you fresh experiences to mold together with present or past ones as well. "change begets creativity. even small shifts, like switching up your meals and daily travel routes can change how you think. novelty prompts the mind to find new solutions." (aytekin tank)

in the past, i haven't researched much for posts i've written. however, i did dig into this topic and there are a few ideas i found that i feel are worth sharing. i hope you enjoy :)

it’s been said that at the age of 5, children ask 120 questions a day, at age 6 they ask only 60 questions a day, and at the age of 40, adults ask 4 questions a day. we adults need to embrace “beginner’s mind,” and ask questions, instead of trying to find immediate answers. pay attention to questions other people ask, especially those from artists, scientists, and thought leaders. collect questions you find compelling. (linda naiman)

according to a study done by clayton m. christensen, there are five key behaviors that optimize the brain for discovery (creativity at work):

1. associating: connecting questions, ideas, and problems from unrelated areas

2. questioning: challenging common thought & accepted ideaologies

3. observing: examining behavior to find new ways of doing something

4. networking: sharing ideas with people to find different perspectives & ideas: "people have a tendency to want to only work with their friends," says brian uzzi. "it feels so much more comfortable, but that's exactly the wrong thing to do. if you really want to make something great, then you're going to need to seek out some new people, too." (wired)

5. experimenting: interacting with what you have collected to see what more you can discover.

“creativeness is the ability to see relationships where none exist.”

— thomas disch, author (1974)

creativity can be learned & developed because it is a natural skill in everyone. it might come in different ways: social, academic, artistic, musical, storytelling, logistical, functional, emotional, etc. according to tina seelig from standford, “everyone can increase their creativity, just as everyone can increase their musical or athletic ability, with appropriate training and focused practice. we can all learn tools and techniques that enhance creativity and build environments that foster innovation.”

"with enhanced creativity, instead of problems we see potential, instead of obstacles we see opportunities and, instead of challenges, we see a chance to create solutions,” seelig explains (business news weekly). “we are creating frames for what we see, hear and experience all day long and those frames both inform and limit the way we think,” she continues. “in most cases, we don’t even think about the frames — we just assume we are looking at the world with the proper set of lenses. however, being able to question and shift your frame of reference is an important key to creative problem-solving.”

one way to encourage creativity and challenge your pre-existing "frames" is to set some unusual limits for yourself. this idea is has been called embracing constraints (tank, 2019). you can be inspired by theodor geisel (dr. seuss), whose editor bet him he could not write a children’s book using only 50 different words. because of this challenge, dr. seuss wrote one of his most popular books--green eggs and ham (1960). once you've set some constraints, let them go and dream as big as you possibly can. see what happens.

similar to how exercise works out your body and maintains your physical health, creativity, and the processes involved with curiosity and learning, can help to maintain your mental well-being. engaging in creative activities has been shown to combat depression, increase positive feelings, and to reduce stress and anxiety. doing something creative has a similar effect on our brains as meditation. (multiple sclerosis center)

i never really connected that creativity is a vital part of our wellbeing! it helps us leave a victim mindset (everything bad is happening to me) and begin to cultivate an empowered view of the world (life is happening for me). in the article about creativity can help with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, i love how they put it this way: "we can think about creativity as both something we do and also an attitude or approach to life." they explain that focusing on the possibilities in life can help us be resilient despite ongoing challenges. creativity is power.

if you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like old faithful. i have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because i feed myself well, to the point of bursting.

— ray bradbury, "the joy of writing" (2001)

how do we keep track of inspiration we gather from creatives, the world, and the people around us? i would recommend making a collection where you can quickly dump anything profound that you come across on the daily basis. i have a note on my phone, "thinky thoughts" where i drop quotes or ideas. i also have a whiteboard on canva where i paste art i like. pinterest is also my go-to for saving stuff both in and out of the app. i have boards for deep ideas, art, recipes, outfits, even a board for this summer series: curiosity. whatever works for you, amazing. just do something :)

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so what are my goals around creativity going forward? how do i want to cultivate curiosity in a world that fights failure and a questioning of the norm? stay tuned for another post maybe :)

xoxo, kate