Dan Goodwin : How’s Your Creative Karma?

How’s Your Creative Karma?

7 Reasons Why Supporting Others Increases Your Own Creativity

By Dan Goodwin

Sometimes we get so absorbed and tangled in trying to be more creative ourselves that we forget one of the simplest and most effective ways to increase our creativity.

By reaching out to support and encourage others in their creative lives, we can’t help but be inspired to be more creative ourselves in a whole host of ways.

So here are 7 top reasons why supporting others and building good “Creative Karma” is a win-win situation for all:

1. When you support someone else, you feel less selfish. A big issue with many of us who create is that we feel we don’t deserve to spend time all on ourselves just creating, that it’s too selfish. By spending some time encouraging others in their creativity, you feel better about this perceived “selfishness” and create with less guilt and more freedom.
   
   
2. You learn new techniques for creating. Whether the person you’re encouraging creates in the same media that you do or not, by spending time helping them, you’ll absorb new techniques and new approaches that you can adapt for your own creative life.
   
   
3. Supporting someone else stimulates new ideas. When you help someone else’s creativity flourish, you’ll see how ideas begin to flow to them more easily and freely. Being around this kind of creative energy is infectious and it can’t help but stimulate new ideas for your own creative projects.
   
   
4. You discover new art forms to experiment in. There are more art forms in the world today then ever before. Most of us are only aware of a small fraction of them. By mixing with other artists and supporting them in different art forms, you’ll discover wonderful new media you never even thought of trying before. You never know, these may lead to the most satisfying creative works of your life.
   
   
5. Supporting others gives you insights into your own creativity habits. You may find by talking with someone else about how they can be more creative, you realise some of the fundamental habits you have in your own creative life that work well for you. You can then do more of these things, more often, meaning an increase in your creativity.
   
   
6. You develop a wider knowledge of creativity. Spending time helping others be more creative gives you a deeper and a wider perspective of creativity and all its many forms. This can only enhance the richness of your own art.
   
   
7. You feel like you’re making a difference. Most of us create to some extent to make a difference to the lives of others. With your support, an artist friend may go on to produce work they couldn’t have without your encouragement. Not only have you made a difference to the person you supported, but also to all the people whose lives are touched by this new work they’ve created.

These are just 7 of the reasons why supporting other artists in being more creative will enrich your own creativity in a whole range of ways.

Give your Creative Karma a boost today by joining CoachCreativeSpace.com, a supportive and thriving creative community space to help you be as creative as you can be. You'll find Creative Forums, Groups, Artwork and Blogs to share in and contribute to, and supportive like-minded creative people who are experiencing some of the same challenges and triumphs you are. •

© Copyright 2008 Dan Goodwin

About the Author | More by Dan Goodwin
Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin is the author of “Create Create!”, a FREE twice monthly ezine for people who want simple and powerful articles, tips and exercises to help them unleash their creative talents. Sign up right now and get your FREE “Explode Your Creativity!” Action Workbook, at www.CoachCreative.com.

01/20/08