Casual or Committed Creative? Which are you?

The big decision you have to make is: Do you want to be a Casual Creative or a Committed Creative? Being either is fine but the choice needs to be made. A Casual Creative is the person who enjoys creativity and creative things such as recent and obscure movies, new authors, plays, museum and gallery openings and the rest. If the the Casual Creative is driven to produce, they work in spurts with long gaps between spurts. They also work only when inspired. For the Casual Creative there is no well defined vision of what comes next or of how to get better at some creative technique. The Casual Creative does have an inner guidance system that carves out time to get to creative places, activities, and purchases. There is nothing wrong with being a Casual Creative but it is important not to confuse it with being a Committed Creative.

The Committed Creative does things differently. They work even when not inspired. They do not work in spurts with long gaps but consistently, with short periods passing between creative work periods. They develop a strong ability to handle the frustration of practice. They set a vision for themselves, learn the steppingstones to reach that vision, and work through the million and one steps to move from steppingstone to steppingstone. Their creative activity meets their personal calendar so that that which needs to get done, gets done. Not a casual approach to creativity but one that involves discipline, focus, energy, patience, and planning. The Casual Creative is there to explore and enjoy the creative; the Committed Creative is there to be shaped, to shape others, to find inspiration where possible but also to grind through because they know as much lies in the creative process as is found in the creative product.

Committed Creatives produce a kind of magic the typical Causal Creative does not. Renaissance soul and very Committed Creative, Goethe says it well :

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative and creation.

There is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”