How can we find creativity in a world full of burnout?

Getting the opportunity to go on a trip to Atlanta with other college students was something I didn't anticipate to be life-changing. Did it change my perspective on some things? Maybe. Did it open my eyes to more possibilities? Certainly. Did I get more networking opportunities? Hopefully. When students of high caliber and similar interests all spend four days together, the conversations are bound to be fascinating and in my case, inspiring. 

Traveling back from one of the marketing agencies our crew visited, I was struck by how the employees seemed so creatively driven. Each employee had told us some anecdote about a client they had worked for in the past and had given us specific examples of deliverables and/or campaigns they had made or created. In this day and age, we are all familiar with the term “burnout” and have probably all even used it ourselves. I wondered how in a creatively demanding environment like that, they were able to keep consistently producing quality work, without getting “burnt out”. 

I asked a few of my new friends from the trip about this to hear their thoughts. “Do you think creatively can be cultivated?” I asked them. “Or maybe more specifically, how do you think we can learn to be more creative?” I received some interesting thoughts, which I have even continued to mull over. Maybe you'll find them just as inspiring as me. 

“Creativity is not something you lose,” one told me, “everyone has it, it's innate. It's how you apply it that determines the amount.” They told me they thought creativity was like a muscle. Something that gets stronger and easier when you use it more. “That's how you fight burnout,” they said, “you out-work it!” I found that curious. They went on to tell me that they thought of creativity as something that flows naturally and that they felt they were able to grow it when they spent time around other things flowing with creativity. Art, nature, and most importantly - other people. 

“Creativity is more than you might think it is,” another told me, “I think the definition sometimes gets wonky. Creativity occurs anytime something new is made; creating an art piece or writing a new song - sure, but it also is present anytime a problem is solved, something like your house furniture is rearranged, or you write a heartfelt note to your friend.” They told me that they felt like creativity is cultivated in intentional moments. Moments when you're brain is relaxed and not focused on anything other than the task at hand. They told me that they felt that to grow their creativity, they had to intentionally set time to focus and avoid distractions. When I asked them to give me an example of what this time looked like for them, they shared with me that they journal every day. In this time they quietly sit and write down any thought, solution, problem, or snippet of an idea that crosses their mind. “Often we kill our own creatively unintentionally because we don't exhaust an idea down its potential path. By writing down everything, I can think about lots of different options which often lead me to solutions or even occasionally inspiration!”

Here's what I've learned from just a few of my conversations with new peers on this trip: creativity is dynamic. Maybe the trick to cultivating creativity is to spend intentional time looking for it. Talking to people, asking and seeking to understand their thoughts, spending time in nature, journaling everyday observations and ideas, and maybe most importantly not resigning to a false mantra of saying “I'm just not a creative person”. 

Though I had a wonderful time visiting each organization we stopped at and learned things from each, the most impactful thing on my trip to Atlanta with NMGZ was learning with and bouncing ideas off, my new friends. I left feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and excited, ready to jump into finals week at college, and whatever life had to throw at me next! Stay Creative.