Why Creativity is the Key to Fulfilling Your Life Purpose
The idea that your life serves a particular purpose means that there is some value that you are meant to provide to this world that only you are capable of providing. After all, if your purpose could be fulfilled by someone else, then that purpose could not be the reason you were specifically born. Serving a purpose in life that is not unique to you is not the same as serving your specific life purpose.
Science will agree that there is no other you in the universe. It is an incontrovertible fact that there is no other living being with the exact biological makeup (i.e., nature) and experience (i.e., nurture) that has shaped the individual you are becoming. Even if you believe in alternate universes, parallel universes, or multi-verses, or even if you have been cloned, all of those other versions of you will still be different in their experiences and, as a result, will be different from you. Your experiences shape who you are, and it is simply impossible to replicate your life experiences exactly as they have happened to you. You, therefore, are one-of-a-kind: a new and original idea the likes of which have never been seen before, and will never be seen after, your life.
A fairly standard definition of creativity is the ability to produce novel (or original) ideas of value. Your creativity—your original ideas and works of value—is the one thing that only you can bring to this world. Your life purpose, therefore, must be rooted in the expression of your creativity.
“But I am not creative,” many of you are thinking. Yes, you are. First, if your life serves a purpose (i.e., has value) and there is no other you (i.e., you are original/unique), then you are a living, breathing embodiment of creativity. In addition, you are creative because you see the world through your own unique lens. Your perspective and understanding of life and the world you live in is your creativity.
Your creativity—your original ideas and works of value—is the one thing that only you can bring to this world. Your life purpose, therefore, must be rooted in the expression of your creativity.
Too often we confuse creativity with artistic expression, which is but one form of creative expression. Michael Jordan may not be Michelangelo or have any artistic talents such as painting, but how he saw and played the game of basketball was absolutely a form of creative expression. Even his discipline, his relentless pursuit of perfection, and his sheer desire to win were all forms of creative expression because they were rooted in his unique worldview. Playing basketball, however, is not Michael Jordan’s life purpose. How could it be if he is still living and no longer playing basketball—surely, his life still serves a purpose. Instead, being an athlete and playing the game of basketball was an embodiment of his Michael Jordan’s life purpose. Basketball was how he chose to express some of the many truths that make up his greater life purpose. Needless to say, he chose wisely.
Figuring out how to express your creativity is one of life’s greater challenges. Part of the reason is that our education system is designed to create a workforce and to achieve academic benchmarks, not to nurture or develop your creativity. As the late Sir Ken Robinson puts it in his Ted Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity?, “We get educated out of creativity.” Pablo Picasso shared this sentiment, as he is famously quoted as saying, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
In order to preserve your innate creativity, call it your “creative intuition,” you must first be able to identify what it is, where it comes from, and when it rears its head. This takes a mature degree of self-awareness and courage. You must turn off the noise of opinions and expectations that is constantly drowning out your creative voice. You must try to understand your creative potential in its purest form, without all of life’s trauma and circumstances. You must get to your true nature absent your nurture.
The moment you are born, nurture begins. Your nature is abruptly subjected to everything outside of yourself. As a result, your creativity develops in response to whatever environment you were born into. Your nature, however, does not change. Your pure creative potential does not change. They simply become expressed and interpreted through the elements you are exposed to. Over time, your creativity becomes what is essentially a bundle of unique truths (ideas of value) that if lived by will lead towards your life purpose.
Your life is an exercise in creative expression. Everything you do and say carries with it some underlying truth, either directly or indirectly. Direct (or intentional) creative expression includes all forms of art, as well as all other forms of communication (e.g., written, verbal, etc.). Indirect (or unintentional) creative expression includes literally everything you choose to do, how you act. A life lived in pursuit of fulfilling your life purpose, therefore, becomes about navigating the opportunities you have in life and choosing those which you believe will best allow you to directly or indirectly express your creativity and live your truths.
Your life is an exercise in creative expression.
Properly evaluating your opportunities in life is key. Too many people follow money, as opposed to fulfillment. Money, however, is a tool that can be used to achieve some goal—it is not a goal itself. Choosing immediate financial gain is a short-term solution that can lead to long-term problems, including increased mental and physical health problems, marital problems, etc. By contrast, when you build a life based on how you are most creative and what your natural talents and passions are, you are in our element and will more likely feel happy and fulfilled. According to the American Heart Association, happiness actually improves our mental and physical health significantly.
In addition to affecting your mental and physical health, the opportunities you have to choose from tell you where we are needed, where you can provide some value. The question you must answer with each opportunity is whether that opportunity is a chance to provide your unique value. Does the opportunity before you allow you to use your natural talents and skills, to apply your creativity? Does it involve something you are naturally passionate about? Is it likely to bring you fulfillment?
Your life purpose is part of your nature, which you do not get to choose. The only choice you have is whether or not you accept your life purpose. Therein lies the balance of fate and free will. You have the freedom to choose to not follow and fulfill your life purpose and to go in a different direction. Of course, if you do, you will end up unfulfilled and constantly seeking more.
