Back in my apartment in Austin, TX, I had a small desk from IKEA at the corner of my bedroom. That’s where my beat machine lived.
I’d watch videos on YouTube and try my hands out at making beats. Hoping to sound like Kanye West or DJ Premiere. Most of the time I failed. That beat machine has traveled with me for over ten years now.
I’ve made numerous songs and sounds with it. Before I got into beat making though, I tried my hands at a couple of things.
Improv comedy on Tuesday nights.
Sketching.
Failed attempt at a Tumblr comic blog.
When I reflect, I wonder where this need to create came from. Initially, it was spurred from a need to break away from the everyday analysis of my engineering job.
But now, more than a decade from when I started making those beats, I’ve channeled that energy to writing.
As I’m about to publish my 4th book, I find myself asking:
“Why?”
“Why do you take the time to create these things?”
It has made me realize a few things about why I nurture my creativity.
Eroded Esteem
Most of us put all our self worth into one thing – the identities that we build for ourselves.
I’m a CFO.
I’m an entrepreneur.
I’m an engineer.
I’m an artist.
I’m a parent.
I’m a good child.
Whatever it is, these identities bring us comfort over time. We’ve been trained to fit into one box to be useful to society. Indoctrinated through economic mechanisms to divide labor for optimal productivity.
Even when you go to the so-called enlightened institutions, they say things like: “In your career, you have only one opportunity to switch careers.”
At least that’s what I heard in business school. Pardon me. I’m just projecting.
So every decision turns into a painful calculated step. One where you are not allowed to make mistakes. Through this continuous process of playing it safe, you literally suffocate your inner world.
And then the only option is to double-down on your identity.
Now you’re The CEO.
The senior engineer.
The ultimate parent.
Congratulations!!!
You end up putting all your self-worth in one basket.
This singular identity can be stifling.
Efficient but not robust.
Rigid and impractical.
Everyday the same thing.
A lot of days, mundane and meaningless.
If anything shatters or merely pokes at this identity, it can cause a dark and downward spiral.
The reality is that it’s not possible to just be one thing. You are a combination of things that change with time. You have multiple interests, which can only be nurtured through explorations in the form of hobbies, side jobs, leisure, and just being.
It allows you to diversify your self-worth.
Your multiple interests build out different internal departments for your self confidence.
If one goes down, the other compensates.
You build out redundancy.
Your creative exploration helps you find and build your real self worth and esteem.
3 Reasons To Foster Your Creativity
Your creativity is not a nice-to-have.
In this era of disrupted markets and growing technological advances, it’s a must-have.
Being a fast learner and problem-solver gives you peace of mind that you can survive and thrive in a fast-changing world.
This comes from building your creative muscle, which allows you to deal with uncertainty, builds real self-confidence, and helps you live a more well-rounded life.
Here are three reasons to foster your creative mind.
1. Diversifying your self-worth:
You are not what you do.
I remember when the revenue of my business dropped down to ZERO during COVID. Those first few months were tough, but I had also just launched my first book. I funneled my creative energy into getting the book out into the world from the comfort of my apartment.
This is a reminder: The diversity that creativity provides is one of those things that you don’t realize you need until you actually need it.
Now look at the opposite.
Where you put all your life identity into work for instance, one negative review from a boss or colleague. Oh no! Self-esteem knockout for the week, maybe a month. It shatters the image of who you thought you were. Exploring your different interests and doing creative work allows you to create different baskets for your self-worth.
Psychologists call this “high self-complexity.”
Research shows that people with self-complexity react more positively to the good things that happen to them but not necessarily less negatively to the bad things.
Nurturing your creativity helps you build your self-esteem.
2. Dealing with uncertainty:
Life is chaotic.
I’m not trying to stir up drama. But that’s just the way it is. The universe keeps expanding. Entropy increases with time. Gasses clash, forming galaxies. The earth is a rock spinning around a floating sun. No one knows what tomorrow will bring.
Uncertainty is the only certainty.
Yet, this is what we strive for everyday: bringing order to the chaos. Everything we do, build, or create is a way to bring order to our mind and the world around us.
Partaking in a creative task trains you to deal with the uncertainty.
Every time I sit down to write, there is an internal feeling that makes me want to run away: “I don’t have anything to say today.” But I have learned that this feeling never fades away and you just have to get started. Within 15 minutes, I get into the flow of things.
Same thing with making beats. “Drums first or sample?” Who knows.
This carries on to my entrepreneurial journey. You usually don’t know where to start, but you have to embrace the journey and just go.
I’ve noticed this same pattern across different aspects of life.
Having a creative practice allows you to embrace the uncertainty of life.
3. Letting go of perfection:
What’s perfect anyways?
The need for perfection has killed so many great ideas.
I was sitting at the back of class when I wrote an article on my blog that ranked #2 on Google searches for that keyword for years.
It took me about 10 minutes to write.
It’s a reminder that perfection is a myth. It’s a story we tell ourselves to stop us from doing our work.
Over the years, I’ve learned that with anything, it gets to a point that the extra work done does not add an equivalent amount of utility. For instance, with the new book, if I put an extra 15% of time into it, maybe I’ll get a 0.5% improvement.
At that point, it’s no longer worth it. But I had to go through this process to recognize the moment where I have to let go.
Having a creative practice teaches you to let go of perfection and fall in love with the iterative process.
It’s all a journey…
Creativity is coming up with novel ideas that are useful.
At the end of the day, it’s all about problem-solving. The more you apply your creativity, the better you get at solving a diverse range of problems for yourself, family, and community.
It helps you build your self-esteem, deal with uncertainty, and let go of perfection.
All around it makes you a more well-rounded person.
Bringing more peace of mind and meaning to this journey of life.
That’s worth nurturing and I hope you nurture it some more.
Your truly,
Nifemi
