11 Principles For Creative Expression & Evolution

There are no rules to creativity but there might be principles.

Or, at least, these are the very specific principles that helped me get brave enough to channel my own creative expression enough that I made it my whole job.

The truth is, I can only see these principles in hindsight. A lot of them where hard learnt. Some felt natural to me all along and it’s only in talking with other creatives that I could see those were the very specific approaches that allowed me to be bold enough to do the damn thing. Writing the book that details each of these principles in much more depth than I ever could here, showed me that where rules can lead to us restricting our expression, principles can grant us the parameters and permission to go full force with it.

Think of the ideas you have right now, the things you want to make. There’s a huge canyon between that thing being an idea and that thing becoming a reality. The actual creating. No matter what, transforming an idea into a real thing is a journey. It requires time and it requires effort. You can lengthen that journey, and even make it entirely impossible, by allowing doubts and insecurities to build innumerable blocks along the way. Just think about how much time you can waste thinking about whether you can or should even make a thing. Doubts are the killer of progress.

These principles are constructed to make your journey from idea to finished project easier. To motivate you to create more and improve more as a result. Because it feels good to create. And also because you have big dreams and they require you to make great things.

All 11 might help you right now or maybe just one of them will stand out to you. Use what you need.

I also recorded a podcast episode on these principles that you can listen to here.

11 Principles for Creative Expression & Evolution

Start Where You Are

You don’t need to know the whole plan before you begin. It can be nice to! It can feel like it gives up a sense of control. But the reality is that, even with the most artfully constructed plan, when you take the first step the entire labyrinth changes. New opportunities pop up. Issues that need to be resolved surface. You change. The most effective thing you can do to massively increase your output is lower your expectations for needing to know the whole fucking plan. Get started. Take the first available step and then move on to the next one.

Become Your Own Biggest Fan

We all want to be adored but the truth is that nobody will ever love you like you do. No one could ever understand your vision as clearly as you so stop waiting for someone else to give the conviction to create and show up in the world in the way you want to. It’s only when you commit to expressing yourself publicly firmly in your power that the people who are just like you can find you. The second part of this is to stop being a stan to everybody else. No one is above you. Start seeing your idols as peers and notice how you act different.

Create What You Wish Existed

When you create for the sake of creating, you’ve already won. Not only do you get the pure joy that comes from the act of being lost in your own universe that comes along with making something you love, it also means that you’ll be making something no one else ever could. There’s nuance to your character and expression that can’t be deciphered by all the market research possible, it’s in the specifics of who you are and what you naturally feel compelled to create that you have the potential to add something fresh and impactful. Specificity is magnetic. People want that natural nuance so devote yourself to fulfilling your own desires and it will flow through you.

Lean Into Obsession

Passion is an energiser. When we show up and let ourselves be “too much” we actually free ourselves to create at our optimum ability. We go to extends that other people wouldn’t even care to. That is the power of obsession. Don’t shy away from the things that turn you on, double down on them. Art takes a long time to make and an even longer time to promote so you’d have to be a straight up dummy to devote yourself to something you actually don’t give a shit about.

Find Structure In The Chaos

As creatives, many of us have spent a lot of our lives feeling restricted by the rules enforced upon us. In schools and jobs we’re enraged by the fact that we have to be in a certain place at a certain time. That we have to fulfil obligations that very rarely align with our valuables. If we’re not careful we can transfer this disdain for the structures that imposed upon us, onto the exact structure we need to thrive. Identifying the structures that help you purposefully create the very specific things you want to create, frees you. Resist the urge to rebel against yourself. Understand that you get to dictate your own boundaries and enforce ways that assist you in creating with purpose.

Value Yourself Enough To Do Something With Your Ideas

You are worth your own time and energy. Stop fighting against your ideas and enforcing these imaginary blocks on yourself. Instead, decide that you get to enjoy the growth you will experience through everything you create. Building a portfolio of work is a process. You don’t have to get it right in one piece. Take the idea that you have right now and do something with it because it is worth your attention.

Fuck A Niche

Niches work well for corporations, not creatives. You do not need a logo/font/brand colours. You do not need to pick one thing. You do not need an elevator pitch. Free yourself to be messy and complicated. Free yourself to be creative.

Commit To Baby Steps

Every single thing is made one step at a time. You don’t have to do everything in a day. Focus on what you’re making right now and give it your all. Break down your projects into the smallest increments so you can get that sweet hit of dopamine as you witness yourself making actual progress.

Understand Your Flow

Creativity works in a rhythm. Everyone’s rhythm is different. Every project’s rhythm can be different, too. Paying attention to your energy cycles, needs, and desires can be a total game-changer to your creative output and enjoyment. Active creativity, that part where you’re balls to the wall doing the thing, isn’t the full picture when it comes to your creative expression. You also require time to review what you’ve made, time to soak up as much inspiration as possible, and time to absolutely nothing for long enough that you get so bored you start seeking inspiration like a wild beast again. The trick is to be in whatever ever season you’re in fully.

Seek Failure

Creativity is the antithesis of productivity. There’s no proven formula to follow because you are creating your own. Trial and error is part of the process and it’s only when you allow yourself to really stretch the limits of your skills and ideas that you can feel the sweet spot and evolve. Learn to laugh at your mistakes because, above all, creating should just be really fun.

Let It Be Easy

Your expression is as simple as deciding which option you like best. Over and over again. Creativity is a million tiny decisions. Your job as an artist is to trust your taste enough to be led it. Choose the simple option. Be guided by your commit. Making the best thing that you can right now with what you have right now is the mission.

If you enjoyed this, get the book for the full scoop.

Keep creating,

Gabriella

xx