Collage of drawings in my 2026 Creativity Calendar. Available here.
I admire people who put their craft or heart or any part of themselves out into the world if it is not in their nature to do so. Maybe some people never experience the psychological stop signs that prevent them from expressing themselves. But there’s a whole population of us who, when we put something out into the world — particularly something creative — we are doing it in spite of ourselves. I mean, who ever said creativity was supposed to be tidy? Who ever said creativity was supposed to be perfect? And yet, we silently recite these stories to ourselves all the time.
When I find myself pulled to create, but then shying away from doing it for fear of judgment (not just from others, but my own too) I do better to do it anyway. We all do. To just see if magic can happen. Why line up a field-full of stop signs in our anticipatory mind before we whirl a wondrous wand? Why do we halt before we hallelujah? Why do we deprive ourselves the chance to experience the joy of seeing a dazzling something come to life on paper or in song or elsewhere? Why do we allow invisible bonds to cage our innate desire to self-express?
When we do this, we don’t just experience an innocuous void from not creating something. We don’t just suffer the pain and shame of self-censorship. And we don’t just deprive others of seeing our vulnerability as a beacon.
We also rob them and ourselves of the cellular energy boost experienced while witnessing something you might call bravery or at least guts. Lastly, I believe the biggest damage that comes from stopping ourselves before we even attempt a creative act is that we deprive our spirit, our inner child, of something essential. It’s not about the end product — it’s about what we experience in the process. When it comes to creative expression, the best thing we can do is express. And it's only through this trial that the miracles of innovation have ever come to life.
My drawings may be crude and my skills may be lacking, but I know that doing the thing is better than not doing the thing. And I know that creating the thing is better than judging the thing. My daily creativity calendar circles are a place to start my day practicing my 2026 mantra which is to Create Before I Consume. It will earn me no Emmys or Oscars, it won’t land me on a best sellers list, and my one inch by one inch drawings won’t be sought out for museum or gallery display. But doing this… Just. Makes. Me. Feel. Good. It calms my nervous system. It’s really hard to share of ourselves because creativity is vulnerable. But the birds I hear singing every morning sing to sing, not to perform. If we could just remember that, right?
I find joy in appreciating the creative imaginings you and people all over the world make real, so I have to believe that when I share my own creative blossoms or weeds with others, those might could sprout something in you too. (Might could is an expression I’ve learned in Texas.) We are not meant to hoard our joy, our light or our true being.
What if we could bring ourselves to a place where we create to create… and give not a second thought or a micro-sparkle of energy to the judgment that may follow?