What gives creativity juice?

Is it desperation or regulation?

Basically, what I want to know is…

Does creativity come from desperation? Passion? Feeling connected to oneself? Do you have to have a regulated nervous system to be creative, or are the stresses of current life and oppression enough to get the job done?

Is it even about getting the job done?

Can one express themselves if they feel like they’re being hunted for sport?

I seek to find reasons to remain creative and foster that impulse.

Is creativity just adrenaline?

I’ve been told it is a higher function of the brain, and that people who have to focus on survival struggle to tap into creative thinking due to all their mental energy being taken up by survival.

I’ve also heard that those under duress often come up with creative ideas and solutions to problems much faster. The workers at your job who do most of the work, but never get the promotion or recognition for their contributions - they are creative in quiet, small ways, everyday patch-workers that keep the ship afloat where others’ incompetence prevails.

Is that the kind of creativity that only allows for small practical solutions to be made, or grand, sweeping ideas that take the entire project or operation forward to new heights? Where does the juice come from?

Also, is it just something that happens when we’re uncomfortable with silence? When we see an empty space, do we just need to fill it with… anything? What compels creativity to assert itself in our lives, and how much control do we actually have over that process?

So many questions, but I am starting to believe that there is only one answer to them all.

YES.

Yes… to all of the above.

Lately, I have been tired. And due to the tiredness, I have not been creative, and that is making me miserable. But in an effort to become less miserable, I am finding my way back to creativity. And yes, I am not there yet, but it isn’t as far away as I once believed.

Creativity, in many ways, is contagious. You can catch creativity from others being creative, being in proximity to creativity fosters that spirit. Creativity is like a virus in that way, but there are many ways to kill creativity too, and they are subtle and effective.

Competition, while offering that adrenaline boost a lot of us are seeking in our creative lives, can lead down a slippery slope to comparison, which kills creativity by qualifying and quantifying it against an arbitrary standard.

Approval, which I would say only counts to fan the flame of creativity - wanting to impress the reader, the audience, the viewer, the client - chips away at the drive to make anything personal, selfish, or real. Creativity and performance cannot coexist for long, and pressure to keep showing up for a demanding or responsive audience can supersede truly creative fire.

Distraction, a familiar presence for most of us these days, takes away the energy to create by filling in the empty spaces and dominating the rhythms that can lead us down the path toward our creative place. Don’t beat yourself up too harshly for falling for distraction’s siren song again and again. If I’ve learned anything from the last decade, it’s that your attention is a form of currency that many crave to take from you. If your attention has that much value, guard it like a miser. Administer that attention where you see fit, and watch the investments gain interest effortlessly.

And there’s just general fatigue. We are all tired. And we are all tired due to the reasons mentioned above. We want to be distracted, gain approval, and show that we are worthy in various small ways in life. But creativity - she is taken from us slowly, subtly, when we trade her in for these desires.

In 2026, I choose creativity. I don’t need the answers to come to me instantly. I don’t need the process to be easy or quick. I miss the freedom and relief being creatively-engaged gave me when times got hard.

We are entering darker days than we have ever seen, and for some of us, creativity is our avenue of shedding organic light in the darkness.

Creativity is a blessing and a curse, and the enemies of our happiness knows that, so that’s why they are trying to kill our creative spirit. Our light is what they fear above all. By allowing creativity to thrive in our minds and souls, we thwart the most insidious power that the agents of darkness have over us.

So yes, it could come from adrenaline, from boredom, from overwhelming circumstances - your ideas might be trite, they might suck, there could be similar ones out there already, but that isn’t a good enough reason to not believe that it’s worthwhile.

Grab that creativity however it comes to you. Foster it, practice it, claim it.

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