Being creative is such a positive thing, and everyone’s creativity should be encouraged. However, some people lean towards this more naturally than others, finding their talents in art, writing, design, music, etc. While some naturally creative people might use their talents for their careers, others either choose not to or aren’t fortunate enough to make that happen, as creative industries are notoriously difficult to break into. This can sometimes lead to their creative side being stifled, which can be frustrating at times. If you have a creative person in your life and you can see that they haven’t been able to let their creativity out in a long time, here are some ways you can encourage them to do that.
Let Them Run Ideas by You
If they haven’t done anything creative for a while, they might be shy to share their thoughts and ideas for a new project, possibly because their confidence has been knocked a bit. If they mention to you that they have been thinking about picking up a paintbrush again or want to get back to that novel they abandoned years ago, ask more questions about it. Gently encourage them to run ideas by you and help them to get excited about their plans.
Give Them Space to Create
Everybody has a preferred way of working, whether that’s sat listening to music or a podcast, in a room with other people working too, or alone where there are no distractions. If you want to see the creative person in your life getting lost in their passion again, you need to give them space to create. This could be that they say they want every Sunday afternoon to themselves to work on their project or converting a room in the house into a study/studio for them to focus. This could work well for you, too, as the time they spend creating is time you can be spending on your hobbies or having some ‘me time’ relaxing at home.
Get Them Creative Gifts
When it comes to birthdays and other special occasions that usually require a gift, you should think about getting them something that they can use for their creative projects. It could be a book about certain techniques or historical figures in the art world they find inspiring, a set of canvases to paint on, or other materials they use for whatever they do (click here to see more suggestions for gifts for artists). If they enjoy photography, a new camera could be an excellent choice of gift, or if they write a gorgeous notebook and quality pen could also be a lovely thing for them to receive.
Do Fun Things Together
This is something that you can both enjoy but could also help to encourage their creative flair as well. Going out and having memorable, fun experiences could serve as inspiration for them either now or later in life, so if you want to encourage their creativity, you need to get them out of the house and experiencing the world around them.
It can be frustrating for a creative person who feels as though they don’t have an outlet or not enough time to nurture that side of them, so if you know someone like this, do the above to help to encourage them to get creative again.
