But Why Male Models?
Thoughts around the return on creativity (RoC?)
What’s up Life Examiners,
I’m writing this from a plane to NYC knowing I won’t have all too much time to write with a jam-packed work week. Thankfully, there were parts I begrudgingly cut from last week's piece as they weren’t key to the central theme but that I can now repurpose as a short addendum.
Cutting valuable content is one of the hardest things for me to do as a writer but something I’m realizing is like a circumstantial breakup - it’s not because I don’t love you, the timing just isn’t right.
So this is my reunion with a few of those ideas.
Weekly Wonderings and Wisdom
As a consumer of prescriptive life advice, what I ultimately care about is the value it brings to my life. That is, if I take this information to heart and say okay, I now believe ABC, or I commit to doing XYZ - how am I better off than before?
Last week I made the case for how we all have the capabilities to be creative.
This led to a radical reframing of the nature of creativity. It’s not something you’re born with or not.
Rather, it’s exactly what it sounds like – it’s creating; it’s taking something that wasn’t there before and making it so. It’s breathing life into the intangible, rendering it tangible. It’s externalizing our internal world, giving shape and structure to abstract ideas and feelings as part of an elaborate dance between our conscious and subconscious mind, merging imagination and reality to create new constructs, words, images, and ideas.
Understanding that we can be creative, the next logical step becomes why should we?
Well, through creative acts, you uncover facets of yourself that would have otherwise remained hidden. You explore the depths of your emotions, fears, and desires; confronting them in a way that simple introspection may not afford. It becomes a powerful avenue to gain a real, raw understanding of who the hell you really are.
Moreover, creativity doesn't merely foster self-awareness; it ignites a chain reaction of empowerment. When you create, you are not just producing a piece of art, writing, or music; you are affirming your existence, asserting your unique perspective, and declaring your voice. This assertion empowers you to embrace authenticity, standing tall amidst the crowd of conformity. It bolsters your sense of identity and clarifies your understanding of your place in the world.
Think about it like a muscle. The more you exercise getting around your wall of limitations and tapping into that reservoir of You, the more adept you become at self-discovery and authentic expression, which despite being uncomfortable, are prerequisites for living a meaningful, fulfilled life.
And if that’s too right brain for you analytical left brains needing something more tangible, there’s more.
Creative expression is found just as much in the software engineer’s code, the financial planner’s portfolio, the executive’s go-to-market strategy, or the teacher’s curriculum as it is in the finest paintings, poems, or sculptures.
That creative muscle is the same one you use in the workplace when you’re solving a hard problem. Solving hard problems requires novel solutions. And novel solutions require creativity.
So by exercising creativity, not only are you undergoing a process of self-discovery and expression but you’re getting better at your job, providing more value to the world, and invariably getting rewarded for it.
If that’s still not enough, well, creating feels good.
Thought of the Day
Quote from writer philosopher Alain de Boton on Tim Ferris’ podcast in 2015:
Sometimes people joke about First World problems, right? They laugh at how we are in the United States or the UK, and they say, you guys have got First World problems. And it’s supposed to be a joke. It’s like people who are quibbling because the chardonnay is not chilled enough or whatever.
I actually think that there is such a thing as First World problems, not seen as a joke, but seen genuinely, which is really the problems of advanced civilization that we’re living in now. When the majority of people have got enough food, have got a secure shelter, but life is still very tough in all sorts of ways.
So it’s not the old kind of toughness, when it was really about survival. It’s toughness of a different sort. It’s about trying to make sure that your brief time on earth is well-spent, that your talents have been properly explored, that you’re in a satisfying relationship, that you understand yourself, that you have a purpose, etc.