When I decided to write my first book and start this site to document my journey, I went to a bookstore looking for something that could guide me. I didn’t want a strict manual about writing or productivity. What I really needed was something that could help me rebuild my creativity.
The first book I picked up was The Art of Creative Thinking: 100 Lessons to Transform Your Mind. And I would like to share with you all the cool things it taught me.
Creativity can be applied to almost anything you do. It can enrich every aspect of your life. But the strange thing is that creativity is often something people try to take away from us.
We grow up surrounded by systems that tell us how we should behave, what we should do, and what is considered normal. School, work, and society often reward conformity more than imagination.
That happened to me too.
When I was in junior high and high school, I loved creative things. I played Dungeons & Dragons, wrote stories, and created my own campaigns. I played card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and spent hours building decks and strategies. But eventually I was told that those things were lame. That they were only for “nerds.” I was made fun of for it and pressured to stop if I wanted to fit in and avoid being bullied.
Something similar happened with photography.
At the time I only had a very cheap camera with terrible quality. People would laugh at it and tell me that I would never become a photographer because I didn’t have money for proper equipment. Some told me I should focus on something more realistic, something that matched my current skills and what I could afford.
When you’re young, it’s easy to believe those voices.
As children we tend to listen to adults and the people around us because we assume they know better. They are older, more experienced, and supposedly guiding us in the right direction.
But the truth is that adults are not always right. Neither are our peers.
Sometimes people discourage others out of jealousy of insecurity. Sometimes they simply repeat what society has taught them. And sometimes they feel threatened when someone around them tries something different.
It can be as simple as someone worrying that attention will shift away from them, or that someone else might succeed where they never tried. So they push you to stop.
But if there is something that sparks creativity in you, something that makes you curious or excited, you should pursue it. Even if people tell you it is stupid of a waste of time.
Not everything will succeed. Not every painting becomes famous and not every song becomes popular. But that doesn’t mean the process itself is worthless.
For me, not giving up photography and writing stories changed everything. These are skills I use every day now. Through them I found communities of people who share the same interest, and they continue to motivate me to keep creating.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had listened to the people who told me to quit.
And honestly, I’m glad I didn’t.