Creativity is a Mindset

Thoughts on building a more creative life ✨

I spend a LOT of time thinking about creativity.

How can one cultivate it, where does inspiration come from, what makes one person seem more creative than another? I structure my life around creating in any capacity I can. An inspiration glutton, I’m constantly looking for new ways to infuse my life with more of it.

But what does creativity even mean, really?

According to renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp, creativity is a habit. Author and speaker Julia Cameron says it’s the ‘great creator’ speaking through you. Writer Elizabeth Gilbert says that it’s a visitor who comes and goes. But I agree most with music producer Rick Rubin, who calls creativity “a fundamental aspect of being human,” saying that “your entire life is a form of self-expression.”

I love the idea that your lifestyle is a creative outlet. If you ask me, creativity is a mindset, a way of living, something we can work on and cultivate by expressing ourselves in every aspect of our daily lives.

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau wrote my favorite quote of all time:

This is my goal: to amplify the quality of the day. To inject life with more spark, more imagination, more bliss. I want to help change how we think of ourselves and connect with our inner creativity. To find more daily inspiration in the world around us, no matter our interests or career paths.

I want to be clear - creativity and artistic ability are entirely different things.

A bit about my artistic background - I’ve always felt like an artist without a medium. Growing up the child of two Capital A ARTISTS (my mother a brilliant painter, my father a lauded playwright,) I spent so much of my earlier life searching for the one medium that would click everything together for me. I was an actor for years but realized it wasn’t what I wanted. I’ve sung in a honky tonk band, sold my photography in coffee shops, done stand-up comedy, written columns for websites, voiced a cartoon character, done event florals, worked in a costume shop, produced and hosted a web series. Trying anything and everything to see what stuck. I’ve taken classes on interior design (too much returning things), tailoring (too much precision), and ceramics (too much patience). I’ve tried writing screenplays and taking tap dance lessons. On whims, I’ve splurged at the art supply store on beautiful paints and pencils, only to be reminded time and time again that visual art isn’t for me.

After two decades of reflection and experimentation, I just keep coming back to that Thoreau quote. My life IS my medium: how I approach my day-to-day with a kaleidoscope lens. The way I exist in the world is my creative outlet. - The way I dress, decorate my home, the types of parties I throw. Sending care packages covered in stickers, expressing myself through elaborate nail art, and making playlists of my favorite disco divas. These seemingly average daily outlets are all just canvases that look different. A receipt from a coffee shop becomes scrapbook material. A thrifted soap dish becomes a treasure tray. A photo booth at the mall transforms into an opportunity for self-portraiture. This type of creative outlook is accessible to all of us.

Creativity exists in all of us whether we recognize it or not. It’s in the way people cook, the way they parent, the way they travel. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom who’s noticed that one of your favorite outlets is making ornate bento box lunches. Perhaps you’re a corporate executive who deeply appreciates the beauty of a perfectly tailored suit and has always been a little bit curious about how they get made. I recently chatted with an estate planning lawyer whose favorite hobby is singing and finds freedom at weekly karaoke. We ALL have that creative spark in us - we just need to cultivate it.

So, what makes me an authority to talk to you about creativity week after week? The answer, I guess, is nothing but my insatiable interest in and devotion to the creative process. While artistry may be about excellence, creativity isn’t about expertise; it’s about curiosity. It’s the antidote to perfectionism because being an innovative thinker means trying new things and thinking outside the box. It’s about trying, stumbling, trying again. I’m not an expert; I’m an explorer. I am dedicated to unwrapping the creative process, seeking inspiration in every corner of the world, and bringing it back here.

Join me in my ongoing quest to find creativity in the everyday. By subscribing to this newsletter, you will receive creative inspiration, thought starters, recommendations, and more directly to your inbox twice a week. I’m so happy you’re here. 💌