Creative Manifesto

Creativity must be nurtured. There are many different factors that can help encourage creative thinking. However, I think that these factors are different for every person. Here are ten points that I think are essential to creativity:

1. You're only as good as the people around you.

-Surrounding yourself with creative minds can always help to encourage your own creative thinking. Being able to bounce ideas off someone else, and it can be helpful in motivating you to be more creative.

2. Never deny yourself the opportunity of new experiences.

-Life is all about the living and when you open yourself up to new experiences you open up your mind to all new possibilities.

3. Do creative things...and do them as often as possible.

-Think of creativity like a muscle. If you don't work it out then you can't make it stronger. Try and be creative everyday. Write, draw, doodle, play an instrument, take pictures, whatever. As long as you keep on trying to be creative, you'll continue to open up and expand your mind.

4. Don't be afraid of criticism

-no matter what happens, if you try to create, people will always be there to criticize. there's nothing you can do about it. and most of the time, the feedback you'll receive will allow you to look at yourself and your work in a new light.

5. Your environment can help or it can hinder.

-make sure your putting yourself in the best possible environment for nurturing your creative mind.

6. Everything is good in moderation. But too much of anything is usually a bad thing.

-I feel like a lot of people lose themselves in their vices. A lot of very famous artists have dabbled in vices for inspiration. While I'm sure it helped them to some degree, those same vices have hindered a lot more people than they have helped.

7. Don't just get your feet wet. Dive in.

-Nobody learns anything just watching from the sidelines or minding their business on the outskirts of what they want to be involved in. The best way for you to learn something and be able to flex your creative muscle in that particular area or field is to immerse yourself in whatever it might be. Pussyfooting around never got anybody anywhere.

8. Saying and doing are two separate things.

-I think I should start writing. I should take more picures. I'm going to try and start playing guitar more. This doesn't sound like someone whose actually doing anything now does it?

9. Life is short and time goes by fast.

-If your unhappy with how creative you're being or just unhappy with any aspect of your life, there's no better time to start the change than right now.

10. Don't think "what could have been". think "what will be".

-don't look back and regret anything. everything you've done up until this point has factored in to the person that you are now. accept yourself for who you are and look for how to better yourself in every possible way.

These are all rules that I can't even say I live by all the time. Everyone falls into ruts or gets blown off the trail. You have to regroup sometimes and remember who are and where you've come from and realize where you want to go. Being a creative person is an ongoing conversation with yourself. Don't ever stop talking if you want to be as creative as you possibly can. These blogs allowed me to reflect a lot on my own personal creative process and helped me to see changes that I need to make in my life so that I can further my creative abilities.