Running with Creativity

Know you might be thinking I am slightly crazy at this point. What the heck has running got to do with creativity. Other than boring fartlek runs (if you don’t know what this is google it, trust me I didn’t make it up) which aren’t actually creative because they are still pretty darn prescriptive.

Bare with me though– because this analogy hit me this morning and well it feels poignant in some way.

So here is my theory. Often when the shit hits the fan in life we can feel like we are running away fast from the things that we don’t want to be near, or in, or doing. Sometimes we need to run. Because well we are in the wrong place and we don’t want to be there any more.

But the only problem with that is if we are running away all we are really looking at is the thing we are running a way from, and in so doing often emotionally or mentally we are taking it with us. We are holding on to that space and using that to make us move to something different. All well and good in some senses because we need to move away from things we aren’t right for us. However it’s a far nicer feeling to be running towards something we want. To be focusing on the momentum that gets us up in the morning and helps us create or build something we want to.

And here is what I realised – that by creating we can often turn a ‘running from’ into a ‘running to’. It can change the state of what we are experiencing or dealing with and can turn heartache into a bestselling book, or frustration into a great work of art or an award winning documentary. Yes, not everything we create from a state of frustration, sadness, depression, anxiety, discomfort, grief, heartbreak, disappointment, anger will turn into a life changing piece of work, but each and every act of creative will help us to turn that momentum into something we can run towards.

I guess it’s no surprise given that every creation is just that, some way of developing something out of nothing, of changing a state so we are building something new. This positivity can become a saving grace in the depths of the challenges we face. Because, it offers a real tangible positivity, not one of fake words or hopeful slogans but an actual doing of work that moves us forward. Even if it’s by exploring the very thing we are suffering by creating we are changing the dynamic, we get to own the experience rather than be the victim of it. And nothing is more great or powerful than changing that state for ourselves.

So the next time the shit hits the fan and you don’t know what to do, try using it as inspiration for a project and see what happens. Oh and let me know obviously!!