I’ve been thinking about creativity a lot lately.

I blame Matt Zeigler, whose life work is spreading the creativity gospel… literally EVERY DAY for the last eight years through his Cultish Creative blog.

But Matt hasn’t awoken my creativity… Rather, he has inspired me to pay closer attention to it. I notice when it is there, and when it’s not.

When it’s close, I FEEL this sense of openness, willingness to take risk, and connection to the world.

When it’s dormant, I feel jittery and uneasy. I have no grounding in my life when I am greedily and mechanically chasing after some hollow goal.

Sometimes I may enlist my creativity in service of achieving whatever goal I am addicted to completing. But this form of creativity is tainted. It robs me from the joy that creativity can bring when it arises unencumbered by trivial expectations.

Before I offer my definition of creativity, let’s witness it in action.

First, sit back and relax while Matt Garstka from Animals as Leaders serenades you with quite possibly the most breathtaking drumming you will ever see. Although, “serenades” may not be the right word unless the complexity of djent music (a subgenre of the progressive/math metal genre) is calming to your overanxious mind (as is the case for me).

Next, we’ll call upon the Beethoven of our generation, Jon Batiste, to play, well… Beethoven. But as you’ll see, this isn’t your grandparents’ Beethoven, but rather something bordering on otherworldly.

A few years ago, I would have watched those videos and marveled at the technical skill of Matt Garstka and Jon Batiste. And I would have confused their talent for their creativity. I also would have watched Steph Curry dribble like a magician before launching a wild three pointer (nothing but net) and exclaim, “Now that is creativity! If only I possessed such creativity!”

Wrong! And not just wrong, but very dangerous. Defining creativity by putting our creative juggernauts on a pedestal and then wanting to be like them is the opposite of creativity. Rather, it attempts to steal someone else’s creativity and turn it into a mechanical, goal-driven process. It’s taking something beautiful and turning it into another to-do on your checklist.

Of course, there is a a lot of good that can come from putting down your device and playing piano, drums, or basketball. But if the 10,000 hours you spend on whatever activity you are doing doesn’t lead to your own unique creativity, it likely won’t lead to their joy. And creativity without joy is like an expensive car without an engine. It looks good, but just doesn’t work.

This is the crux of the problem in my view. We are learning the wrong lesson from our creative giants. We tend to think that if we build the skill we observe in them, we will find their success and happiness.

But what if it’s the other way around? What if the real lesson we should learn from our creative leaders is that joy comes from expressing our own unique creativity?

This is what I have realized. Expansive joy is the outcome of creativity… but only when I express creativity for creativity’s sake.

Matt Zeigler, Matt Garstka, Jon Batiste, and Steph Curry all express creativity for creativity sake. And when you watch them pursue their creativity, you can see their joy. It’s in their body. It’s in their faces. It’s in their spirit. For Jon Batiste it’s in the random whoops he lets out when he just can’t contain himself. Joy oozes from his very existence.

Armed with this information, go back and watch the clips I embedded earlier. Or for that matter, watch Matt Zeigler interview someone on Just Press Record and pay attention to his energy when he introduces his guests. Pay attention to how completely immersed he is when he listens to people’s stories.

In short, don’t focus on these folks’ talent. Focus on their joy. Focus on their peace. Focus on their expression of life.

This is the point of creativity, and it’s available to any of us.

And what’s even better is this type of authentic creativity can, in my view… heal our world.

I realize that is a big statement. But we live in a butterfly effect world. I can say with complete certainty that energy has a way of spreading in a very tangible way.

If you don’t believe me, think back to the last time your partner was pissed off and you had to walk on egg shells around them. How did you feel in that moment? Did that make you more or less irritable to your kids? And then how did your kids treat their friends? And on it goes…

That brings me to my dad, who I would nominate as the happiest 83 year old on planet Earth. To be clear, his life is far from perfect. He has some challenges in life that would absolutely break other people. But he still wakes up almost every day grateful for the little things in life.

How does he do it? Well, I have observed two changes in his life over the past couple years that have led to this blossoming of gratitude and joy.

First, he has played piano for decades… but very mechanically. He read music, inserted formulaic solos, and generally, took very few risks. Then a few years ago, he started tossing out the “rules” he followed while playing piano. What was a structured and mechanical execution of someone else’s song became his own creative expression.

Piano had always brought him joy. But now the joy was turned up to an 11. People noticed. They cried when he played. They told him hearing him play was the highlight of their day. His joy was infectious, and was quite literally healing the people that entered his world.

Second, my dad loves comedy. Comedy is, in my view, one of the most complex creative outlets, because it requires you to play on the fringes of what could offend or confuse some people. In order to be successful, you have to have a keen eye for the subtleties of humanity and make split decisions on what type of humor is appropriate for a given situation and/or person. When you fail it can get ugly. And you fail a lot as you are learning this trade.

My dad loves this process. He genuinely relishes meeting new people and trying out new jokes on them. I have witnessed some spectacular failures. But no one ever seems to get upset because he is so authentically joyous in his attempts. And then when he is successful (which is most of the time) people are unable to resist his charm. Whatever bad mood they were in is wiped away by this goofy, charming old man.

My dad’s world is different from mine. And my world is different from yours. We all experience the world in a completely unique way (at least until social media arrived on the scene to turn us into warring factions of largely homogeneous lemmings).

My dad’s joy, which comes from his unique creativity, heals the world around him.

I can do the same.

And so can you.

But it starts with expressing your unique creativity. As Rick Rubin said in the quote at the start of this post, creativity is “our birthright” and “not difficult to access.” In my view, creative expression can come from anywhere, and usually will…

That’s it.

A few days ago I was running on a trail and took pleasure in hopping like a bunny across stones and mud rather than running a straight line. Why? I don’t know. It felt like I was flowing with the trail. And that felt joyful.

✅ Creative.

Last month I was walking in the airport, living in my own introverted head, when out of nowhere I felt compelled to tell a stranger how much I liked her shirt. On receiving this compliment her face lit up like a Christmas tree. It was such a gift for me! I went from feeling very alone, to feeling connected to everyone around me. The entire airport was now a school playground and the other travelers were my classmates playing tag with me around the swing set.

✅ Creative.

I make it a point to find some sort of creative outlet each day now, no matter how small. I also try to do the big stuff, like writing this blog, or building data visualizations (by the way, check out my latest one on SNAP benefits by county).

But I really believe the big stuff is not necessary to find joy. It's the many small things that together build the habit of creative living. It’s a wonderful feedback loop as I see how it positively impacts the people I interact with each day. Even better, the more I practice, the less the little (and sometimes even big) things bother me.   

I have news for you. If you are interested in healing your world (which has the convenient side effect of healing yourself), get out there and express your goofy-ass creativity.

And do it now.

Forces are conspiring to sap humanity of its creativity that go by the names “AI” and “social media.” The biggest problem with these technologies is that they hijack our awareness, which shrinks our universe down to one controlled by algorithms.

Moreover these technologies steal time from our creative pursuits and homogenize our experience, leading to less unexpected wonder and awe in life. Worst of all, social media tends to reward offensiveness, which in my view, is the antithesis of creativity. It puts us in “defensive” mode rather than “discover” mode (thank you Jonathan Haidt for that terminology!).

So it’s time to fight back. If we all fight technology with our creativity, think of how much joy and healing we could manifest!

We can start by looking at our creative leaders differently.

Find their joy as proof that creative expression leads to joy.

Then notice your joy as proof that creative joy is infectious.

Then find what brings you joy and share it liberally.

I’m not talking about happiness (which IMO is overrated). I am talking about real joy that feels like it comes from absolutely nowhere. You may have to pay attention to experience this, especially if you have gotten sucked into the sad and depressing world that lives on your devices (which I must clarify, IS. NOT. YOUR. WORLD!).

But if you pay close enough attention, you will notice your joy. And when that happens, take note! Your creativity is not far away.