Am I finally a creative?
How I’m gradually learning that being at the beginning of a journey doesn’t make you any less of a creative
Shut. The. Front. Door. She’s called herself a creative.
F i n a l l y.
Working in marketing, and advertising agencies for years led me to believe that a Creative was a term specifically reserved for a designer. If you called yourself a Creative but weren’t a designer, then you’d confuse people. They’d look at you funny.
I barely even commented on design because that wasn’t my job and I felt like a fraud if I acted like it was. Or even that I had a ‘creative opinion’.
And I think I’m finally happy calling myself a creative now, but it’s taken a long old while.
Partly because it gives me great joy to challenge the linear, traditional systems of the corporate world in which you stay very much in your own, narrow lane.
Partly, because I want to seriously start embodying some of the advice that I would give to other people, and in this case it’s:
If you write, you are a writer.
If you bake, you are a baker.
If you paint, you are a painter.
And so on.
You’re already there.
But it’s been a journey to get here, and when I say here please don’t be fooled — I still feel like a fraud, a lot. I’m working out my style in illustration, writing, and all my creative content on Instagram. I keep getting drawn into the idea of having a niche when I’m just trying to figure myself out.
But I’m miles on from where I was a year ago. Which was, someone who designed her entire wedding stationery suite (we’re talking illustrations of me and my husband, not just a Canva job — no disrespect).
And like with everything I talk and write about, there is — you guessed it — some favourite learnings.
I just love a key takeaway.
Comparison will kill the fun, don’t do it
I guess I just thought that everyone was creative. But then at the same time, I thought that all the actual creatives were out there doing work I could never dream of doing.
One thing I’ve actioned is unfollowing some Instagram accounts. They’re incredible, and I hope that one day I’ll get to a place of confidence where I can follow again. But in a lot of cases it was just getting me down. I’d compare their 40k follows to my 150 (shoutout to anyone following!). Which just isn’t healthy for anyone.
Find your own creative way
So I get this travel, illustrated calendar every year. It’s so beautiful. I love the colours, they’re very much aligned with my own brand palette (if you can call it that), and the way she draws is just absolutely perfectly magical. No other way to describe it.
But it’s detailed. I imagine she takes a lot of time with it. And initially, I thought my ‘creative’ should be like that. Detailed, beautiful, intricate.
I very quickly realised that my brain wouldn’t concentrate for long enough to get to the level of detail she included. And that annoyed me greatly.
I’m gradually leaning more towards the reminder that it takes a lot of time to figure out what works for you, what your style is, and what you enjoy.
Like, I work best with short, high bursts of energy, and that does not include finite details.
Opt for curiosity over fear
To quote the great Elizabeth Gilbert (has anyone read her book by the way?):
To have a creative life you choose the path of curiosity over fear
So I started calling out curiosity as one of my biggest traits about a year ago, and ever since then, when I’ve let that lead me.. I’ve felt very, very creative.
Grounding myself with that thought, that if I’m curious about something I should go with it, has helped me so so much. Even if I feel like I haven’t ‘achieved’ anything as such in the sense of followers, or earning money, I ground myself in the fact that I’ve learnt something.
Be inspired by creatives, not threatened
Meeting friends who are self-employed and haven’t been stuck in that system also got my brain ticking.
One is a dancer, and super creative.
The other has her own fashion brand, and also creates beautiful, funny, engaging content for it.
They’re both multi-dimensional human beings, they think deeply, they’re kind, they don’t have linear paths.
I’m not saying you can’t be in a 9-5 and be creative. You absolutely can, but meeting these lovely gals opened up my world a bit. They introduced me to new possibilities, mindsets that I hadn’t considered.
Substack has as well, and Instagram. I’ve found a few people who are at the start of their journeys like me. I’m learning to feel less threatened, and lean into empowering others more.
I’m excited about this journey.
I’m not making money from it yet, but I’m showing up. I’m curious. And for the first time in a while, that’s starting to feel like it might be enough.
Love from,
Imi