Episode 25: Creativity During Tough Times

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Episode 25: Creativity During Tough Times
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This episode is a little more personal for us. We dig into how we each have managed our creativity while dealing with unexpected and emotionally difficult times. Each creative deals with this in their own way. There is no single best approach other than to use or perform creative work in the manner that serves you best. Creativity can be a therapeutic benefit, but it can also cause anxiety and stress. Knowing yourself and “going with the flow” of what feels best, being open to change, accepting setbacks, etc. is probably the only guidance we can give. But if you’ve ever struggled with being creative while facing life’s biggest challenges, give this a listen. You’re not alone.

Episode 24: Creative Strengths Vs. Weaknesses

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Episode 24: Creative Strengths Vs. Weaknesses
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In this episode, John and Kevin discuss whether creatives should focus on making weaknesses stronger or double down on our strengths. How do we even evaluate what a strength or weakness is? Should we label something as a weakness? We each want to improve in our craft, but what’s the best way to frame how we do that?

Resources

Kevin suggests reading Cory Doctorow’s article about how social media platforms change over time. Why they always (so far) serve the owners and never (so far) their users or the content creators in the long run. Read it here.

John recommends a strengths and weaknesses listicle from Elite Daily. The presentation undermines the message, which isn’t actually wrong, but sounds like it is.

Episode 16: Finding Creativity

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Episode 16: Finding Creativity
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This time, John and Kevin discuss finding creativity. Finding a creative path in the first place, or finding our way back to creativity. Recent years have been both a boon and a bane to creative work. We offer some thoughts and ideas for getting going or getting going again, and why you should.

Resources:

John is reading: Essentialism by Greg McKeown

The Science Behind Creativity

This article summarizes some of the science around creativity:
https://extension.sdstate.edu/mental-health-and-creativity

One article talks about the benefits of Expressive Writing.
https://www.psychreg.org/expressive-writing/
We might not think of journaling as creative, but it absolutely is.

So is knitting, for example:
https://www.mhanational.org/blog/mental-health-benefits-knitting

And, we discussed why creativity is important in Episode 1.

Episode 12: Who’s the Imposter?

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Episode 12: Who's the Imposter?
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Are You a Creative Fraud?

Some refer to this as Imposter Syndrome, but that can be a serious condition, and while it doesn’t have an official diagnosis, psychologists treat it seriously. Untreated, the effects can be devastating. If you believe your condition is serious or chronic, seek a professional therapist.

What we’re talking about are the feelings creatives get periodically where we believe our work doesn’t stand up to that of others or the vision we set for ourselves.

Feeling like a Creative fraud.

In this episode, John and Kevin discuss the times they’ve experienced this and what they’ve done to cope with and get beyond these periods.

Resources Mentioned:

Skill Share Guide: Creative Imposter Syndrome: How to Beat Feeling Like an Artistic Fraud

Time Article: How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome

APA Article: Feeling Like a Fraud

Psychology Today Article: Imposter Syndrome

An Introvert’s Guide to Beating Imposter Syndrome