Creativity: Repetition Leads to Routine
Photo by Carly Kewley on Unsplash
Have you ever heard the phrase “practice makes perfect”? I’m pretty sure we all have. I know that was something my music teachers always told me to encourage me to practice outside of school. While I like the heart behind that phrase, I also hate how untrue it is because perfection is unattainable.
However, practice makes progress, and that is important to remember.
As you’re growing your creativity and working through the things we’ve talked about, I encourage you to think of it this way: repetition makes habit. Or, because I love alliteration, repetition leads to routine.
If you want to be a creative person, creativity needs to become a habit. I know this phrase sounds a little counterintuitive. It’s easy to think of creativity as this elusive force that shows up when it pleases at random intervals throughout our lives. But that’s simply not true.
Creativity is like a muscle. We are all born with it; we all have the ability to flex it and strengthen it. We’re all capable of being creative, but not everyone puts in the work to make it happen. Like our physical bodies, some people’s muscles and bodies are easier to build up; they might have to spend less time in the gym to get “swoll”, but they still have to put in the work.
No matter if creativity comes easily to you or you have to work diligently at it, it will get easier and more natural the more often you set aside time to flex the muscle.
You want to know why your favorite writer or painter or businessperson or logistician or musician or teacher is so good at what they do? It’s because they’ve practiced. They’ve made it a habit. Their craft, no matter what it is, is part of their lifestyle.
And you can do it too!
Reflection
What does repetition look like for you?
How will you continue to flex your creative muscles, even when things get hard?
Who can help encourage you to make creativity a routine?
