Let’s Talk About Creatives

In this digital age, creative people are the founders of our society. But, they face some problems.
I myself am a very naturally creative person and with my career in marketing beginning when I was just 14, the topic of creativity and the science behind it is a major interest of mine.
I want to start this blog with a quote from one of my favourite modern-day psychologists, Jordan Peterson:
“The worst thing for creative people to do is not be creative because they just wither and die. Imagine you are a tree, with lots of big branches – that is your personality. It’s like if you are extroverted, you cannot be cut off from people as you will just wither. Creative people are cursed with the necessity of putting their foot out into the unknown and making sense of it. They are also cursed with the necessity of making a living out of that.”

Identities

For creative people, it can be hard to have an identity.
This is mainly due to the fact that your brain and personality is wired to be interested in an abundance of different things.
Due to this, and your desire to pursue these creative interests (this desire is also natural), you may find yourself floating and bouncing between many pursuits, projects, paths and passions.
In the professional world, the opposite of a creative type is a conservative type. Their thinking is a lot more linear than that of a creative person.
You will find that the majority of people in careers and professions like finance, economics and teaching type roles in education will be a lot more conservative and less creative.
These people can contently stick to this one path and pursuit and be happy with the one label. Whereas, you will very seldom find creative people in the same position.
If you do, you may find them rather unhappy, and, like Peterson says – ‘withered’.

Embrace Your Creativity

There is no use in fighting your personality.
I believe that you are born wired a certain way through nature, and through nurture, you are moulded and shaped into a certain person.
It is counter-productive to fight this.
Be self-aware and take time to understand who you are.
Through doing this, you will understand what kind of life it is you need.
Then, you just need to do your best to get there.
I will end with this piece of text I once read:
I realised creativity wasn’t something I did to win awards,
nor to use as a Key Performance Indicator for a yearly performance review,
or as an indulgence,
nor something I do on the side,
or to earn money,
or for the cultural gatekeepers to accept or reject,
or for recognition,
or for YouTube,
or to be shared,
or for Likes,
or for an exhibition,
or as a vocation,
or to dabble with,
or for fun,
or for a laugh,
or to make others happy,
or for strangers to ponder at a convention,
or something to discuss over beers at a pub,
or to tell some girl in a bar,
it’s to keep me from going insane.