By Kelechi Udoagwu
Exploring your inner character and making art with no inhibitions
People around the world are spending more time online than ever. Some of us are working and networking; others are catching up on Netflix, involved in communities, or scrolling through social feeds, creating and consuming content. Others, though, are exploring their creative sides, some to dig deeper and some for the first time ever.
Like most of us, when it comes to doing something new or daunting, we put it off until we convince ourselves that we do not really want to do it. If there’s one thing this crisis has highlighted, however, it is that we are mortal and unique beings, and life is uncertain.
If you have the urge to create something, you should do it regardless of the outcome, especially now when the world seems slower due to the lock-down.
This is an excellent time to rediscover yourself through art, keep your mind occupied, and have fun with your creative side. It will be a better way to spend your time than worrying about the pandemic or waiting for it to be over.
The most common reason people procrastinate on creating what they want to create is that we are afraid our work will not live up to our standards and no one would care, or worse, they would care, notice, and not be impressed.
The fear of being mediocre or ignored makes a lot of creatives do anything but create. But the world needs you and your art. The world needs your presence.
So how can you explore your creativity openly, authentically and without hesitation?
FIRST, move from a first-person to third-person orientation
Orientation describes where you spend most of your time and thoughts. If you live your life in first-person, your thoughts are most often about you, i.e., me, me, me. I create, I design, I want/need/hope for. That’s first-person.
While, of course, very common, thinking in first-person orientation limits your ability to create in a BIG way. Think about it — in a first-person orientation, you’re tying every job, every creative output, and everything you do to YOU personally and YOUR identity. It’s MY work. It’s MY challenge. It’s MY pursuits.
If you think and live your life in a third-person orientation — where you’re, essentially, a character in the narrative — you have more distance and a good perspective on yourself, your work, and the world in general. It’s not MY work that we’re looking at. It’s Kelechi’s work.
Do this and you’ll be more likely to create what you want and work on things outside of your core interests, without attaching them to your identity. There’s less risk and less emotional attachment. It’s not about me, it’s about the creator.
While it may feel abstract, this is an important distinction. We need to realize that we are not what we create. We are always evolving, and our art and creative output are snapshots of where we are at different times of our lives, just like photographs.
A third-person orientation helps you create some space between you and what you create, and appreciate differences in people and the world without comparing or inserting yourself in the picture.
In this mode, you are less ‘sensitive’ to your place and how people think of you. You can give yourself the freedom to be creative because you know that mistakes do not mean the end of you; they are simply lessons along the way.
Below is the mental switch you need to make to move from first- to third-person orientation.
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NEXT, Change your focus
Instead of living life with your focus or attention inward, you must intentionally direct it outward. This makes it easier for you to be creative and relate better to the world.
The epiphany that emerges when you choose to turn your focus outward is natural and organic. Nothing magical happens immediately. You do not have to force it. It is a light understanding that dawns on you as you begin to feel free, and accept yourself and the world as it is.
You accept that it is okay to like certain aspects of yourself and not others. It is okay to like certain elements of the world and not others. You realize that you do not need to change or ‘improve” yourself before you can be creative.
Try this little exercise: Put your hands up to your nose and notice the experience you are having. How does it make you feel? Does the world seem more limiting? Do you feel your perspective narrowing? Notice that your focus tends to be inward when you do this.
Now move your hand away from your nose. Look at it and turn it in different directions, and notice the experience you are now having. Does the world seem bigger? Do you have more perspective? Realize that your focus tends to be outward when you do this.
Think about the times in your life when you were in the first-person orientation, and times when you were in the third. Ask yourself (and answer honestly) which experiences you enjoyed better. Do you create better when your focus is inward or outward?
Whatever conclusion you come to will give you an unshakable view of the difference between think and living in the first- or third-person orientation. It reminds you that your perception of the world soon becomes your experience of the world.
Go ahead and create! Explore your creative side and evolve through this season. Always remember that you are not your work. You can indeed create for the sake of creating and enjoy living more.
Kelechi Udoagwu is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.
