We Can Create a Better World

“Creative work is not the selfish act or bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being on it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”
— Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

In addition to becoming more of who we are, through creativity we also have the power to transform the world around us. This is not just feel-good blather, but profound truth. Think about every single thing in your life. Each one of those was first an idea, for which someone then put forth the effort to make it tangible, and then further made the effort to share it with the world.

Seriously, think about it – I mean everything: from the chair you may be sitting on, your electronic devices, and the clothes you’re wearing, to the sport you play or are a fan of, the books you read – the list is practically endless. All of those items are products of someone’s imagination and effort. If that isn’t powerful, I don’t know what is.

Moving past the fears that hold us back to exercise and express our unique creativity creates a strong base of “creative confidence.” David and Tom Kelley of the international design consulting firm Ideo, who originated the term, define creative confidence as our innate ability to come up with new ideas and solutions that no one has had before and the courage to try them out. The more our small but regular creative successes build self-confidence and self-trust, the more we come into our creative own. Developing creative confidence starts a cascade effect of good. David Kelley says,

“…when people regain this creative confidence…they start working on the things that are really important in their lives. They go in new directions. They come up with more interesting, more prolific ideas, so they can choose from better options. And they make better decisions.”

Let’s use our growing creative confidence to start effecting positive change on a grand scale by applying ourselves to envision a better future that we can start bringing into being now.

Creative Dose: Where Experience, Skill, and Need Meet

Purpose: To determine how you can use your creative skills for the greater good

What are you going to do with your newfound burgeoning creative power? Now that you’re nurturing your Creative Self, who else can you help?

This is a great time to start envisioning where you can put your creative skills to use that will feed your soul and help others as well.

Take several minutes moments to close your eyes and meditate on these questions:

• What’s something you’ve always wanted to work on?
• What’s a problem that you want to solve?

Get any ideas? Write down whatever came to you.

If nothing comes to mind, then try this visualization:
Imagine yourself in your mind’s eye. Then start expanding your view outward as though you were a camera that’s pulling away.

What issues really concern you?

Can you see anything that moves you to get involved in your neighborhood?

How about in your town or city, state, or region?

Is there a particular group that you would like to help?

Whose pain do you feel that you would like to help because you’ve been there too?

Keep in mind that you’re not trying to solve everything. You are, however, looking to see where there is a logical fit. Where does what you are naturally good at and how you creatively problem-solve fit with an issue that you could apply it to and feed your creative soul while helping others?

When you open your eyes, write down whatever insights and ideas came to you:
People often experience the most profound, self-actualizing, and life-enhancing experiences when they use their skills and talent to help others. Sometimes focusing outside of yourself, also causes you to see
yourself, your talents, and their power more clearly.

This post is an excerpt from book Banish Your Inner Critic, under the chapter heading “Use Your Creativity for Good”. Reprinted with permission.