Creativity -> Know Thyself -> Better Society
A daily creative habit could be the answer to everything...
The call to “Know Thyself!” dates at least as far back as the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Ancient Greece and is often associated with the philosopher Socrates. It is difficult to understand truths about the world around us if we don’t understand the truths about ourselves, and this is why we often think we know more than we do.
(March’s song should make lively accompaniment as we dive in to conclude last months epic exploration of creativity.)
When we create from a deep and genuine place, we bring into this world something of our own vision, and we see what is deep within us manifested in physical reality. As we wrestle with how internally satisfied we are with our creation, how close it comes to truly representing what we wanted it to be, we have the chance to cut deep to the core of who we are and, self-reflecting, make adjustments in a way that can be fun and inspiring, rather than deeply critical.
Creative acts teach us about ourselves because they force us to dig something out of our soul, some unique thought or idea, and figure out how to present it to the world in a comprehensible format. You have to learn how to package your idea so that others can make sense of it, and there is no shortage of self-doubt and second guessing to accompany the task.
However, even if nothing significant comes of the work itself, this process is invaluable for self-development and growth, both in ourselves and in society. It also breaks the endless loop of consumption we can so easily get stuck in.
The pursuit of a creative vision will give us the drive to develop skills and “sharpen our axe” so that we can more effectively bring our thoughts to life. It can be the motivation behind many healthy habits and it will undoubtedly shape the way we view the world. In some cases it can be so potent it shapes how others view the world as well.
Creativity and Society
Art is often at odds with the Modern Age. Art poses questions and is meant to have multiple interpretations when what society most often craves is certainty. Different thinkers over the ages have even proposed that artists and craftsmen make better citizens, because they understand nuance, productivity, and practical problem solving.
Thomas Jefferson, who himself was an avid tinkerer and inventor, believed that craftspeople made better citizens because they understood how things functioned and had practical common sense- -all of which would serve them well in handling civic needs.
- Robert Greene, Mastery
If Creative Acts can help us understand ourselves better, then they can help us be more empathetic members of society, people who don’t lash out at other people because of repressed and confused thoughts. The more We the People can live up to this ideal, the better the world we can build. Being creative and learning about yourself can become a positive feedback loop, making us all “better” and happier people as we become better at self-actualizing, and it is through better and happier people that better and happier societies are built.
On the other hand, it is often through Art that many of the most important tensions between society and the individual are expressed. How many great films and songs can you think of that touch upon great dichotomies like Rich vs. Poor, the Pure vs. the Corrupt, or Good vs. Bad?
Certain art forms have been more popular than others throughout the ages and society's relationship to creative acts in general can be a good indicator of its mental state. We are trying to determine what type of society we want to live in.
Today, technology allows us to brainstorm a million miles a minute as we try to find what is the best way to share information, viewpoints, and wisdom amongst ourselves. However, we don’t yet know which of these ideas are suitable for the long term health and prosperity of humanity.
Awareness
To sort and process the deluge of information created and consumed everyday is one of the great struggles of our time and it requires changing how we manage our awareness. Thankfully, engaging with our Creativity is a great tool for developing our awareness because it makes us curious to know how other things have come to be, to search for the story behind the thing.
You could even say that the details of the creative process behind a thing are what truly define what that thing “is.” Rightly or wrongly, knowing that 100 hours of work went into something, as opposed to 5 minutes, changes our perception of it. If you aren’t sure what your creative abilities are, start by being curious about the world around you and follow where this leads.
Have you noticed that on the internet sometimes people can be mean? More often than not, this is a reflection of their own reactivity and insecurity, so learning to be less reactive and insecure are worthwhile goals for all of us. This means becoming more aware of why we feel the way we do and also developing the skill of receiving feedback.
Learning to share the thoughts and ideas you create with the world in a constructive way is an essential social skill, and creating and sharing Art is a low-pressure way to practice and develop this skill.
When you share art and ideas you create, you will invariably receive feedback of all sorts, and sometimes you may disagree with that feedback or even find it hurtful. To coexist in the world, we must learn to not instantly react to every emotion someone stirs in us, especially if we are someone who struggles to respond constructively. Being open to feedback and receiving it gracefully will only make you a mentally stronger and healthier individual and a better contributor to society.
Sharing Your Work
This is the scariest part, but it is also the most beneficial.
In many ways, one could describe our concept of Art throughout history as an evolution from a fixation on realism and an artist’s technical skill, to an appreciation for a medium that utilizes various abstract and impressionist techniques for the purpose of self-expression.1
Creative endeavors ask us to look within and tap into our thoughts and emotions to create something that explores some aspect of our humanity. Art can connect us then with others by communicating shared experiences and ideas. As if by magic, by simply engaging in creative acts we not only gain a constructive outlet for self-expression but we also contribute to the rich history of human culture, every time we share these creations with the world. Studies have also shown that sharing creative works can reduce feelings of isolation and strengthen a sense of belonging in otherwise lonely individuals.
To be clear, you don’t have to create a masterpiece in order to reap the benefits of sharing it. As Alan Watts said regarding music and dance, “it is the doing of it that is important” and in this way they represent “life in its truest form.”
It is not the final creation that is ultimately important, but rather it is about developing the ability within yourself to create it.
By the same token, if you do happen to be a genius but are afraid to share your work, you may very well be holding back the progression of humanity as a whole. A review of Leonardo da Vinci’s journals show that several fields of study may have advanced decades earlier if he’d simply shared some of the ideas he was working on.2
“You don’t have to finish to have an impact. You do have to publish.”
- David Kadavy
So whether you’re someone wondering if you even have a creative skill, or if you think you are the next Leonardo da Vinci, sharing things you create is the best way you can challenge yourself to grow as a person. But even if you never share a single note or idea, creating things will still be beneficial to you and, as a bonus, it is an excellent antidote to today’s consumer culture, something we all talk about wanting to be free of but can’t seem to find out how to start.
Create so You Don’t Consume
I recently read an article coining the term “internet brain”3 and this seems an apt name for that symptom we’ve all known, where our brains feel like mush because we’ve been intensely focused on a screen all day. We’ve now reached such an advanced state in this prognosis that simply “putting our phones down” isn’t really enough to help our brains truly reset and recharge. We need to actively seek ways to engage other parts of our brain.
“The antidote to internet brain isn’t just putting your phone down, it’s about sparking your creativity to feel more energised, fulfilled and alive.”
- Katina Bajaj
Spending time being creative will make you feel better, it's as simple as that. There’s even recent scientific research suggesting that getting into a state of creative Flow is more effective than mindfulness meditation or optimism for improving mental health long-term. Endless consumption is hurting our brains but something as simple as a few minutes spent doodling each day (“zero pressure creativity” as the article calls it) can bring things back into balance.
So if you’re trying to battle a scrolling addiction, replace your social media app with a drawing app, or even try something archaic like using a pen and napkin, and do a quick sketch of whatever is right in front of you.
Purpose doesn’t “happen” to you, it’s certainly not going to be fed to you, it’s something you very much have to make - or accept not having. On the most tactical level, creating things, whether Art or a marketing plan, is how we develop problem solving skills. The larger the vision we pursue, the more complex problems we will come up against and therefore the greater skills we will develop to overcome them.
This type of creating builds mental fortitude, focus, and discipline - all skills that are beneficial in just about any situation - and one might even describe this as a type of self-care, since these skills can help us stay resilient and gives us a framework to process troublesome emotions and situations.
Through practice we learn that hardships can be overcome through focused effort over time, and when we engage with creative thinking in the face of problems it keeps our mind open and productive, rather than collapsing inwards in anxiety or despair.
If we keep this habit up we will see certain patterns within ourselves arise repeatedly over time, and we will better understand how to process them each time they come up, turning us each into better mechanics for the complex machine of our own heart and mind.
Building a Creative Habit
No matter how busy you are, or especially if you’re really busy, you should make time for at least 10-20 mins of free creativity per day — ideally a ‘creative habit’ but no pressure, doodling counts, even if it feels silly. Like wind will carve a mountain, daily practice is one of the best ways to cultivate the “best” version of yourself over the course of a lifetime.
“Artistry” is in many ways just focused and refined perspective - this refinement is achieved by repeatedly showing up and chipping away at the stone. No matter how minuscule each individual act is, over time they add up.
If you feel you are not a creative person, it is likely just because you have not made a sustained enough attempt to push through half-baked ideas and rough stones. The creative gears in your brain can freeze up and rust if left unused and it can be frustrating to get the initial momentum going, but if you bring your focus to bear on the process each day eventually the face in the marble will appear.
In the beginning it is more important to start than to be a success, further opportunities for growth await further down the path, but you must work your way through each step. Reflecting on the quote that opened this article, there is no “hack” for creative development, no way to side-step this truth - you can’t avoid the bare minimum work of walking down the path to see where it leads. You can’t outsource self-reflection, it literally defeats the purpose - like any muscle or plant, you have to cultivate yourself if you want to grow.
Each of our lives is a block of marble and how diligently we show up each day to carve it, and with what forethought and vision, will ultimately determine the shape and beauty of our lives. So if you push yourself to do anything, push yourself to create consistently, and be mindful of the ratio between creation and consumption. This is not about creating a masterpiece, now or even someday, this is about proving to ourselves that we have the grit and resilience to commit to doing important work.
Conclusion
To make an obvious point, every great achievement or advancement in human history has been the work of creative thinking. On a more intimate level, habitual creative acts are powerful pathways to learning more about ourselves and executing the Delphic command “Know Thyself.” To know thyself is how we become wise, dating back to the Ancient Greeks, and if wise people make wiser decisions that lead to a wiser world, then developing this skill is of the greatest importance for anyone who wants to live to their fullest potential.
This is why it is so important to preserve space in our lives for creativity. A new wave of people starting a daily creative habit can lead to a new wave of ideas and thoughts being brought into the world, with new approaches and solutions for any number of things. Each of us learning to “know thyself” and then to be creative from this place when attempting to solve the many problems facing the world today is how we build a brighter and more hopeful future.
Self-awareness is critical in today’s world and creative thinking is a positive way to develop this insight, so we become less reactive in hurtful ways when interacting with others. It is so easy to be lulled into a comfortable sleep by the many spectacular aspects of modern society readily available for consumption, and if we spend most of life in a comfortable sleep it is easy to see why we have such a knee-jerk reaction to anyone or anything that disturbs us or jars us unexpectedly.
Even if no one will ever see the art you make, and even if one day soon AI could create everything better and faster than any human ever could, it is still worth creating - every single day with discipline - because the act of doing it will shape you into a person who can make this world a better place. For this reason, there is hardly a more noble or “human” act a person can do. Making things forces you to organize your thoughts into a format that others can understand and utilize.
Each of us engaging with our creativity is one small step we can take today, right now, towards making the world a better place, to making the internet more humane, and to revoking cynicism of the future.
It’s easy to start and most activities, if they are not based on consuming, lead to creating… Just start, no matter how small, be consistent and if you still can’t imagine yourself as a “creative person” I leave you with this passage:
“Maybe you don’t think of Socrates as an athlete, but that’s how Epictetus described him. The man was a ballplayer, Epictetus said, catching what life threw at him and throwing it back. And not easy throws either, but war and pain and being misunderstood, even eventually being sentenced to death. Socrates handled all this with the grace and skill of an elite athlete. Maybe you don’t see yourself as an artist, just like Socrates didn’t see himself as an athlete, but maybe you are.”
— Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic
And some ideas for starting a Daily Creative Habit:
The development of new technologies played a not insignificant role in ushering this evolution along, but that’s a topic for another day…
To be fair, Leonardo was often coping with historical events and setbacks the likes of which we couldn’t fathom today.
Highly recommended if you’re unconvinced that scrolling through social media all day has negative repercussions we can physically measure in our brains