Suck a Little or a Lot

How to Discover Your Talents and Expand Your World

Up until about 6 to 12 months ago, I would have never described myself as creative. I used to associate creativity with drawing, painting, and design — things I suck at. I have an army of friends who lovingly came to my rescue whenever I had a party to help me decorate. And by help, I mean they did 80% of the work. I held things up while they pinned things down and made everything look pretty. Outsourcing at its finest. Thank you, friends.

That was all in the past. Gone are the days when I would spend hours looking for party design ideas and then go to the craft store to buy supplies. I hardly decorate now, if at all. It's called minimalism — ever heard of it?

I had someone ask me if I work in the creative space. Interesting. Did they see something in me? Did I somehow use creative lingo unbeknownst to myself? Months later, I had an epiphany. I am creative! Hallelujah! I took a paint and sip class to further explore this recent discovery. I drank and sipped and drank and sipped until I progressively became happier and my painting messier — creativity. Ha. I stippled and swirled and tried to make a color gradient. It was okay. Thanks to our sweet instructor, Jessica, for praising my work. I felt like a 5-year-old being told by her teacher that I was the next Picasso. Confidence elevated.

Sticking to what you know and are good at has its rewards. To become excellent at something, you must spend 10,000 hours mastering that skill. However, limiting your abilities prevents you from reaching your utmost potential. So go ahead. Try something new. Do you want to see the world? Book a solo trip. Are you interested in learning how to dance? Take a salsa class. Do you want to become a writer? Start writing and figure out the technicalities along the way.

You are creative. Any time you are building, creating, expressing yourself, or making something out of nothing, you are expressing creativity. How good you think you are at the moment is irrelevant. You embody the labels you give yourself, and if you ask me, creative is pretty darn badass.