The consequences of your creativity

To the creative that catches themselves wondering “why bother”,  or thinking their creativity is frivolous or not “good enough” to show or share with others. Here’s an alternative way to see how your creative activities covertly inspire and impact all those around you. 

Albert Einstein famously once said,

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.”

And he wasn't kidding.

How many times have you been scrolling Instagram, searching on Pinterest or just wandering around your local town and seen something and thought, “Oh, I wanna try that”, or “Wow, that's a great colour combination”, or “I wonder if I used something like that mixed with my style?” I’m going to bet it's frequently, if not every week. 

The more inspired we are, the more ideas we have. One idea inspires another, and on it goes. This is one of the reasons many of us have so many ideas we don’t know where to start or what to focus on. 

For as long as there has been the need to solve problems and the desire for beautiful things, there has been creative thinking and making. Humanity is hungry for inspiration, and we creatives are constantly looking for ways to fill up our tanks and are fascinated to see how other folk's creative processors unfold. 

But sharing your creativity doesn't just spark ideas. It also inspires others to:

• Answer their calling
• Spend the day creating
• Learn a new skill
• Dig out old projects
• Expand their comfort zone
• Believe their creativity and passions are worthwhile
• Keep going with an existing project
• Smile in awe and admiration at what you've made
• Find solutions to current challenges
• Experiment
• Make time for themselves
• And much more.
  

All rather marvellous consequences, I’m sure you’d agree?

It's Science

The scientific theory used to describe this domino reaction is the Butterfly 🦋 Effect. 

The two principal points that The Butterfly Effect teaches us are those small things: i.e. being creative and sharing your creativity, matter, and we are all connected to a grander system.

The things you create now - photos, meals, music, painting, clothes, ceramic, knitting, glasswork (whatever your creative passion is), today would have been inspired as the result of someone's previous action. Therefore, your creativity could, in turn, lead to someone else's future action.

I appreciate at times, especially if you are using social media as a vehicle to share what you make and earn a living. Your sharing can feel irrelevant as your posts are brutally sucked up and spat out by the latest algorithm.

As a tech-savvy society, we have become accustomed to relying on other folk's LIKES to validate or measure our creative worth, so if you're not getting that, it feels like you're posting into the wind. I hear you. But, I can also guarantee your creativity has influenced someone, somewhere you'll never know.

Essentially, one small creation made by you can inspire someone else to change the direction of their creative practice or life. Be those people, the loved ones around you, or someone stopping their scroll on the worldwide web. 

So I invite you never to underestimate how spending time creating and sharing your creative process, journey, products and offerings influence those both near and far. Your creativity matters, I promise.