Why Your Creativity Is So Valuable
I touched on the idea of creativity being a valuable resource in my creative weirdo origin story post. After watching I Saw The TV Glow, I wanted to expand on it. Spoilers for the movie ahead!
The two main characters who become friends are from a TV show, The Pink Opaque, and are “trapped” in reality. One finds a way to escape back to the show while the other one stays and tries to build a life.
The movie is an allegory for living a life that doesn’t feel true to yourself and the price of that decision which can be applied specifically to the queer or trans experience.
I related to this as a self-proclaimed creative weirdo that tried, and failed, to tamp down my creativity in the past. Ignoring the siren call of creative projects never made the impulse go away.
Here are three reasons why your creativity is so valuable.
Problem Solving
Have you ever tried brainstorming with people who are, to put it nicely, not the most creative thinkers?
The ideas getting bounced around are not unique and probably won’t work unless the issue has been resolved in this exact same way before.
Creative thinking lends a unique perspective to help find unique solutions. This is much more valuable since most industries rarely stay the same for long.
A problem I had since the beginning of my career was, what kind of work can I do that I enjoy and won’t bore me to death?
This is one of the reasons why neurodivergent people enjoy being their own bosses, freelancing or running their own businesses.
We get the opportunity to do creative work we enjoy with less restrictions and without getting bored. That’s a win, win, win!
Expression And Creation
For me, being a beginner doesn’t always feel fun. My brain likes to convince me that not being an expert right away means I need to give up. Hopefully your brain isn’t always sabotaging you like this!
Making mistakes while being creative is part of the process. No one just makes something amazing without a few rough drafts. Expressing yourself through your favorite medium even if it’s not “good” is always fun and can lead you down paths you never could have imagined.
If you have no idea what creative project to start with an easy one is your personal style. Everyone had to wear clothes, right? Creating outfits you love can easily take a back seat when life is overwhelming but feeling good and authentically you can make even the most mundane days better.
When I was a graphic design beginner, constantly looking up online tutorials on YouTube and making mistakes, being in a Meetup group with people at different experience levels was so valuable. Even if I felt like what I created wasn’t that great everyone would be impressed by details I didn’t even notice.
Career Changes
While I was working full time as a researcher, which I did enjoy for a few years, it was clear that the monotony of the work wasn’t going to keep me engaged long term. So I started job searching on and off.
While exploring new hobbies and building my skills outside of work, I started learning web design and created my own blog. I had so much fun creating websites and updating them, I’d even do it at work. Oops! I realized eventually that this could be a totally new career for me that wouldn’t bore me since tech is constantly evolving.
This combined two of my favorite things, research and design. I created and launched Redesignia while working full time and after getting laid off at the end of 2022, I focused on my business full time.
While the road was a bit rocky, I’m so glad to be where I am now. I never could’ve imagined what great things I’d create like this vintage ice cream brand and mood board for a creative workshop.
Use Your Creativity
If you feel any creative impulses definitely take advantage of them. Consider doing creative projects in your down time or combine your creative skills with past experience to create a career you’ll actually enjoy. Transforming your creativity into a business is so fun.
Want to chat more about creativity or design? Grab a spot in my calendar for a virtual coffee chat.
