vikings are creative, and so are you.
Every night when I was little, I asked my dad to tell me a bedtime story.
Not just any bedtime story. No.
A BUD VIKING story.
Bud Viking was a bigger-than-life superhero character my dad made up for my pre-sleep entertainment. He shared ancestry with the pro football team from my home state, the Minnesota Vikings.
My dad couldn’t resist my sweet little eyes (or a good Bud Viking story), so 9 times out of 10 he’d comply with my demands.
“Once upon a time, there lived a great viking, called Bud Viking...”
Bud’s favorite pastime was saving his viking kingdom from an evil shark. Bud was a pro shark wrestler, and though the shark tried with all his might, he could never defeat Bud.
Night after night, I adventured with Bud. My imagination soared.
My dad’s spent his career working in accounting, sales, and business administration. One might look at that and say, he’s not creative.
But HE CREATED BUD VIKING.
Tell me someone who isn’t creative could have done that.
Culture has trained us to believe that you’re only creative if you can paint, draw, sing, dance, sculpt, craft, design, write, or have other equally visually appealing artistic ability.
People who do things like finance, law, engineering, science, analysis, and business are often cast outside of the creative net because they don’t have a certain skill this exclusive definition of creativity says they should have.
You’re creative if you’ve got an imagination, express yourself, solve problems, have ideas, or make up stories to tell your kids at night.
In my 12 year design career, I was always the one expected to come up with the “creative” ideas for beautiful, intuitive products. But honestly, I got stuck. And the people I turned to for help — my developers. They are creative problem solvers. They offered me detailed, unique perspectives of problems that I often couldn’t even get from my fellow designers.
Many people don’t realise they’re creative, don’t know how to access their creativity, or are so conditioned to this lie that their skills or abilities aren’t considered creative.
What are the stories you tell yourself about your own creativity?
Do you believe that you’re creative?
If you don’t, look with curiosity into your everyday life -- what you do at your job, what you do outside of your job, how you interact with people, how you approach problems, what piques your interest, what fills your heart with joy. I guarantee there’s creativity in any or all of those areas.
Two important things to know about creativity:
Your job or career doesn’t define your creativity.
So maybe you do work in a field that’s not considered “creative.” You operate creatively when you contribute ideas for growth, find a solution to a client’s complex problem, or share your work in a relatable, personable way. And your job is only one part of you anyway. It doesn’t define WHO you are, or HOW creative you are.
You can build creative strength.
Creativity is like anything else you want to be good at. You practice consistently to build creative strength. And it means you can develop your own one-of-a-kind creative skillset.
You CAN think outside the box and redefine the standard definition of creativity.
If Bud Viking is creative, then you are, too.
