Being in a creative rut as a professional artist is not only irritating, it can also start to hinder your career. As creatives, we make a living by producing work, and if you can’t bring yourself to create any new work … well, that can become a problem.
It could be happening for a number of reasons. Maybe you received some harsh feedback that has crippled your self-confidence. Or perhaps you have too many good ideas, and can’t concentrate and follow through on one.
Whatever it is, you need to be able to access your creativity frequently in this field. We found five TED talks that have inspired us when we needed a little extra boost to get back in the game.
Topics range from practical advice on creative exercises to personal stories of failure and triumph. There are quite a lot to get through here, but it's not a bad idea to bookmark them just in case of creative crisis down the road.
Here they are. Take a listen. Bookmark them. Get Inspired. Then, get back to creating.
Phil Hansen: Embrace the shake
In this talk, artist Phil Hansen tells the unfortunate tale of when he developed a hand tremor that could have kept him from pursuing his dreams with a surprising amount of humor. After years of feeling limited by his condition, he began embracing it. He started making work entirely made out of squiggles.
Hansen suggests that creativity doesn’t happen “outside of the box”, where the sheer volume of options can be paralyzing—it happens when you are given limitation.
He muses, “what if I could only paint with karate chops?” He then creates a stunning portrait made entirely of black lines from smacking the canvas with the sides of his hands.
Tim Brown: Tales of creativity and play
Tim Brown, CEO and president of design firm IDEO, encourages professionals to play and gives some examples of exercises used to encourage creativity. As adults, we have a long history of criticism and rejection that keeps us from feeling open to innovation. Playfulness, he says, “helps us get to better creative solutions.”
Try using some of the exercises he outlines in this talk the next time you are feeling stuck in your practice. By going through these fun activities you will work through different ways to stop self-editing, quiet your inner critic, learn to experiment freely, and find a creative flow. (Also check out IDEO’s method cards for further inspiration.)
Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers
This insightful talk from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Professor, Adam Grant goes into what it takes to be an original thinker. It’s not natural born talent that ranks the highest on Grants list, either. Original thinkers have patterns of both procrastination and failure. Giving themselves room to think, and rethink, and not being too early to the table, gives original thinkers the space to think creatively.
Grant also encourages people to fail more because “you need a lot of bad ideas to have a few good ones.”
Take a listen and see if you don’t identify with some of these habits.
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Who hasn’t felt let down when they fall short of their own expectations for creating something meaningful? Elizabeth Gilbert offers a comforting change in perspective in this TED talk. Her honesty about her fear of failing in her follow up book to “Eat, Pray, Love,” and refusal to accept that creativity and suffering should be linked, make for a compelling shift in how we approach the concept of the creative genius.
Borrowing from the Romans, Gilbert suggests that we should go back to the philosophy that creativity doesn't come FROM humans, but TO them. Wouldn’t that take some of the pressure off?
Scott Dinsmore: How to find work you love
Scott Dinsmore changed many people's lives for the better. In creating Live Your Legend, Dinsmore asked others to take action to live their passion, to do work that matters, and to live life to the fullest. He asked people to ask themselves, “what is the work you can’t NOT do,” and then told them "do that"—because that’s what changes the world.
After a tragic accident on Mount Kilamanjaro, Dinsmore's legacy and words live on. Dinsmore set out to find how to create meaning and cultivate happiness through his work, and in turn inspired millions of others to do the same.
What does it all boil down to? Doing something that matters to you. It might take some self-reflection to find out what that one passion is, but once you do, that’s what going to create meaning for both you and the world around you.
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