Getting my Master’s in Creativity & Innovation introduced me to so many ideas that I was never aware existed. Early on at Drexel University, I was introduced to a smaller field of creativity research called “Personal Creativity.”

Generally, when we talk about being creative, we mean that we are creating something that the world hasn’t seen before. A creative product is a unique and effective idea for EVERYONE. But that’s not the only types of creativity. You can be creative on a personal level as well.

The field of personal creativity takes a unique approach to creativity. Instead of a creative person creating an external product that they can show the world, what if THEY were their own product? Said differently, what if instead of creating THINGS, you created yourself? You created your “ideal you?”
Remember, creativity is simply the ability to create something both unique and effective. It doesn’t have to be unique to the entire world. It just needs to be unique to you.

Consider how you deal with problems in your daily life. Most people deal with stress in similar ways. Maybe they watch TV, have a beer, or try to ignore it altogether. It’s not unique or effective. A lot of people find themselves struggling with the same problems day-in, day-out because they’re not willing to break the habits of being themselves.

Innovators are great at finding the opportunities that other people missed. Nowhere is that easier to see then in personal creativity. Expanding your personal life can be as straightforward as taking up a hobby or as complex as changing how you relate to other people. Personal creativity invites you to stop reacting to the world and start turning your creativity inwards.
Ask yourself these 2 questions. First, “In what ways do I treat myself differently than I treat my creative projects?” I know that for me, my creative projects get the best of me. They get all my energy and passion and my personal life gets whatever is left over. More often than not, I’m so exhausted by the creative work I do that I have nothing leftover for myself.
Second, “If I treated myself as my newest creative project, what would I do?” What old way of doing things you need to let go? What unconventional strategies or new goals would you embrace?