I Got Flowers Today

Creativity is as personal and unique as a fingerprint. No two people are the same, so the art of two people will not be the same. Despite this, we often have unrealistic expectations of ourselves to produce work that's just like that of our creative heroes or role models. Doing this we automatically sabotage ourselves either way.

If we DON'T produce art just like that of our heroes, we berate ourselves for being inadequate or a pretender or impostor. We may question our abilities and in moments of extreme doubt even wonder why we bother picking up our tools to create at all.

But, if we DO create something just like the artwork of our heroes, are we happy? Well, no, usually not! We then feel we're just the artistic equivalent of a photocopier, simply reproducing cheap copies of something that already exists, rather than developing our own original creative ideas and concepts.

What's common to both of these unhappy scenarios is the expectation we put upon ourselves.

The root cause of being discontent in both situations is the difference between what we expect and the outcome we actually achieve. Let's call this the Expectation Gap.

So we can narrow this gap in two ways.

1. We can create work that is closer to what we expect to create.

Or:

2. We can change our expectation of what we'll create.

Option 1 is fraught with danger. The crucial downfall is that we expect a certain end product. We have a fixed vision of what our finished piece of art will look like, feel like or sound like.

You're a creative person with a creative mind. How well do creative people with creative minds respond to creating something where every detail is pre-planned and decided, meaning there's no room for, well, creativity, along the way?

Option 2 however gives your creative mind the freedom it needs, and the permission it needs to create. Instead of thinking for example you're going to paint a picture of 7 lilies in a specific shade of white in a deep blue vase on a 12" square canvas using 3 carefully chosen brushes, and you're going to complete it all in 2 hours (breathe!), you're going to relax that Expectation Gap a little.

So, instead, you might say: "I'm really drawn to painting flowers at the moment. I'm going to choose a canvas, pick a brush and one or two colours to start with, and see where it leads..."

Maybe you will end up with your 7 white lilies. Or maybe you'll paint 5 roses, or 10 daffodils. Or maybe after painting one flower you'll decide it would look pretty in the hair of a young woman and go with that idea. Or maybe your first few brush strokes will encourage you to try painting something more abstract, based simply on washes and lines of colour.

Whatever the "end product" you'll have honoured your creativity and gone with where it's taken you. Rather than try to force it into being something it doesn't want to be.

Think about the Expectation Gap in your creative work lately. If it's larger than the Grand Canyon, maybe you can try the second option outlined above instead, and give your creativity the freedom and permission it needs for you to create happily in YOUR own unique way...

I invite you to take the next positive step to today by downloading your free copy of the powerful and practical "Explode Your Creativity!" Action Workbook at

From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin