The Fear of Being Ordinary, Part II - Power Thoughts for Overcoming Fear about Creativity

Thirty-three year old me

My deep reflection on my aversion to continued creativity began with a post I shared to my social media followers in the end of August. I started a 5-day bible study plan about creativity, searching for any places where creativity was highlighted in the bible. I was so curious to know if God placed value on creativity. While I reflected on my fear of being ordinary, I spent a considerable amount of time digging deep into the purpose of creativity. What is creativity? Where did it come from? Is it all about paintings and melodies? Does God expect me to be creative? What do my other creative friends have to say about my questions? Why do my creative friends continue to create? I ended up with a collection of comments and conversations in response to my original post. Between all these sources of ideas, certain power thoughts emerged, forming the foundation for my renewed commitment to creativity:

1. No creator has the same audience.

2. Your creative fingerprint is just as unique as your physical fingerprint.

3. Greatness as a goal is overwhelming. Shift your focus to purely creating.

4. You are not truly living if you are not willing to die for something.

5. Creativity is not restricted to audiovisual arts.

6. Someone is waiting for your creative content.

I. No creator has the same audience

Not recognizing this fact was a major setback for me as a creative. It's funny that we come from different neighborhoods, different cities, different countries, different time periods, different schools, different churches, and different relationships, yet, I missed this one. There may be some overlap, but there's always at least one other person I know, that you don't know. So, by definition, the collection of people listening to me, is different from the collection of people listening to you and everybody else. This fact is powerful. The same message needs to be echoed by multiple people, in order for it to reach everybody. Your creative reach is unique, so lean into that.

II. Your creative fingerprint is just as unique as your physical fingerprint

Just like you have a unique physical fingerprint, your worldview and life experience impresses a unique creative fingerprint on you. The stories you tell to emphasize a viewpoint, the words or chords you choose, the rhythms that move you. These will all be unique to you. This unique fingerprint sometimes holds the key to having a real impact for your audience. A deeper understanding of the same concept or idea may lay dormant in the world if you chose to hold back your creative fingerprint because you think you are not unique. Always remember, no one can create content the same way you would, so own it!

The stories you tell to emphasize a viewpoint, the words or chords you choose, the rhythms that move you. These will all be unique to you. This unique fingerprint sometimes holds the key to having a real impact for your audience.

III. Greatness as a goal is overwhelming. Shift your focus to purely creating

Me in 2022 during rehearsal for live shows

Pursuing greatness in your effort is one thing. It is a quality of intelligence - the quest to always give your absolute best. To be great in your effort is noble. But to start with a desire to be great at large, in the world, has a bit of ugliness to it. It is self-absorbed. It is begging for power. It seems desperate. Also, it places an enormous amount of pressure on yourself. It strips you of the joy of the journey. And the liberating nature of purely creating to fulfil a natural desire we all have to be creative. A natural desire to have some type of impact no matter how small that impact is. Solving a problem at work for your team is creative - it fulfils a desire to have some type of impact on the world. Advising your friend and seeing positive results is a form of creativity - no matter how small that impact is. But, to start with a desire to be at the top of the chain as a creative has a certain smell of greediness to it. If instead, you focused on giving your best effort to every creative work or output, you are inching closer and closer to true greatness. And to the possibility of greatness at large in the world.

To be great in your effort is noble. But to start with a desire to be great at large, in the world, has a bit of ugliness to it. It is self-absorbed. It is begging for power. It seems desperate.

IV. You are not truly living if you are not willing to die for something

Although most of the challenges we face as humans are the same, and a lot of our ideas or questions are not as controversial as we think they are, we often hide under a veil of fear and shame, not realizing that the person next to us is going through a similar struggle (or pondering the same questions) that we think is controversial, or unique to us. Fear of controversy has kept me caged for so long when it comes to sharing my ideas. In small circles, I've been praised for presenting ideas people would not expect from me. But in the world of excessive social media scrutinization, cyber bullying and mob rule (insert the cancellation movement), entertaining controversy seems dangerous - sometimes even to life. The Charlie Kirk assassination got me thinking about this a lot. Even though I did not agree with all of his methods and messaging, I remember wondering if he knew his work was putting his life in danger given the political climate in the United States. And I remember thinking, "he must have felt really liberated and free, speaking his thoughts without holding back." He must have known he could be a target. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. must have known he was a target. Every president in every country also knows that their work puts their personal safety at risk. But still, they go wholeheartedly into their work. This stark reality has helped me recall that every revolutionary idea (good or bad) always starts off as controversial, risking shame, reproach, rejection, or our safety at times. But in some way, this controversy is a litmus test for the freshness of an idea. Without it, the idea is not really that new. Staying away from controversy means you may be starving the world of a revolutionary idea (good or bad). So, jump in!

V. Creativity is not restricted to audiovisual arts

Creativity is vast. You must have heard of people referring to some of your co-workers as having "creative ideas." When that accounting company is having an HR crises, or when the business consulting firm has a conflict with a client, there's that person that they want involved in the brainstorming meeting to figure out a solution. That is creativity. A creative person is crafty - mentally. They can think up solutions in ways no one else can. They can create something out of nothing. They create solutions without having a template. Some people need to lean into that type of creativity. The goal is to find that realm of creativity where you are feeling fulfilled bringing your special creative fingerprint to life. For some people, that requires audiovisual creativity. Whatever form your creativity takes, don't feel limited. Create in a way that brings you freedom and fulfilment.

VI. Someone is waiting for your creative content

This one intertwines all of the previous power thoughts. Your unique audience is waiting for your unique storytelling to help them unlock something special. If you stay quiet, that unique audience will stay hungry and wanting. Without your unique storytelling, your audience will remain confused about that topic you're afraid to delve into. Your coworkers will remain unhappy in suboptimal work arrangements because you're afraid to share your creative ideas with your manager. Failing to be creative fails your audience. So, go back into your creative space, and create!