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4 Ways to Create Like a Child
How to make creating fun, free, and fulfilling again.
Kids like to make things.
They like to make pictures, stories, full towns out of blocks or cardboard, outfits, books, and things we adults might not even consider making.
Children aren’t necessarily 100% creative all the time, but they can certainly be more creative than us.
It’s how we managed to find something to do or a new game to play at any given moment.
Kids can just…do things.
No second thought, no plan.
I’ve learned how to do this again.
Let’s get into how you can too.
1. Have Zero Expectations
I often find myself creating/writing for the hypothetical audience or buyers in my head, even if I’m working on something that I don’t plan on putting out in the world.
No matter what you’re creating (a book, an article, a painting, a sculpture…), there are a few things you should have no expectations about, especially if it’s a first draft or just for you:
- Do not create for an audience that does not exist
If you do have to create for an audience, and your audience is all moms in their fifties, why are you asking yourself, but what will my 70-year-old, non-parent, critical brother think?
Doesn’t matter. He isn’t your audience. It isn't relevant. Don’t have expectations for that.
- Don’t expect perfection
- Don’t expect mastery and fame on your first try (or even first 100)
- Don’t expect your life to change immediately
Kids don’t create with the intent to do something huge and prolific. They just do it because they want to. You can do the same.
2. Try New Things
As kids, everything is new to us.
We’ve never made a short film before. We’ve never written a newsletter, or sewn our own clothes, or upcycled an old dresser.
As adults, there are still things we haven’t tried.
