I'm not one for reading self-help books typically, however I just finished reading Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray Love, and I think I've been changed!

I'm not going to go as far as saying that this book was amazing or that everyone should read it - there were actually a lot of parts of the book that I didn't agree with, like the fact that Liz plays with semantics a bit too much and tries to redefine words but comes across as a bit picky - however there were so many pieces of this book that spoke to me and made me want to change the way I look at my creativity.

We all have creativity - Liz feels that the biggest downfall to creativity and forward thinking was when we began labeling people as "genius". By calling Mozart a genius, we are defining him by his ability to compose brilliant classical music. She feels that instead,Mozarthad a genius, or that hehad a genius moment. The same goes for creativity. Liz boldly states that we are all creative, but that we need to tap into that creativity and not all of us are capable of doing that as easily as others.

We can all create - This book refers to creativity as an instinctual capability and that humans need to create and explore, whether that be knitting, drawing, writing, painting singing, figure skating, etc. We don't need to be good at whatever we are doing, but we must keep exploring different ways in which we can create - although most of us are inhabited by fear. Fear of not being good enough, fear of not having time, fear of not being "inspired", fear of not being naturally "talented" or "creative". In Big Magic, Liz talks about how Harper Lee never wrote another book after To Kill a Mocking Bird in fear of not being able to compete with her best work.To me, this is a big eye opener on how we all take creativity (and all work) too seriously. So what if Harper Lee’s succeeding novels were crap? At least she would still be creating, working, exploring, learning and growing. Or, she could have written another best seller.

Creativity isn't all that serious - People take creativity too seriously. Many people think that in order to be a successful writer, artist, or singer, you need to be a Martyr for that craft, but rather, we should all think more like Tricksters. Trickers take everything lightly and live life as if they are in control and that no event or creation could possibly be so grave as it is or a Martyr. Liz points out that her first published piece of writing was a 10-page short story that needed to be cut down by 30%. For most creatives who think of their work as their "baby", this would sound like a disaster, terrible news! But for Liz, she went with it. She didn't know if she would destroy her story and she didn't really care - she was about to be finally published! But once she was done cutting up her story, she realized that it was no better nor worse, but different. Her story was now succinct, and was written in a style she would never have used on her own if it weren't for this specific situation, and from that she was able to grow as a writer. If you take your work too seriously, you aren't allowing it to own you and take you through what Liz thought of as a journey of growth.