Episode 081: What’s REALLY Blocking Your Creativity

Hello creative soles! Happy February, if you’re listening to this in real time. How are you? How are your creative projects? And what socks are you wearing today? I’m wearing one of my favorite pairs of socks, because they are super comfy - they’re one of those hiking socks with the ribbed arches and the padded soles, which I love, and  they have these cool evergreen trees on them, which feels very appropriate for winter, especially given that we just got quite a lot of snow. It’s really a winter wonderland over here. 

Before we dive into the bulk of today’s episode, I want to share something very exciting that I’ve been working on. I’ve been thinking about ways that I could support you in tapping into your creativity more and I created this totally free resource that I’m very excited about, that I’m calling the Secret Garden of Creativity. And inside this secret garden is a growing collection of resources designed to help you explore your creativity and tap into your well of creative inspiration. I just released the first resource in the garden, a workshop all about how to set up a creative workspace in your home to maximize creativity. It’s a video workshop with PDF homework that you can download, and I am really excited for you to check it out! I shared a lot of the things in there that have helped me make room for creativity in my physical space, and so I hope they help you too. 

If you want to come join me in the secret garden of creativity, you can go to my website, which is thephilosophersstem.com, or you can find the link in the show notes. I would also love to hear from you what kinds of resources you’d most like to see there. I definitely have some ideas of things that I think would be fun to create, I want to do some flower arranging classes and some  writing prompts for example…but I also really want to know what would be most helpful and interesting to you. So DM me @thephilosophersstem on Instagram or email me at hello@thephilosophersstem.com and let me know!

Ok, now on to today’s main topic: why you feel like you’re not artistic, and why I think you’re wrong about that. So I posted something about this on Instagram recently, and I realized as I was writing that caption that I really have a lot to say about it, which is what inspired this podcast episode. There is this idea out there that some people are talented when it comes to certain artistic or creative pursuits, and that some people are just not. That some people are naturally talented musicians, and some people are just not musical. That some people are naturally good at drawing, and some people are bad at drawing. That some people are naturally creative, and some people are just not creative people. 

And I don’t think this is entirely false - there are definitely people who are more inclined towards certain activities and skills in life. I certainly always have gravitated towards music and art and writing, and away from things like sports, for example, which I was never really very good at. While other people are the opposite - there are people who were always running around and throwing balls or whatever you do in sports, and sitting down to draw did not maybe hold their interest so much and maybe it didn’t come as naturally to them. And I think that this actually makes the world a WAY more interesting place. Like if we were all baseball players or if we were all violinists or if we were all engineers, that would be pretty boring. So I think it’s good that people definitely have inclinations towards certain things and it’s definitely true that we do. 

But what I’ve noticed in a lot of people that I’ve talked to and worked with is that what is often stopping people from creating the things they want to make is not that they are not good at something - it’s really a lack of confidence and consistency. I firmly believe - I’ve said this before but I’m gonna say it again - that everyone has the potential to create beautiful, meaningful art in whatever form they choose to, if they really want to. This does, however, require some dedication. 

So I want to tell you a little story. I used to teach music lessons. And I worked with a lot of students. And I had plenty of students who thought they weren’t very good at music. They often felt pretty embarrassed about that, and they often felt like they wouldn’t be able to play the kinds of things they dreamed of playing. 

But of all of those students, I don’t think I ever encountered anyone who really didn’t have the potential to be a musician. I worked with little kids who wanted to play some really cool song and they just felt like it was too hard and they would never be able to play it, and I worked with retirees who felt like it was too late for them to become a musician at their age. And I worked with plenty of people in the middle as well. 

In my experience, it was never a lack of creativity or talent that stopped anybody. It was really only the fear of making mistakes or of playing badly, or the lack of consistency in their practice. The way that I worked with my students on things that seemed big and hard, and the way I’ve always approached music, is to take things one step at a time, and to do a little bit every day. And what I found, and what my students found, is that when you really commit to this, what once seemed impossible actually becomes doable. A long, hard piece that maybe seemed really intimidating, after you’ve worked on it consistently for a few weeks or months or whatever is required based on the kind of piece that you are working on, becomes something that you can play. 

And that was really one of the most exciting things about teaching. I loved witnessing my students learn that they could do hard things, and learn that they were capable of taking on a challenge. And this is one of the greatest lessons that I believe I took from my years of studying music, that has served me so well in other areas of my life. 

I believe this is how art works: I think you show up consistently, you do a little bit at a time, and then before long you've proven to yourself that you can do it. You've realized that you do actually have the potential to be good at this thing that’s meaningful to you, and all you really needed to do was make time and space for it. 

What I also learned from the experience of being a student and being a teacher is that it can be incredibly helpful to have a guide who is supporting you, offering feedback, and encouraging you to keep going even when it feels hard. On our own, we can often be either too hard on ourselves when we feel like we’re not measuring up, or too lax in how we approach our practice…or sometimes both at the same time, so having someone to support you and hold you accountable can make a huge difference. 

So if you’d like a guide on your creative journey, I’d love to be that for you. The link to learn more about working with me one-on-one is in the show notes, or you can head to my website at thephilosophersstem.com/creativity-coaching. 

So I want to leave you with a few questions to reflect on, before we wrap up. As always, feel free to journal on these, voice journal, talk to your cat about them, ponder them as you go on long, aimless walks - whatever works for you. But whatever you decide to do, however you decide to do your reflection, here are your questions: 

• Is there something you’ve been telling yourself you’re just not good at, that you would like to be good at? So note here - I don’t think we all need to be good at everything. Maybe if we really put in the time and effort we could develop the skills to be a pilot or a surgeon or an oil painter or whatever but we don’t need to learn all of the skills. Is there something, though, that you want to be good at or you want to pursue that you’ve been telling yourself or that you’ve been told that you’re not good at? 

• Have you actually tried being consistent in practicing and developing this skill? And then how long were you consistent for, if you answered yes to that question? Were you consistent for a week? 2 weeks? A year? It takes time to develop skills, and it’s not going to happen overnight. Did you give it enough time? 

• What would change for you if you decided right now to, as corny as this sounds, to believe in yourself? How would you show up for your creativity if you truly believed you had the potential to create whatever it is that you decided to create? 

So whether you join me in private coaching, or in the secret garden, or just on this podcast, I am so grateful as always to be a part of your exploration of your creativity. I look forward to connecting with you again soon, and in the meantime, remember to never wear boring socks.