In the earliest days of our childhood we spent a good amount of time doing creative things. We were continually building and creating things like lego castles, forts made of household items, and works of art. Somewhere along the way the importance of this takes a backseat and it’s written off as “that’s a good hobby, but not something you do to make a living.”
Before long we stop creating and turn into sponges that absorb information that is rarely put to use. We go through the motions, doing what we’re told, and are left scratching our heads as to why we’re so bored with everything in your lives. We don’t realize that our creative capacity is fundamentally important to doing something the matters in the world.
Have you ever noticed how the summer used to last forever when you were a kid and how time seems to fly when you’re an adult? Well, when you’re a kid a three month summer is a much larger fraction of your life and when you’re adult it’s much smaller. So if it seems like it’s going much faster that’s because it is. You’ve probably heard that every one of us has an inner child, the person inside us that never wants to grow up, our inner Peter Pan. As adults we’re so busy taking life so seriously we don’t give enough thought to tapping into our inner child.
The beautiful thing is that you have your inner child at your complete disposal. When was the last time you went to a toy store? When was the last time you went on all the rides at a carnival? When was the last time you acted like you were five instead of fifty? The beauty of this is it’s your opportunity to live as if you don’t have a care or a worry in the world, even it is for a brief moment in time.
Creating for the Sake of Creating
In adult life, it seems that everything we do has to have a purpose. We have to be able to answer the question why. Ask a kid why he’s building a lego castle and he’ll probably look at you like you’ve lost your mind. He’s building it because he feels like it and enjoys it. I think we need more of this mindset in our adult lives.
A few years ago I had a roommate who was absolutely brilliant and what some people might call crazy. But one thing I always appreciated about her was her need to create things that had no purpose. There was never a dull moment living with her. If you want to see an example check out the absolutely ridiculous parody music video on a Bollywood movie she and I made.” We need to do more creating for the sake of creating. You don’t need a reason to create.
Here are a couple of ideas for you:
- Build a castle made out of Legos
- Start a DIY furniture project
- Plant a Garden
- Paint a Portrait
- Make a Coffee Table Book With Your Own Photos
There’s an incredible sense of fulfillment in building something that you can be proud of. It’s something where you can directly see the impact of your work and it’s an important part of life that we lost sight of somewhere in our journey through childhood.
So, what are you going to start building today?
