People always enjoy a good origin story around how we’ve earned our creative chops. It’s a way to connect, compare or anchor in a sense of belonging with each other.
From a different perspective, creative chops act as a barometer and measure of our uniqueness; proof we are special and matter.
Yet, when we place these perspectives aside, how do we define legit creative chops? Is it an action, way of thinking or skill set? Is it a mysterious blend of natural talent, formal lessons, personal experiences, countless hours of practice or “fill in the blank”?
Well, it’s all of these things, and more.
Creative Chops Are Born, Bred, Learned and Allowed
My personal creative journey and inner work has helped me connect with people willing to share their perceptions around creativity. We talk about the what-ifs in our head and doubts in our gut. At times, we dance around owning our creative value and speculate on why we may lack the creative chops to be taken seriously.
When in the depths of serious doubt, or just before a big inner transformation, people struggle most with expectations. The gremlin in our head leads us to believe we are not creative because we’ve built up “real” creative expression to equal a big, grand gesture that’s “showroom ready”.
Questions like ”Is it worthy? Can my true creative talent be measured by it? Can I slap a justifiable ‘creative’ label on it?” compel us to focus on finding an expression that is unmistakably creative based on random feedback from others, rather than what resonates in our heart.
While these questions have value for the mind in some form, the answers may not.
Why?
There is no one way to be creative in career, life or through self-expression. There are several ways to allow room and space for creativity to come through us.
Creativity is simply finding ways to connect the dots between ideas, concepts, aptitudes, desires, feelings and experiences, and fashion them into something tangible. It’s the abstract and details, the vision and the execution, natural talent mixed with limitations.
How we use all our “resources” is a living practice of the creative process, which builds our creative chops. When we push past fears, emotions, delays and obstacles we witness the power of the creativity in action and scrape down yet another layer of gunk. This enables the next deeper truth to bubble up. On the flip side, when we allow joy, follow inspiration and trust our gut, we express creative trust in action.
These are just a few of the millions of possibilities.
Proof of Creative Chops is Not in Knowing or Speculating, it’s in the Doing
Creative chops come when we are willing to engage in this wily, unpredictable, gut driven compulsion known as the creative process again and again, driven by the passion to create. The raw emotion behind any self-expression is equally creative as a finished, polished piece.
Listening to our soul is a brave, risky act, and the process of allowing and honoring what comes up is distinct, emotional and complex. This is where real art and creative value is born, even if it only matters to you. When we engage our heart and soul in this process, we are doing the most creative work of all – and honing our creative chops along the way.
Interested in reading more? Check out Opening Awareness to your Creative Flow in Daily Life. Have a burning question on your mind about your creative path? Connect with me for an intuitive reading. Want more tips on how to tap into your inner wisdom and expand your creativity? Listen to my podcast, Flirting With Enlightenment.