I firmly believe that–creativity is motion towards; it’s positive, even when based in pain and struggle, it is, at its essence, a positive act. Creation isn’t destruction, even when its deconstructionist; then it is a re-building. I just can’t find a place where creativity is a negative-based entity.
So why the hell are so many creatives so negative?!
The easy answer is fear, but that excuse is getting tired. Everyone is afraid–we have that hard-wired into our primitive monkey brains, self-preservation and survival of the species above all else–and yet there are so many of us who are happy and, therefore and not coincidentially, successful. What is the difference?
Think about it–how many successful people do you know who are dark, solitary, and negative? Who let their fears dictate their lives? With the exception of Howard Hughes (who suffered from all sorts of mental illnesses apparently), I can’t think of any (and even he made his fortune before become dark and solitary). I certainly can’t think of any successful creative professionals who don’t put themselves out there and overcome their fears every day.
With every moment, we have the choice to let the fears dictate–to be negative and defeatist, or we can choose to be positive, hopeful, reach out with our art and our selves and to work towards a better future. For example, today you may be told “we never have anyone expect 50% up front” and you can choose to let the fear of being different and the fear of not getting the project win, or you can choose to say “Well, that is my business policy and the way I do business, I hope you can respect that.” You can not win a project with Client A and not let it stop you from trying again with Clients B-Z. You can choose to do a self-assignment rather than take a bad deal. You can make your best art rather than caving in to what you have been told is the “right” kind of art to make.
At every moment, choosing to be positive is simply another way of saying “I choose to respect myself, my art, and my business.”