Sting

Creativity: Listening List

I used to think creativity was something you either had or you didn’t. If you were creative, you would be drawn to something like writing or playing an instrument at an early age and continue to practice until you were really good. And if you weren’t really good at something creative by the time you were an adult, it simply meant you didn’t have the right passion or the right DNA. I failed at pretty much every instrument I tried growing up and nothing “creative” seemed to stick. Fortunately, I now know this binary view of creativity is complete hogwash, thanks in large part to podcasts. In an interview in one of the episodes below, author Elizabeth Gilbert says that the term “creative people” is redundant. All of us are creative, and sometimes you just need some permission to see yourself that way and to re-frame to yourself what creativity even means. My aim for the below list is to explore how the idea of creativity has evolved over time, what it actually is, and how we can use it everyday. I’m also hoping these episodes spark a little creative inspiration for you to follow your curiosity, like they did for me.