Speaker #0Have you ever wanted to create something but felt pretty much empty? Like whatever creative spark you had was just gone? Well, what if I told you that inside of you is a deep well of creativity that you probably don't even realize is there? Today, I'm going to show you why that tiny drop of creativity you think you have is actually more like an ocean, or at least like a lake, and how to let it spill out into the world. Welcome to Unleash Your Inner Creative with Lauren LaGrasso. I'm Lauren LaGrasso. I'm a Webby Award-winning podcast host and producer, singer-songwriter, keynote speaker, and creative coach. This show sits at the intersection of creativity, mental health, self-development, and spirituality, and it is meant to give you tools to love, trust, and know yourself enough to claim your right to creativity, redefine your relationship with fear, and pursue whatever it is that's on your heart. Today, we're going to talk about why you have so much more creativity inside of you than you think you have, and how to let it... all spill out into the world. But first, let me set the scene. I'm taking you last night into my bedroom. Ooh, scandalous. Not really. I was just about to put on my face mask. And when I was reaching for my face mask, I actually unfortunately knocked over my glass of water that was on my nightstand, which is classic me. I talk with my hands. I knock over glasses all the time. It's something I've become well acquainted with in my life. I'm Italian. It happens. It is a just a fun hobby I've gotten used to. So last night. old hat, I was reaching to get my mask with the lights off and I knocked over my water glass. And at first I was like, oh gosh, why did this happen? I want to go to bed. Now there's water everywhere. And honestly, I had a very small amount of water in my glass. So let's say I'm doing this on screen. So like I have a full glass. I probably had like an eighth of the glass of water left, less than what I'm holding in the glass that I have right now. And when I knocked it over, I was truly astounded at how... In the glass, it had looked like such a small amount of water, like there was almost nothing there. But when I knocked over, there was water everywhere. It was all over my nightstand. It had spread out throughout the whole nightstand. It fell behind the nightstand, onto the wall, underneath the nightstand. I had to move it and clean all over the place. And it took me a decent amount of time and a big towel to dry this all up before I could rest my precious little head down and get some sleep. But... In the middle of my complaining, I had this realization that every single time I've ever knocked over a glass of water, which again, as I've mentioned, has been quite often in my sweet young life, I have been astounded at how the glass didn't look that full. But when it gets knocked over, there is a massive puddle way beyond what it looked like inside of the receptacle, that when it came out, there was simply water everywhere. And I had this realization that that's exactly how our creativity is inside of us too, especially when we're feeling blocked or like we don't have that much to offer, that we think that maybe there's this teeny tiny microscopic amount. But if you can knock it out of yourself, or sometimes if life knocks it out of you, this unbelievable well of creativity that has been sitting inside of you just pours over. And that's what I'm here to talk about. today, the hidden creativity you have inside of you, why you have way more inside than you think, and how to start knocking it out of you. I have so many examples of this in my life, and I know you do too. For example, when I first moved to LA, I had never written a song, and then acting started breaking my heart. And I started having this creativity pour out of me that had been welling up inside of me, I guess, my whole life. And I started writing songs in between that state where you're awake and you're asleep. I truly don't think that music would have ever come to me, or at least not in that time frame, had acting not broken my heart. And so that's an example of creativity that was building up inside of me my whole life that I didn't even know that was there. And then once it started flowing out, it was just like this endless, it was just like this endless waterfall of creative expression. But there's so many other smaller moments where I had thought that I didn't have much creativity inside of me. But then when it started pouring out, I saw that, oh my gosh, what looked like was an eighth of a glass worth of creativity was actually a very large puddle. One time I was having writer's block when I was deep into my songwriting career, and I gave myself the constraint of, okay, you have an hour to write a song. Within 40 minutes, I had written a fantastic song. To this day, it's one of my favorite songs, and it is to this day the quickest song I ever wrote. But if I just let myself believe that I was actually blocked and had nothing inside of me, and I hadn't given myself the constraints to knock this creativity out of me so I could see the giant amount of creativity I really had, I might never. have written that song and had that song on my hands. Something small can also help. I remember one time I was going to make a podcast and I was like, I'm so tired. I don't think I can do it. I don't have the ability to do it. And I'm like, okay, you know what? I'm just going to switch rooms. And sure enough, just something as simple as changing the literal location in the room of your house that you're in, it knocked it out of me. And suddenly I was able to make this outline for a podcast and did this incredible podcast about how to get creatively unblocked, funny enough. Going on a trip, we went to Joshua Tree this weekend. There were so many inspiring things just getting out of my own natural environment that I was able to see that brought creativity to me. I saw like this pink house and I'm starting to write this song about our tiny pink house in the desert. So getting out of your environment can bring this well of creativity. And I never would have thought of writing a song about a pink house. But just going somewhere else, knocking myself out of my normal environment, took this thing in me that was maybe a speck and expanded into something so much bigger. And even the hard stuff like heartbreak you go through, or for me, the recent fires in LA, this has sparked my creativity in a big way and forced it out of me in such an unexpected way because there has been a crisis here and there has been a heartbreak and my creativity has tuned to that heartbreak. But I didn't know that those passions and that... way of thinking and creating was even inside me. And I think the best example is knocking over the glass last night, because literally before that, I was like, I don't have anything to talk about this week. I don't know how I'm going to do my podcast. And then this happy accident happened that was like, annoying, and honestly kind of scared me in that moment, because I was half asleep. And it turned out to be this great podcast idea. So how can you tap into your hidden creativity into the ideas that are just brimming inside of you, but you're feeling really burnt out or like you don't have anything left to give. The first thing I would say and like the easiest thing is just shaking up your environment. So as I mentioned, sometimes it's as simple as leaving the room you're in. Try working somewhere or changing your routine. Go somewhere new. Take a day trip. Spend time alone in a new environment. Hang out with a person you wouldn't normally hang out with. Like have a conversation with a stranger. Make yourself uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable breeds the most amazing ideas and new innovations. Shake it up, even let yourself be bored and write from that place. Do something to help you knock yourself over, which will help you spill out with new creative ideas. Another thing that can help you with new creative ideas when you're feeling like you've barely got anything inside of you is introducing constraints. So for example, like when I wrote that song within an hour, give yourself a challenge to. write a new piece in an hour, create something with only five words, share a video every single day. I do think when you can give yourself constraints when you're feeling blocked or when you're feeling like you don't really have the light inside of you that you normally do, you do. You just need to find a way to bring it out. So, you know, one thing I did over the pandemic was every week I'd give myself a word and I had to create something off of that word. It could be a song. It could be a meal. It could be a writing piece. But whatever it is, I had to create one thing off of that word. And that always helped me bring something up when I was feeling really overwhelmed and stressed. So that's a great way to start to see how much unbelievable creativity you have inside of you. Allow yourself to be messy. So when I knocked over the water, it wasn't like it was pretty, you know, it was everywhere. But that's what allowed me to see what was inside of that glass. And I think the same thing is true with us. A lot of times we're so afraid to not be perfect that we'll allow ourselves to think that we don't have anything to share. Creativity thrives in imperfection. Commit to being all over the place, okay? Just get something down. Get something done. It's okay for it to be messy when you're creating. Let yourself be as big and rough as you need to be while you're getting it done. And just like a spill, you can clean it up later. But getting something done, that's the hard part. Follow the drips and your curiosity and see where it leads. So if one little idea leaks out, chase it and see where it leads. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect right away. It doesn't even have to make sense. Like this thing about the pink house in the desert. I don't know what that song is going to be about, but I'm curious because that's just interesting. It's not a typical song I'd write. So I want to know what I'm going to do with that and in what way something's going to come out of me that... I don't normally see. So if you have one little idea, that's all you need to start taking you on the trail. And again, that drip is going to turn into something much bigger over time. And the final thing is turn your pain into purpose. Start by identifying your greatest hardship or sadness, then your greatest creative joy or talent, and let your pain flow out into your creativity by combining it all in unexpected ways. My friend Christina once said, It is our job as artists to alchemize pain. And I do fully believe in letting yourself feel the thing first. But once you feel it, one of the best ways to process it is by putting it into your creativity. And it's incredible the work we can do while we're working through something real in our lives. So to wrap it up, even when you think you have nothing or little left, you are full of creative potential. Sometimes you just need a little knock. or a spill, or some kind of constraint to see it. So my mini creative challenge for you this week is I want you to knock over your creative glass. Use one of the methods I shared. Shake up your environment. Introduce constraints. Allow yourself to be messy. Follow your curiosity. Turn your pain into purpose. Try something you haven't before. And then tell me what spills out. I cannot wait to see. And just know it is going to be so much more than you think you have inside of you. The water was my guide in this way. DM me or tag me with your creative breakthroughs. I can't wait to see what they are. And if you ever spill water, you're going to understand what I'm talking about. It's like you think you have one drop in there, but it's just so much more than that. And I hope you don't spill as much water as I do. That's all I can say. Okay. Thank you so much for listening. If this resonated with you, please share it with a fellow creative who needs a reminder that they are full of creativity, that it is their birthright, and that they can tap into it anytime they want. And before we wrap up, I do have a couple of things. I offer creative coaching, as you may know. If you're interested in unleashing your creativity, sharing your creative project with the world, and or finally going after your biggest dreams, I would love to help you and be your coach. You can email me at lauren.lagrasso at gmail.com to set up a free discovery call or go to my website and fill out the form on the coaching page. I cannot wait to help you unleash your inner creative and find your authentic voice. Thank you again for listening. This podcast was hosted and executive produced by me, Lauren LaGrasso. Music is by Liz Pohl. For more information on me and the show, follow us at Lauren LaGrasso and at Unleash Intercreative on social media. If you like what you heard today, leave a rating and review and share any specific thoughts you had about the episode so I can put the feedback in and give you the show that you want and deserve. I love you and I believe in you. Next week, we have on climate expert Patrick Murphy to talk about how we can creatively solve our planet's deepest environmental issues. I'll talk with you then.
