We’re nearing the end of the year and soon we’ll all be gathered with our friends and families, glasses of champagne in hand, waiting to ring in the new year, reflecting on this latest spin around the sun and pondering the ways we might want to do things differently in 2023.
According to statistics, taking up a new hobby and learning a new skill are among the most common New Year’s resolutions (right after losing weight and exercising more). As young children, we loved to try new things and were convinced that we were great at everything. Self-doubt and comparison, however, began to creep in as we gradually got older and soon the years went by and we convinced ourselves that creativity was only for artists and that failure would be inevitable if we were to pick up a paintbrush again or try our hand at something new.
But the thing is, our natural predisposition towards creativity is one of the things that fundamentally makes us human, and when we suppress that, we begin to feel there is something missing in our lives. It’s a form of self-expression, communication and a way to open our minds, and it is also closely linked to our ability to problem solve. If you look at the cave paintings of Lascaux (in France), for example, it’s clear that human creativity has been present for thousands of years. As Elizabeth Gilbert states in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, “If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.” So how do we reconnect with that part of ourselves and get over our fears and excuses?
Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, says that “most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” That resistance takes the shape of procrastination, negative self-talk, perfectionism and many other things that convince us that creativity is elusive—that we need to wait for our muse or that it’s too late for us anyway. Often it’s the fear of taking the first step that blocks us the most. What if this year we didn’t wait until January to put our creative dreams on yet another list of New Year’s resolutions and, instead, used these last few weeks of the year to kickstart creative habits that we can then build upon in 2023?
This holiday season, let’s concentrate on our creativity instead of on the consumerism that already gets enough attention. Let’s play and remember how fun it used to be to create something that only you could have brought into reality, no matter how imperfect. Let this be the year that you make some of your Christmas gifts, instead of buying them all. Pick up a new needle-felting hobby, dig out your watercolours and paint your own holiday cards, make some Christmas cookies and wrap them up with a pretty bow. It’s the perfect opportunity to dust off your abilities and throw caution to the wind, since the recipients of these gifts (your friends and family who love you) are probably the people most likely to appreciate the time and effort you put into your creations, as well as being the most willing to overlook any flaws.
If your Christmas gift list is long and you’re running out of time, head out to one of the local Christmas markets such as the 12 Days of Christmas Fireweed Community Market at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre (Dec 7–20) or the Christmas Spruce Bog presented by the Yukon Craft Society at the Old Fire Hall (Dec 2–21), and let yourself be inspired by how others have tapped into their creativity (while also supporting these hard-working local artists). Go home with some beautifully unique gifts and maybe with new enthusiasm to learn woodcarving or to make your own soap.
If music used to be your passion, maybe pull out your guitar this month and learn a few Christmas songs to share with your family. Get together with your kids on a cozy Sunday afternoon and make some Christmas tree decorations. The possibilities are endless and will serve as a wonderful way to ease into more creative habits in January, once the hustle and bustle of the holidays has died down.
Maybe you will want to set a new creative goal for each month this coming year. Much like the idea behind the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where participants attempt to write a novel in four weeks, you might like to dedicate a month to starting a new journaling habit, (possibly using Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages from her book The Artist’s Way), as an inspiration, or to picking up your old camera or learning how to make jewellery. Whatever you feel pulled to do—whether it’s cooking, songwriting, knitting or writing daily haikus—do it with joy. As Julia Cameron reminds us, “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control” (from The Artist’s Way, 1992).
