As a kid, I could hardly go an hour without picking up a pencil and finding some scrap paper to write on. I'd be content to sit for hours, just writing short stories, usually cranking out crime scene investigations mirroring the TV shows my parents watched or fantasy tales inspired by my favorite video games. 
My birthday gift requests and Christmas looked like a list of inventory recommendations for a particularly compelling aisle end cap at Office Depot.
Entering my teenage years, I took my writing seriously, drafting 200-page novels during my after-school hours. It became a hobby I kept up into my college years and then into the dawn of my professional career.
At times, I wondered if my dabbling was in some way a disadvantage. After all, if I wasn't fully committed to publishing my fiction, what was the point in spending so much time pounding away on my keyboard? Being in entrepreneurial spaces online, the pervasive message I read was that my hobbies should be making me richer or building my network (so that I could, eventually, get richer). My writing didn't do any of that. It just made me happy.
Or so I thought.
Understanding Innate Creativity
Some people describe themselves as creative. It's a core part of their identity. Others disavow creativity, often dismissing it with comments like "I couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler" or "Oh no, I'm totally left-brained."
(Editor's note: I have a crackpot theory that, in the United States at least, the "left brain vs. right brain" concept has done irreparable damage to the public good, poisoning us so deeply that even kids in elementary school start to see art and math, music and science as irreconcilable opposites around which their tribes and identities start to form.)
Whether or not someone identifies as creative, the truth is that we all possess a degree of innate creativity. It's one of those often pesky byproducts of being a sentient, (usually) rational being.
Going back to dictionary definitions, Merriam-Webster defines creativity quite helpfully as, "the ability to create."
Defining a word with its own root word. Golden.
But let's dig into that root word. Using the same dictionary, we can see a few different definitions for create:
- to bring into existence
- to produce or bring about by a course of action or behavior
- to make or bring into existence something new
Regardless of how creative you think you are, the ability to create is something we all possess. We only get so caught up on the word creativity though because we've become accustomed to thinking about it in terms of artistic endeavors. In reality, it's so much more pervasive.
Solved a complex problem at work with an unexpected solution? That's creative.
Tinkered with your workout routine so you could make it stick? Yeah. Creative.
Running low on sauces or spices and deciding to whip up something from the remnants of your fridge? Also heckin' creative.
The Link Between Creativity and Innovation
Creativity and innovation share an intrinsic bond, where one fuels the other in a perpetual cycle of progress. Creativity is the wellspring from which innovative ideas flow. It involves thinking outside the box, connecting seemingly unrelated concepts, and daring to question the status quo. Innovation, on the other hand, is the practical application of creative ideas, turning them into solutions, products, or processes that offer new value. In essence, creativity is the birthplace of innovation, and innovation, in turn, amplifies the impact of creativity by bringing novel concepts to life.
Being a Product Manager by day, I like to think about creativity and innovation forming a cycle not unlike agile software development. To vastly over-simplify industry concepts, the crux of agile software development is that you deliver a minimum viable product (MVP) to address challenges in your customers' lives, and then as you get feedback and data about how it's used, you map out the next steps of the product. Creativity and innovation function the same way. You begin by creating the smallest version of something new, and then as you get more hands-on experience or see it in a different way, you build onto it, expanding it outwards.
This type of creativity-innovation loop is what leads to industry-disrupting products, career jumps into a new field or line of work, and personal satisfaction with hobbies and how we use our limited spare time.
Investing in one's creativity can be a catalyst for both personal and professional growth. Creativity fosters adaptability, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills that are invaluable in any career. For entrepreneurs, creativity can spark groundbreaking business ideas. In daily life, it enhances communication, enriches relationships, and promotes a more fulfilling existence. By nurturing creativity through exploration, practice, and adopting a creative mindset, individuals can unlock their innovation potential, leading to career advancement, personal fulfillment, and a lasting impact on the world.
Nurturing Your Creative Wellspring
Creativity is often likened to a wellspring that resides within each of us, a source of untapped potential waiting to be discovered and harnessed. Just as a wellspring continuously replenishes a water source, our innate creativity is a constant, flowing stream of ideas, imagination, and inspiration. It's a resource that doesn't diminish with use; rather, it grows and evolves as we engage with it. Understanding this concept is crucial because it demystifies creativity, dispelling the notion that it's a rare, finite trait reserved for a select few.
That's not to say, however, that the feeling of being creative is always easy to access. Even if the potential to be creative is there, it's easy to feel like your well has run dry, especially at the end of a stressful work day or amidst the general chaos of daily life.
We must try to maintain that wellspring and keep things flowing.
With creativity fueling innovation, personal expression, problem-solving, and so much else in life, an effort to nurture our creative wellspring is all but non-negotiable.
Finding Fuel for your creative spark
It's easy to confuse feeling inspired to create with having fuel for your creativity. Even if you don't have the overwhelming need to pick up the creative implement of your choice and go to town, it's still important to learn ways to fuel your creativity in your day-to-day life.
Read a book
A bookstore recommending reading? Groundbreaking.
But, it truly is a good recommendation. Reading has so many benefits that it's virtually impossible to sum them all up under a single heading in a blog post.
First and foremost, when you read, you are presented with new information. Taking in new information is like chopping wood and stacking it up near the fireplace. When you need it or want to use it, it's there on hand and ready to go; the content you read becomes concepts and ideas that are ready to flash into life as soon as they're needed.
Even if what you're reading isn't directly related to your interests, career, or realm of familiarity in a way that its information isn't going to be directly applicable to you, you're still taking in new information, which inherently expands your worldview and gives you new context through which to interpret the world around you.
Additionally, focused reading is a rebellious act in a world that is constantly vying for your attention. Reading, much like meditation, helps you get invaluable practice at keeping yourself focused on a single task and tuning out distractions.
Pro-Tip: For 10x Creativity Returns, Reflect On What You Read
On its own, reading is a brilliant way to invigorate your sense of creativity, but it's easy to put a book down and never think about it again or to let yourself get distracted before the book's content has fully gotten settled in your mind.
The remedy here is to reflect on what you've read. Journaling is a good approach, but discussing the book with someone else is often even more impactful.
We're not suggesting that you pretend you're back in school and that you need to write a book report. Instead, take a little time to make a note of:
- What takeaways feel immediately applicable to you?
- What did you find confusing?
- What did you find interesting but not applicable?
- What do you have additional questions about?
- What books or articles did the author mention that you want to add to your to-be-read pile?
Ask Yourself: Why, What if, and What Else is true?
Another great way to nurture your creative wellspring is to get comfortable with asking questions. Make it a habit, even in the workplace.
Three of the most powerful questions you can employ in almost any situation are:
- Why?
- What if?
- What else may be true?
Asking yourself why can help you reframe something you've never given much thought to and take your perspective a layer deeper. It's particularly helpful when it comes to our routines. Why am I reaching for my phone as soon as my alarm goes off? Why do I feel so stressed about this meeting? Why do I always pack celery in my lunch if I know I never want to eat it?
What if is similarly helpful in giving us a shift in our perspective. I describe it as the question that helps us see situations like gemstones that refract light in different patterns as we turn them in our hands. What if I try it another way? What if I rearranged my schedule to get more free time for that? What if I tried reading for thirty minutes each night for fourteen days?
Then we have my favorite question of the three: what else may be true? We spend so much of our time on autopilot because of assumptions we make about ourselves and others. Asking yourself, "What else may be true?" is an exercise in questioning those assumptions and limiting beliefs. I can't start this side project right now because it'll just be a waste of time... but what else may be true? May it actually be that this project will be really rewarding? That I'll feel excited when I work on it? That it may make me some extra cash?
Change Your Routine
Routine is a double-edged sword.
If your routine nurtures your creativity, then it is an indispensable asset. The most successful writers and artists I know are the ones who sit down on a daily basis and create something whether or not they feel inspired. It's part of their routine that at a certain time and in a certain space, they have their sacred moment of creativity that is non-negotiable.
In my experience, though, those people are few and far between.
For many of us– myself included– we've formed a routine in which creativity is an after-thought, a nice-to-have item that's tacked onto our day when we have some unexpected spare free time. The rest of our routine is rooted squarely in work, family, and social obligations, with all the cracks in our schedule filled with mindless scrolling, going to the gym, or thinking about being creative without actually putting in the work.
When your routine is a detriment to your creativity rather than an asset, seeking out opportunities to change your routine is necessary.
How do you feel if you take a weekend trip away, perhaps to somewhere a bit more secluded and quiet? What if you wake up thirty minutes earlier than usual two days per week and give yourself a half hour to be creative while you have your coffee? What if you pick one night per week to take yourself on a creativity date where you go and sit at your favorite cafe or bookstore with a nice notebook and your favorite pen?
Integrating activities that inspire you into your routine can help you take something that may otherwise be stifling you and repurpose it as an asset. As a word of caution, though, it's important that your efforts to shake up your routine include an element of action. Taking in the things that inspire you and motivate you to create is great, but if you never take the next step to be creative, then you run the risk of setting yourself up for a vicious cycle of doubting your own ability and waiting until the time is right. Spoiler: the time is never right. Create anyway.
Creativity as a Discipline
As much as I wish the trope of the creative free spirit who churns out remarkable wonders in flashes of inspiration were true, it seldom is. The harsh reality is that creativity is hard work. It can be frustrating when a plot point just doesn't work or a new project goes off the rails and has to be scrapped entirely. There are days when you long to create something meaningful, but when you sit down to work, your brain turns to mush.
Engaging with your creativity takes discipline. It requires you to get uncomfortable from time to time and put in the effort to make progress even when you don't feel like it. It requires you to acknowledge that you've created crap from time to time. It requires you to acknowledge your own shortcomings in your craft and the areas where you have the most room to grow.
Creativity is like a muscle. The less you use it, the weaker it becomes. The more you stimulate it and exert it, the stronger it becomes.
What's so great about bold and empowered creativity is that it's also a transferrable skillset. When you learn how to apply yourself in a creative way– be it through problem-solving, overcoming weaknesses, learning new skills, or just putting your head down and churning something out because it's the time you've set aside to do so– those become new mental models that you can apply elsewhere in your life.
As important and impactful as the transferability of creativity can be in your professional life, it's also worth calling out that the intrinsic value of cultivating your creativity is priceless. For those of us who grew up longing to be the writers, artists, and creators of the future, allowing ourselves the time and space to be creative and to challenge ourselves to hone our craft is typically enough of a reward in its own right. It's soul-rejuvenating; an acknowledgement of our deepest and truest selves.