Your Creative side, what is it?   Are you a writer, a sculptor, or a musician?  All of these are typically what comes to mind when we think about the word Create.  Listen to this conversation in the tent and gain a new perspective or wake up an old idea about Creativity!!  Now is your time.

We were created to be creative souls. You hear a lot of people say, I am not creative. However, this could not be further from the truth. Creativity is the process of making something unique to you. Something that people don’t understand is that in order to be creative, you have to have a base set of skills. Artists have to learn the hand motions, brush strokes, color combinations and theory. Once they know all of these things, Then they can be creative by use these base set of skills in their own unique way. 

Creativity is intelligence having fun

Albert Einstein

For example, Swing dance came out in the late 20s when all of these musicians from different backgrounds were coming together. You had street musicians playing with classically trained musicians and together they were learning and creating new sounds and styles of music. On top of that, the  dancers were making up moves to the new music using creative variations on steps from other dances. They are all trying to outdo the other dancers with new moves, but they were all already dancers. These new moves and music are the epitome of the creative process. 

Life is a creative endeavor

Dr. Guess once had a student who was an athlete and thought that they were not creative. She then told them the next time they go to practice, try coming up with new moves and different ways to get past a defender. As the student began to experiment, she realized that because she already had a good foundation of skills, she was able to create all sorts of new moves within the rules of the game to help her get a competitive edge. She responded, “This is the first time I have ever felt creative.” You can be creative on the court just as easily as you can be creative in any other capacity. 

Activity for creativity

Creativity is a planned process that can be systemized and recreated. So for this activity, we want you to participate in the creative process. 

1. Look at the way you function and your daily patterns. The first step is to analyze where you are at and what areas of your life could use some creativity. Stick to things that you do often and have a pretty good handle on. Maybe folding the laundry, or cooking a meal. 
2. Then, think about what you can change in that daily pattern. Maybe you learn a new way to fold your towels. Maybe you experiment with cooking without a recipe. Or if you already don’t use recipes, try using a recipe for a food you don’t normally cook. Anything you can think of to change up your day. 
3. Then, decide whether or not you liked it and it improved your day and then continue to implement it. Also, make sure to write about each step as a way to track your progress. 

That is it. You have just participated in the creative process by changing and improving something in your own way. Continue to do this with all aspects of your life and you will find all sorts of creative ways to be creative.