E13. This One Skill Can Be a Secret Superpower for Creatives During Times of Turmoil

This last year has been the most productive of my life in terms of my creative output, despite the turmoil of the Pandemic and the political and cultural upheavals unfolding in my country (the US). How did I do it? I used what I now see as my secret superpower: my curiosity muscles. Curiosity is an essential skill for creatives, not only because it points us toward what we should be pursuing creatively, but it fosters the kind of openness and energy we need to maintain a consistent creative practice. But it also serves another purpose: it can help us navigate times of turmoil in our personal lives or our wider communities. Strong curiosity muscles can guide us through the often overwhelming emotions of such times, as well as the ontological anxiety we feel living in an era of paradigm shift. I also touch on a little-discussed aspect of curiosity: how we can feel guilty (or be guilted) for cultivating an intellectually curious, observational perspective during highly emotive times. This episode is a deep one, and I get quite esoteric in some sections - it will give you lots to think about! This episode's accompanying blog post can be found here. The other blog post I mention is called How Creatives Can Use Crisis to Overcome Blocks, and I recommend checking it out if the esoteric portions of this episode appeal to you!