I encouraged you to think of yourself as creative, even if you didn’t consider yourself creative. Because you truly are. You always have been and always will be.
But by saying that everyone is creative opens up a big ol’ can of worms, especially around the idea of selective creativity.
Selective Creativity
Being selective when you think about creativity is the exact opposite of giving anyone and everyone permission to be creative. For example, you consider yourself a good painter, but dislike someone else’s painting and say they are not creative because they paint a certain way.
This is most prevalent today with images, video, text, and other media created by generative AI. If you consider yourself creative, you may hate all the generative media coming out of AI, calling it slop and garbage.
Choose acceptance over anger
Being angry will never solve anything. Being angry at generative AI media is like being angry at the air. It will only leave you more defeated since its presence is everywhere.
By accepting the fact that we cannot control the “creative” output of the generative AI machine, we permit ourselves to work in the same world that it occupies. We permit ourselves to compete against. To see how we are better than it. To encourage ourselves to meet its output.
If everyone who is creative stops being creative out of anger at generative AI, we will lose progress in true innovation. We will lose progress in creating new ideas.
Challenge yourself to be more creative
You have to be more creative with how you are creative
When I was in the Peace Corps in North Macedonia, I experienced culture shock and felt a sense of alienation. I wasn’t feeling very creative at all. I mentioned this to a friend in a nearby town. She said the most important eleven words to me: “You have to be more creative with how you are creative.” We have to be more creative with how we are creative.
How is this done? This is one of those “easier said than done” things. I hope that through this blog, I can slowly unravel the concept with you. I will draw on my experience as both a traditional creative person and a creative professional in a corporate landscape.
If the world fumes hatred, let us sing poetry in the streets. If the internet generates confusion, let us write letters to friends. If social media consumes, let us go outside and feel our gravity.