What Does It Mean to Live a Creative Life?

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative. It inspires, encourages, and empowers readers to take back their creative power.

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I truly believe that we all have creativity in our bones. 

But we don’t see it manifest unless we give it a reason to. Even the most technical-natured people are born with creative magic in their bones. 

Living a creative life is beautiful because when we create, we build something from scratch that didn’t exist before. Whether it’s art, furniture, or the solution to a problem, we’re taking all our life experiences, expertise, and inspiration from the world around us to create something new and innovative. 

When I think of creativity, I think of it as a muscle; when we don’t use it, it atrophies.

And the more we create, the more we work on building that muscle and making creativity a habit. And the more we create, the more creative of a life we build.

Over the last year or so, I’ve been obsessed with building my creative practice. While I was doing things on the regular to exercise my creative muscles, it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. I want to be the type of creative I can spend hours lost in a sketchbook, not just treat it like an item on my to-do list. I want creativity to be a part of my day-to-day, not just a one-off instance. 

What’s funny is that I used to have a creative practice like this. I spent hours sketching in a sketchbook, in Procreate, or in Adobe just creating. But then life happened. My to-do list grew, my social life expanded, and I had no time to devote to my creative practice. 

That’s in part why I started this newsletter—to remind myself to make the time and space for creativity. Writing this newsletter is a creative practice in and of itself. 

Practicing creativity is more than just creating art or writing. There are so many instances in our day-to-day where we can practice creativity that we don’t realize: 

• Cooking or baking a new recipe 

• Styling our clothing 

• Organizing our homes 

• Exploring a topic we’re interested in 

• Journaling 

• Gardening 

• Formatting notes 

• Learning a language 

• Hosting a themed party 

But living a creative life isn’t just about the act of creating—it’s also about the mindset that goes into it.

Mindset can be the biggest hindrance to creativity, especially as we get older. That’s why we’re so creative as children—we play more, are more curious, and make more mistakes. As we get older, fear of failure and imposter syndrome creep in. We become comfortable with what we know and don’t want to venture outside our comfort zone. We take fewer risks in favor of stability and safety. 

When we live a creative life, we give ourselves permission to play and get curious, asking, “What if?” We’re fearless in the pursuit of what sets our soul on fire and don’t worry about being right or wrong but rather relish in the exploration. Living a creative life makes us feel less like a cog in the capitalist machine, giving us the freedom to express ourselves on our own terms. 

We’re not afraid to get messy and cringe. We’re brave enough to make bad art and be students. Creatives aren’t afraid to follow their passions and find ways to create a life around them. 

Here are a few things I’ve been doing lately (and thinking about doing) to build my creative practice: 

• Building a daily sketch habit 

• Blocking out a non-negotiable time during the week to do a larger creative project (I’m thinking Sunday afternoons)

• Signing up for an art class 

• Documenting my personal style journey 

What are you doing to foster your creative practice? Reply to this email and let me know!

CREATIVE CORNER

• 🎞️ What I’m Consuming: Child Stars, the new documentary produced by Demi Lovato

• 💡 What I’m Loving: I pulled out all my old journals, notebooks, and planners from my closet (all 33 of them 🙈) to display on an empty bookcase, so it’s been fun revisiting all of the memories I’ve documented over the last 15 years (and giving me inspiration for how I want to change my documentation practice next year)

• 🎨 What I’m Working On: Documenting my trip to Greece!

• 💭 Weekly Musing:

Thank you 💕

If you liked this newsletter, I’d love it if you could forward it to someone who you think would like it, too!

I’m so grateful for all of your support!

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder and Chief Brand Architect at Bright Eyes Creative, a creative studio that helps creatives monetize their zone of genius and creativity.

Where to find me:

• Join the waitlist for my new offer, Musing to Monetized, launching soon!

• Listen to my recent podcast episodes here

• Subscribe to my other business newsletter, Money Moves, where I talk about strategies and tactics for monetizing your zone of genius and creativity

• Watch the Koa Club’s Bold Leaders in Entrepreneurship roundtable I was a part of a few months back, talking all about marketing and branding