Susie Pearl is a coach, mentor, author, podcaster and expert in positivity. Her most recent book, The Art of Creativity, was written after her cancer recovery and is about how to be more creative in your life. Having been diagnosed with a brain tumor a few years ago, Susie was told she had six weeks to live, yet has defied all the odds and is now living cancer-free in Ibiza.
Incredibly inspired by the book The Artist's Way, Susie wanted to put her own spin on the subject of creativity and spoke to Russell Brand, David Lynch, and Paul McCartney amongst many others to discover what makes them tick. Susie says that often, “The idea of being creative can strike fear into people (probably stemming back to art and craft lessons at school with a less than supportive teacher giving feedback on our work).”
Creativity doesn’t have to be about having the piano playing skills of Elton John or the artistic talent of Michelangelo. Susie says, “It's about seeing the world in different ways and being flexible in your thinking. It's combining ideas in new ways and finding routes through blocks so that you can head out the other side. Creativity is not only about painting and drawing. It is many things, including how we think and talk to others and how we choose to spend our time.”
“Creativity is about dancing with yourself, exploring your spirit and seeing what comes through the senses, without judging yourself,” she says. “It’s not a bad way to approach life as a philosophy of living in this new world ahead of us. One thing lockdown created was a spring of new creativity flowing out of us while we spent time quietly at home wondering what to do. Inevitably, if we do nothing, something happens and our mind gets busy on new ideas. Just start somewhere with little steps, then keep going.”
Here Susie has put together some key points to remember to help boost your creative muscles:
We are all creative
“Sometimes we feel blocked, but we can get past these blocks by going within ourselves – go inside. I have never met anyone who isn’t creative in some way. As humans, we all have the ability to pull in some creative flow to our life. The secret is about finding what you love and doing that.”
Discover your passion
“Decide what you like doing and turn up to your favorite craft regularly. It doesn’t matter if it’s sewing, drawing, doodling, painting, making matchstick men, writing, playing or writing music, designing, putting images things together, doing a Pinterest board, making a vision board, acting, dancing, or playing a game with friends. Whatever you enjoy doing that involves losing yourself in a task that gets you putting ideas together in a new way, do that and get immersed. That is creativity. Forget about the time and lose yourself in your activity.”
Meet up with creative people
“Surround yourself with other creative people and talk about ideas rather than talking about other people or gossiping. Talking to others helps you to build on ideas and create something new that you wouldn’t have thought of perhaps by yourself. Expand your horizons, meet new people to get new ideas from, do things differently and to do different things. Get inspired and excited by new thoughts and plans.”
Think about projects that inspire and excite you
“Discover projects you feel like getting involved with locally – join a singing group, learn to write poetry, sing, learn a new language or take a drawing class. The way to know if it’s right creatively for you is to feel if it gives you joy and makes you feel good. When you get creatively immersed, time flies and the hours pass by without even noticing.”
Play music
“Play music while you daydream. You don’t have to be doing things all the time. Take some time, relax, chill, listen to some soothing music and let the music take you off into feeling good. You may feel like taking a rest and relaxing, or some music may get you energized so you want to dance. Let your body do what it wants to do. Resist responding to the strong voice inside your head and instead follow your flow, follow your intuition and go towards what makes your heart sing and what brings you joy.”
See new people and places
“Chat with people you don’t know well in your area of interest and you will learn and be inspired by them. If you like art and drawing, join a local group and see who you meet. Go to places where you don’t know anyone yet and make some friends and strike up conversations. The best adventures happen when you don’t have a plan.”
Have a beginners mindset
“Remember that no one really knows what they are doing. Everyone is winging it and trying and experimenting. It’s good to make mistakes, fail at things and fall on your face trying something new. No one is really watching. The more you make mistakes, the more you explore and become inquisitive. The more you fail, the more informed you become about what doesn’t work, which helps you get onto the track of what does work.”
A final note…
Susie says that one of the main things to remember about creativity is that it’s meant to be fun and enjoyable. “Be light with yourself and your creative endeavors. None of it really matters – the only thing that’s important is that you enjoy yourself. Try out some puzzles and games, meditate and connect with your spirit and let ideas flow without judging them.” Amen to that.
Susie’s Book, The Art of Creativity: 7 Powerful Habits to Unlock Your Full Potential, is out now
If you liked this article you may also like our story on “15 ways to find more balance in your day”
