What’s Your Creative Fruit?
I had an interesting conversation the other day over Discord about working as a creative person. Some of us felt that if we could either create as part of our paid job or as a personally fulfilling hobby on our own time, but never had energy to do both. Others felt that creativity was a process of inertia, and that if there was any chance to be creative for themselves, it had to start during the workday and the personal works were much easier and more satisfiying having “warmed up” all day.
I have been thinking about this and turning it over in my head for days now, and it has a little ring of truth to it, that there isn’t a single way to best manage your creative energy. Kind of like there isn’t a single way to grow every fruit. Also, I’m hungry so I’m using a fruit metaphor.
Oranges grow best in tropical or subtropical climates, that have a steady warmth year round. A cold snap will disrupt the entire plant, even destroying an entire crop, and it takes a very long time to get back into a healthy growing pattern.
Similar to how an extrovert draws energy from socialization, if you are a Creative Orange, you draw your creativity from creating. Embrace it, and find ways throughout the day to create. You need to take measures to protect yourself when you see the frost on the horizon, but you can recover.
Cherries on the other hand, grow much further north and have adapted to harsh winter periods. If a cherry tree doesn’t experience a sufficient winter, it won’t bloom or fruit the following spring. The hibernation is necessary for a new cycle of flowering and growth.
If you're a Creative Cherry, creating uses up creative energy like socialization eventually tires an introvert. Also like an introvert, that doesn't mean that this energy should never be used - and it would make you miserable to never use it all. Respect your need to winter and fully enjoy the harvest when it comes.
Let’s face it, not every tree bears fruit. But that doesn’t mean it bears nothing at all. The nuts of almond trees draw very little attention from a distance but still have the potential to nourish others.
Nobody is completely devoid of creativity. Even if you don’t draw or write or otherwise consider yourself a “creator”, you are creative. You create in your own way, even if you don’t realize it. Creativity is just finding novel ways to solve problems and share experiences. Making on-the-fly adjustments to recipes, digging through data to find meaning in the numbers, finding a way to refine your in-game performance a little bit more, making your loved ones smile with surprises - these are all creative.
