Creative Courage: You Don’t Have to Be Confident to Begin

I’ve been thinking a lot about creative courage lately.

When we hear the word courage, we tend to think about doing something big or brave. But I think there’s another kind of courage that shows up in much smaller, everyday ways.

It can be picking up a paintbrush when you haven’t painted in years. Trying pottery even though you have no idea what you’re doing. Writing something and actually sharing it. Taking a class by yourself. Wearing something you made. Or simply deciding that you want creativity to have a bigger place in your life.

I think we sometimes believe we need to feel confident before we try something creative.

But I’m not sure that’s how it works.

Sometimes we just have to be willing to try, even when we don’t know what we’re doing or how it will turn out.

And maybe that’s what creative courage really is.

Not being fearless. Not being good at everything we try. Just being curious enough to give something a chance.

What have you been wanting to try?

Think about that for a minute.

Is there something creative you keep thinking about but haven’t quite gotten around to?

Maybe you’ve wanted to try watercolor or pottery. Take more photographs. Write. Sew. Make jewelry. Plant something new in your garden. Try a new recipe. Dance. Learn an instrument.

It doesn’t really matter what it is.

And it doesn’t have to be something we traditionally think of as “art.” Creativity shows up in so many parts of our lives.

The problem is that it’s very easy to put these things on our “someday” list.

Someday I’ll take that class.

Someday I’ll get my paints out again.

Someday I’ll learn how to do that.

Someday, when I have more time.

But what if you didn’t wait for someday?

Start smaller than you think

Trying something new doesn’t mean you need to buy all the supplies or sign up for a six-week class.

Give it 15 minutes.

Watch a demonstration.

Borrow what you need.

Make one small thing.

Take your camera or phone on a walk and photograph whatever catches your eye.

Put on a song and move.

Pick up a pencil and make some marks on a piece of paper.

Just try.

You might love it.

You might decide it’s not for you.

You might be terrible at it the first time!

That’s okay. You tried.

And sometimes trying is where something completely unexpected begins.

Confidence can come later

One of the things I’ve learned from years of creating and teaching creativity is that waiting until we feel confident can keep us waiting for a very long time.

We don’t have to know exactly what we’re doing before we begin.

We learn by doing. We discover what we like by experimenting. We find our own creative voices by using them.

That takes a little courage.

But not necessarily the big, dramatic kind

Sometimes creative courage is simply saying:

I’m curious about this, so I’m going to give it a try.

That feels like a pretty good place to begin.