How To Fall In Love With Your Creativity Again

If your creativity was your partner in marriage, what kind of marriage would it be?

Would it be a relationship of mutual respect and trust, where you gave your creativity the acknowledgement, time and attention it deserved as such a significant part of your life? Would you spend focused time together regularly to strengthen and build your relationship? Would you explore new things together to keep the relationship fresh and interesting?

Or, is your relationship with your creativity more like one where there’s neglect, even denial that it exists? Do you resent the demands it makes on your time, and when you ever do spend time together it’s doing the same safe old things you’ve done a hundred times before?

Which of these two kind of relationships is most similar to how you are with your creativity? Honestly?

If it’s more like the last one, then it follows that you’re not going to enjoy being creative. At odds with this is the underlying nagging voice that says creating IS a vital part of who you are, and it's something you always used to love doing so why can’t you reproduce those good feelings and experiences now?

The way back to enjoying your creative projects again and to rejuvenating the good feelings is to fall in love with your creativity again. Here are 3 steps to help you feel the love once more:

1. Remember the good times. Think back to a time when you loved creating, however long ago that may have been. One of those times when you were so immersed in creating that you lost track of time and the world around you. One of those times when you were proud of what you’d created. Take yourself back there in as much detail as possible; focus on each of your senses and how they felt at that time, as if you were replaying the experience as a movie in your mind.
2. What does creativity give you? There’s a reason you’re creative, and experiences like those you’ve just recalled give you something that nothing else can. Write a list or draw a mind map about all the things creating gives you. You might write “a senses of purpose”, “a way of expressing my passion”, “a chance to communicate my ideas to the world”, “an escape from daily worries” and a hundred others. Write as many as you can think of.
3. Start small and build. By remembering your positive creative experiences, then reconnecting with why you create, you give yourself fresh motivation to get started again. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a major complex project. Start with something small and fun, just to further reconnect with your creativity, and build those positive associations. Then choose another small project, again something you’ll enjoy and are passionate about. Build your relationship with your creativity back up one project, and one step, at a time.

Repeat these steps regularly to keep in touch with why creating is a vital part of your life. The more often you do, the better your relationship will be, and you’ll enjoy a wonderful and meaningful partnership for life!