8 Habits to support the lifestyle of a creative person

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash — Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” - Neil Gaiman

What do you experience when you create? I get transported to new worlds and imaginary places. It soothes me when I write. Never before have I found something that makes it so easy for me to get in a flow state. What does creating do for you?

Creating something that didn’t exist before is like magic. It truly makes life interesting. What would we do without art, exhibitions, books, movies, TV-shows, or inventions? It helps us through the good and the bad times. It teaches something about ourselves and our place in the world. This is, however, the consumer part of it. You want to be a creator and keep creating. How can you best approach this mindset and lifestyle?

To escape in the worlds of your imagination in any form is a blessing. You enter a space where everything is possible, there’s only one problem. Life not always offers us a chance to fully focus on a creative project. Especially when you start out, you need to find the time to be creative. You need habits that help you grow and be confident while you create.

Another thing is that it’s freaking scary to create something and share it with the world. Whenever I listen to someone who wants to create but doesn’t do it because of so many fears they have, I feel sad. You have to conquer that fear, there’s no way about it. But it’s so nice to be on that other side. To show and grow.

In my journey as a creator, whether it’s writing a short story or fiction book, making a podcast, or online course, I picked up some habits that serve my creative process. I’m confident they will serve you too. From conquering your fear, finding your purpose, and to opening up and being playful. Let life happen. Let creativity catch you. Train yourself to find ideas in everything. Challenge yourself or simply be bored. There are plenty of ways to find your spark.

#1: Conquer your fears and have the courage to be creative

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” — Paulo Coelho

First things first, as I said, it’s a scary thing to put yourself out there. To give birth to an idea and then share it to be judged by others. Know that it’s ok to be scared. You might be afraid that no one likes your work, or that you’re not good enough. Perhaps you worry that you’ll never be as good as Claude Monet, Oscar Wilde, or Mary Oliver. This thought might be so scary that you hold off creating that poem, story, or painting. But there’s one quality you have no one else has. Your take on art. Your experiences, beliefs, and view of the world are your own and expressed in art it will lead to something no one else will be able to create. No one can copy you.

It’s daunting to finally decide to be a creative person. What will people think?

That last poisonous thought gives more power to our fears. Let them think. Do you know how many people want to create something? How many people have tons of ideas but fail to execute? How many people have a book in them hidden away by a guard called fear, locked for the world to see?

Don’t ever think you need to defend yourself because you brought life in the form of art into the world. You should be proud of your contribution. Naturally, the path of creation plays with our emotional state, but do you think Pablo Picasso trembled with a brush in his hand thinking what others thought? He just created and made no big deal out of it. Make things because you like to, or even need to. Don’t wait for someone else’s approval.

I can hear you thinking: ‘Sure it all sounds nice and stuff, but I have work/kids/bills.’
‘Still, create to escape.’
‘But, I have laundry.’
‘Do it after.’
‘But, but, I have… no one will come and see my play anyway. I might as well watch Netflix and forget about it.’
‘Certainly no one will if you don’t write it first! There’s always a “but”. Add another “t” to it and get on with it.’

Begin. When you make the decision to begin creating, you’re dragged into this wonderful abyss that will transport you to unimaginable places. Somewhere magical you’ll never want to leave. Early 2017 I finally decided to share my writing with the world and I never looked back. Without that decision, I wouldn’t have finished a fantasy novel (querying) or started a nonfiction book about my family history (working on finishing my proposal with my agent).

Make creating a habit. Set small goals for yourself. Get used to this new life of being a creative person. Don’t demand too much of yourself at first. Slowly build up your courage. If it’s that hard just write for 5 minutes a day or write one verse to a song. Anything. Keep showing up. Don’t wait for inspiration to come. Perform your magic daily.

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels — that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in the first place — that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one. The often surprising result of that hunt — that’s what I call Big Magic.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

A trick I found in the wonderful book “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert works as follows: Start analyzing the things you’re afraid of in pursuing your creative endeavors.

List ways that cause you to be afraid to live a more creative life. For me this was:

Afraid to be rejected/criticized/ridiculed/misunderstood/ignored
Afraid somebody else already did it better
Afraid my work isn’t politically, emotionally or artistically important enough to change anyone’s life
Afraid I didn’t have the right training or degree (I studied business no less!)
Afraid of being exposed as a hack/fool/narcissist

So what? Will you die if any of these will come out? Do you think every established creator out there got her affairs in order before she did? Think: What would Margaret Atwood do? Well, she instructs us to always do something to create a sense of progress. Bleed on the page, even if it’s bad. Just move. I couldn’t agree more. You can always polish later.

Don’t demand too much of the outcome of your creative endeavors. Fear will always show up. The less you fight it, the less it fights back. The best way for me to ignore my fears is to write for myself first.

Don’t demand too much of yourself either. You’re human. Just because there are examples of people with similar dreams and talent who “made it”, doesn’t mean it happened overnight, nor that their journey was easy.

Once you’ve made something it’s crucial that you show your work to others. Find someone you can trust. The more you expose your work to others, the more confident you become. The only problem is we’d like to experience that before we even begin.

Get better by doing the work. Continue the process. The mere fact that your mind is engaged and you’re doing something is important should be enough to feel worthy. You can throw stuff out later. Just see where it’s going.

If you’re not sure about your qualities, enroll in a course. Read a book (fun!), study what others in your field have been doing. LEARN. Learn more about your craft and become better.

Ask yourself: “How will I feel once I’ve accomplished my dream?” Ponder that for a moment. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you can achieve it? No dream is ridiculous. If I dream without boundaries, I picture selling millions of my books around the world, which allows me to write wherever and whenever I want. It would allow me to fully focus on my writing and to travel. I picture my books being made into TV-series or movies. I know, it’s big. The odds aren’t great. But hey, first rule: you won’t know if you can reach it if you don’t try!

Now ask yourself another question: “How will you feel if you ignore your dream because you’re too afraid?” Feel the difference. You will always wonder: “What if I had done it? Damnit, that’s a sad thing. I mean, it’s nice to distract yourself while binging Game of Thrones, but what if you wrote something like Game of Thrones yourself?

Don’t regret not having tried. Try so you know what the potential outcome might be. Even if it’s not what you thought it would be like or if the responses are not what you wished for.

#2: Determine your creative purpose

“We all have a spiritual purpose, a mission, that we have been pursuing without being fully aware of it, and once we bring it completely into consciousness, our lives can take off.” — James Redfield

It’s easier said than done to find that spiritual purpose or mission James Redfield talks about. What do you want to contribute to the world and leave behind? I was 27 when I was finally sure of my mission: to write. With my fiction, I hope to inspire people to think about certain issues in society and in general become more tolerant towards another and ourselves. With my nonfiction work, I hope to inspire people to embrace their inner creator, mostly by teaching what I’ve learned about writing, creativity, and books.

Perhaps you’ve found your mission already, then be fully aware of it every day. Breathe it, embody it, and act upon it. Make sure that you understand yourself and your past before you do because that’s when you truly take out those inner gems and share them with the world through your mission. By learning from each other’s experiences we can grow together.

If you haven’t, don’t worry. Your purpose, fate, calling, or dream (call it whatever you want) will present itself to you. It’s not some esoteric hocus pocus. It’s SOMETHING that moves you from where you are right now to where you should be heading. And one would do well to follow its directions. So what do you dream of doing?

What was it you wanted to be when you would grow up? In kindergarten, we always wrote in each other’s journals to answer questions about our favorite things in life. In addition, we had to write down what we wanted to be when we would become adults. I always wrote down: to be a writer or a chef.

Ask the right questions, and the answers will come. Each of us must do what they can to get their message out. What’s yours?

#3: Be open to serendipity

When you let go of your inclination to control every situation, by being open to the unknown and the mystery, hidden messages await you wherever you go. That’s what serendipity means to me. Being open to the unexpected leaves room for new paths in your life.

You want to do something creative, but where do you want to go? You don’t have to know immediately. Serendipity will take you there. As long as you’re willing to create and do so daily. Intuitively, your mind will start to notice patterns that are connected to your creative path. Before you know it, you’re turning a short story idea into a movie script. Or you meet someone you tell about your project and he or she can help you move to the next step. That’s the beauty of it.

I started with short stories and my creative writing path has led me to write about writing and creativity, publishing a book and course about short story writing, creating a podcast, a novella, a fantasy novel and a nonfiction book about my family history and their connection to famous Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. I would have never seen these opportunities coming, but apparently they came to me at the right time and I embraced the opportunities offered and rolled with it.

Perhaps there’s something you want to achieve. A business you want to grow, a story idea you want to develop, a new job opportunity you’re trying to seek in the midst of this economic chaos. To let serendipity do its work and with your quest in mind, you will stumble upon something or someone that might direct you to the right path. You may find a coincidental answer during a phone call with a friend or a conversation with a stranger in line for the supermarket. Your job is to see it when these moments arrive.

Be on the lookout for those chance encounters and hidden messages, you’ll never know what lies ahead. Listen to what the universe throws at you via the people you meet and the experiences you encounter.

Let me illustrate the power of serendipity by an example from one of my favorite authors. Let’s consider how Roald Dahl became a published author. Dahl only considered the profession of becoming a writer rather late in life, in his late twenties. It wasn’t until the writer C.S. Forester wanted to interview him about his experience as a soldier. Forester wrote down notes while eating roast duck during their lunch, which didn’t go hand in hand. Dahl suggested to write down his thoughts himself and hand it to him later that day. The thing was, Dahl wrote the entire piece. Surprised but taken by the young Dahl, Forester published the story in full. And there it was, Dahl’s first published piece.

Sometimes there is this moment in time where everything comes together. It can wait for you on every corner and in the most unexpected way. Think about that when you’re hustling every day, but aren’t progressing as fast as you want to. Let go. Rely on hope and hard work. Continue where others finish. Engage in conversations with strangers. Find yourself in circumstances outside of your comfort zone. You never know where things might lead to.

I want to share one more fascinating Dahl story about serendipity here. After Dahl’s book, The Gremlins was made into a motion picture by Walt Disney, Dahl found himself in America. He was invited by Eleanor Roosevelt because she liked his work. He met F.D. Roosevelt and developed a good rapport with him. This relationship would become crucial as it was Dahl who helped Winston Churchill get on with FDR. What if Roald Dahl never became a writer? Would America have helped Churchill end World War II?

#4: Play more

Children play, discover, try, and create. Your two-year-old nephew’s drawing of you might not be a Monet (perhaps more of an amateur Picasso), but at least he creates. Daily and with passion. Fully immersed, not yet distracted.

Too often we adults settle for an occupation which creates a feeling of life being dictated by others (your boss for instance). American psychologists found that because of this the majority of people work while having a weak internal locus of control. They’re constantly chasing what’s deemed “necessary”. This is due to the fact that as adults, we play less.

We’re completely focused on work and accomplishment (that high paying job, saving up for a new iPhone, all external elements). We focus on external motivation instead of intrinsic.

In the meantime, we are losing something valuable, a sense of detachment, and playfulness. We have to perform, grow, create value, earn more money, work harder, and longer hours. At the cost of what? Our curious mind.

From my point of view, working fewer hours and creating time to explore your interests and play would result in happier people, less stress, more creativity, more contentment, etc.

I’ve experienced this myself. My company was failing, we got taken over and suddenly I had to report to someone else. I lost sight of my personality. My entrepreneurial and creative spirit was crushed. I know it sounds intense, but I felt like one hand was cuffed to a desk.

The funny thing was, I felt such an urge to let go and play. To create. I picked up on a childhood dream to write. And so I did. I followed my creativity and looked forward to going home like a kid in school is looking forward to the bell to go play outside during a break.

In the evenings (and later in the mornings), I explored writing. I experimented, read, wrote, created. I played without rules, restrictions, or guidelines.

I discovered that pursuing this passion project reconnected me to my inner child. I started creating not because I had to, or because of a huge paycheck or out of fear of being fired. No, I created because I wanted to, out of curiosity and without inhibition or fear.

Can you imagine what this does to your productivity? When you create because you want to, not because you have to or need to pay the bills.

Playing as a grown-up takes up different forms than playing as a child. When you have children, however, play with them. Immerse yourself into their imaginary worlds. There’s a sense of equanimity in letting go like that.

There are other ways to play as an adult as well: sing, write, draw, play an instrument, learn salsa, take drama lessons, there are countless possibilities. Most importantly: it doesn’t have to be something you aspire to earn money with. Play more because you award yourself with fun, creativity, and peace of mind.

#5: Explore wonderful art

“Read a lot of poetry; find poetry you really love. Don’t be afraid to imitate it. That’s how we learn most everything in the world — love and imitation. The second part is to seek primary sources, to go out into the world. Go to the art museum, yes, but go out into the forest, too. Pay attention to the world.” — Mary Oliver

Creativity fuels creativity. Get inspired by the work of others to stay in a creative flow.

Read a lot. Both books connected to your project as well as something that’s entirely different. When I was writing my fantasy novel I read Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust series. It’s very different from what I’m doing but being immersed in another fantastical and magical world kept the creative engine running. I also read several other books in the process, ranging from poetry to biographies and nonfiction work. All contribute to my creative process and that can work for you too!

Visit a museum. Two weeks ago I visited World Press Photo in Amsterdam. Beautiful, intense, jaw-dropping photos of events around the world. Needless to say, these events are often about pain, misery, and injustice. It made me think. It touched me to the core. The events depicted fueled my inspiration for the fantasy series I’m working on.

Nature. Take a walk in the forest. Swim in the ocean or a lake. Hike. Nature is soothing to the soul and inspiring for the mind. Look at the trees, mountains, or whatever is within view. Last year’s trip to Patagonia and Machu Picchu inspired me so much. The sheer beauty of nature is astonishing and intimidating.

After World War I, Roald Dahl wanted a job that would bring him to exotic places. He traveled to Africa by boat to work for Shell. He studied the people who were different than him. He studied wildlife and nature. A friend of his, who was a biologist, taught him all about animals. His curiosity and talent for observation resulted in stories like Fantastic Mr. Fox and Danny Champion of the World. Dahl took inspiration from anything and actively explored the unfamiliar. You have that talent to observe too.

TV and film. From quality TV shows to documentaries and good films. With everything I watch, ideas pop up. Sometimes these ideas fit an article I’m working on or one of my two book projects. I write it all down in my Notes app and categorize the ideas per project to incorporate at a later moment.

The beauty is that whatever you’re working on is like a pair of glasses you wear while consuming art. Your senses are attuned to your creative project like a radar for inspiration in everything around you. Use it.

#6: Activate your idea radar

Where do ideas come from? Let’s again turn to the wonderful mind of Roald Dahl. He says: “Ideas come from tiny germs and you rattle it around and hope for the best and build up a story.”

At the start of term in school, when Dahl was young, he got a cardboard box with twelve chocolate bars. Upon opening the box and examining its contents, Dahl couldn’t help but wonder what was hiding behind all these bars. Dahl notoriously had a fascination with chocolate. So he rattled ideas around as he did. And then, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory came to life.

Sometimes one doesn’t need to look far for a good idea. If you have a curious mind and pay attention to your surroundings, you will find a story in everything. And then it’s up to you to bring it alive, kick it around, examine it, and see what personal touch you can add to the story.

Dahl kept an idea book with him all the time. This is something I do as well. I keep a note document on my phone which is packed with story ideas, pieces of dialogue, quotes, character sketches, etc. As a writer, I think it’s imperative that one keeps an idea book of sorts.

Train yourself to come up with ideas whenever you’re in need of them. A good way to do this is to write down 10 ideas every day. The ideas can cover everything from ideas to earn more money in 30 days to 10 ideas as to how you can redecorate your living room. It’s not about the quality of the ideas per se. That will come. It’s purely about quantity. This concept was coined by writer and entrepreneur James Altucher.

I did this for about a year and often did it just before I started writing. Usually, I applied the 10 ideas to the story I was working on. I came up with ways how I could finish a particular scene, further develop a character, etc. Apply it to your creative purpose and see what happens. You don’t need to wait for the muse to arrive, you simply make it more appealing for her to sit next to you and guide you when you need her.

#7: Challenge yourself with prompts and new angles

Einstein famously played the violin when he was pondering an idea. You could have another creative hobby that can serve your muse when you feel stuck. I don’t currently have one, but there’s another thing you can do to reignite your creative spark.

Besides taking up another creative art form, you can find new ways to approach your craft. I started with short stories. Then I explored writing nonfiction articles, podcasting, novel writing, and copywriting. I approached the craft of writing from different angles. Whenever I felt uninspired or stuck writing my novel, I switched projects to stay creative. The next day I went back to the novel with fresh energy and insights.

You can set yourself a challenge to try something new within your craft. My friend is a painter but he felt like he was in a bit of a rut with his last art project. To occupy himself and stay creative, he taught himself how to sculpt. Now he has an exhibition with both his paintings and sculptures. He found a new creative alley and learned a ton along the way.

Examine the unfamiliar paths within your creative realm.

Another approach you can follow is to find prompts to work with. Let’s focus on writing prompts here, but you can apply it to different crafts of course.

Every story that’s been written reveals a bit about the author who wrote it. Some in more obvious ways than others, but there’s bound to be some personal, political or philosophical views hidden in their prose.

Ask yourself any of the following questions and you have the message of your story.

Examine your own flaws. We’re all imperfect, that’s the beauty of being human, even though we might hate it. Every novel deals with a character overcoming one or multiple flaws. In life, we do the same. It’s one of the reasons why stories are so inspiring because they hold up a mirror to our own life and journey. What do you wish to overcome? What obstacles do you face? Can you put a character in your position and explore their journey?
What pisses you off? Blunt, but there’s something magical about writing about your frustrations. Your fingers type a bit quicker, you hold your pen a bit too tight. Throw that into one of your stories. Do you hate the fact that your father always makes loud noises when he eats? (It’s a thing, misophonia, look it up). Turn it into a horror story. Or perhaps something more serious, like inequality. We’re all put in a box. Some are viewed as better than others, write from your perspective. Why do you hate being labeled and treated differently than someone else? Why do people think they have the right to do that?
What do you wish to see differently in the world? This can go hand in hand with the previous one, although it doesn’t necessarily have to piss you off. You might want to see a change in local politics. Or you might want to talk about the fact that you hate what happened in the Amazon and that you wish countries took climate change more seriously. Inspire someone with your story!
What secrets do you have you can wrap up in layers and tell the world? Everyone has secrets. I share a lot with friends and family, but I keep a lot inside too. Through my stories, I’ve left hints to these secrets. They’re difficult to find of course, but they can give you a bit of release or comfort. Tie it in with a character’s flaw why don’t you. Writing is a creative process of exploration. Look inside, don’t be afraid, you still control your pen.
What fears do you have? Spiders, terrorism, totalitarianism, big corporations knowing everything about you, people finding out your biggest secret, murder, clowns, being wrongfully accused of something, whatever. Oh, the juice! Implant those fears on your characters and play around. (I know a little sadistic perhaps, but Stephen King has done quite good for himself).
What’s your earliest childhood memory? What happened? What were you like? Did your experiences as a kid form you in any particular way? Write about that wondrous age of discovery and magic and relive your youth. Play around with it. What if your fantasies as a child came to life?
What recent lesson have you learned that you’d like to share? This is one of my favorites. If you love reading and learning, you’ll discover so much humanly wisdom. Why not share it if those lessons helped you? Wrap it up into beautiful prose. Have your characters discover it through experience.
What questions about your life and existence do you ponder? Musings, emanating Voltaire himself. Why not? We all have questions. We all seek answers. Some find it, most don’t. The process of exploring life’s questions makes up the majority of every story. What’s something you are currently preoccupied with? Are you wondering if there’s life on other planets, or if people are bad because of nature or nurture? Channel your inner Socrates and share your insights.
Create ‘what if’ situations. Often when you make a decision in life and follow a path, you had to say no to many different paths and options. But what would have happened if you opted for plan B? What if modern society lost all belief in money? What if suddenly no one can hear anymore? Do you have any ideas yet?

#8: Be bored and quiet

We live in an age of constant distraction and an overload of information. Our brains are flooded. The amount of information coming at you during a day has increased exponentially since the Internet. Seventy years ago you’d read a real book in your favorite chair. Perhaps you had a discussion with a friend about politics or you were watching one out of three TV channels.

Boy, that’s changed, hasn’t it? We have thousands of TV channels at our disposal. Netflix anyone? You can watch all the content for a year and still haven’t finished it all. Social media, news outlets, ads, WhatsApp, do I need to go on?

Our minds are messed up, constantly falling for distractions like notifications or social media. A nice dopamine fix that makes you feel good for a couple of seconds until you crave another one.

How long has it been since you’ve read a book for an hour straight? How long has it been since you checked your phone while working on writing that article? All these interruptions affect our concentration. We’re always ‘online’ and available. Our environment and our own minds demand too much. It’s not hard to imagine what this does to our mental health and creativity. It results in increased stress, anxiety, burn out, depression, and a stifled creative mind.

Try the opposite. Get bored. It’s better for your mental health. We view being bored as something negative. We must do something or at least be entertained. That’s partially where the fear to create comes from I think. But do we really need to constantly keep ourselves occupied?

If you let go and just ‘be bored’ some interesting things happen. Think about it: how often were you inspired in the shower, while walking the dog, cycling, running, or doing the dishes?

Recreate such an experience. Create a five-minute break each day to be ‘bored’. It sounds a bit silly perhaps, but I’ve found it to be incredibly powerful. I’ve noticed the following benefits:

Boredom invites emotions and thinking
I face my fears and let them pass as thoughts do
I let my thoughts roam freely without judging them
I feel more relaxed afterward
Because I tap out of the ‘go-go-go’ modus, I feel calmer afterward

For me, the result is an instantly calmer mind because I hit the brakes. Instead of plowing through from one thing to the next while continuously being distracted, I purposefully take time out to recharge. It’s similar to meditation in my opinion.

Drop everything, sit in a chair without a phone, pen, notebook, whatsoever. Stare. It sparks your creativity. You give your mind space to come up with ideas or solve problems. Boredom invites thinking and reflection and it improves your focus afterward. Daydreaming is another key in igniting that creative spark. By allowing yourself to daydream for five minutes you might end up coming up with something you never expected. You might conjure up that painting, poem, song, the plot for your story, or piece of narrative you were missing.

Go try it. Do.

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How to Be a Creative Person