Whenever a school district hurts for money, one of the first places they consider cutting expenditures is art and music. Our society has a hard time justifying creativity. Creativity is perceived as a luxury. It’s the practical things like math, English, science and technology that are perceived as necessary.

This societal philosophy bleeds into our personal lives. Many of us give up our creative dreams to pursue more practical pursuits. I know a man who is a fabulous singer/songwriter and could have had a significant career in music. But the practical needs of rearing a family made him set it aside. I’m not judging his decision. He chose his family over a career on the road. But, the fact that he won’t even pick up a guitar anymore is sad to me. Why does it have to be either/or? Why can’t it be Yes, AND!?

For my entire adult life anything I created worked toward an end game: feeding my family, keeping a roof over our heads, providing. During my 28 years in business I’ve created a lot of things: books, blogs, articles, computer programs, web sites, videos, software, music, course materials, speeches, etc.

With all that creation, this is what I have NOT done until I began my creativity challenge:

• Create for the sheer pleasure of creating.
• Create without an “end game” or “purpose” (making money or making a meal, etc.) to “justify” that creation in my own mind.
• Create without quality expectations. I wanted whatever I created to be the best I could make it.

If creativity couldn’t be justified (if I couldn’t see making money from it eventually), I didn’t do it. Or if I thought it wasn’t going to be good enough to share, why bother?

I’ve written at least 10 fiction novels and really enjoyed writing them, but I never was able to monetize them to the level of replacing an income. When I had a web site that brought in sufficient for our family, I could justify the time and energy to write fiction and work toward becoming a well-established fiction author. But when my business tanked with Google changes back in 2012, I felt I had to focus on what gave me the most revenue for my time – especially when I became a single mother in early 2013.

I couldn’t justify my fiction writing habit anymore. I haven’t written any fiction since. I know I am on a journey back to writing fiction. I love it, but right now this creativity challenge is about me dipping my toe into creating for the sheer pleasure of creation, without an end game, without an objective of “making money.”

It’s amazing how my neuro-pathways are set to seek justification for creative pursuits. On auto-pilot, my mind routes through questions like “Can you make money doing this?” or “Is this going to be good enough to share?”

I consciously answer, “No, probably not, but that doesn’t matter.”

Maybe one day, I can re-write my neuro-pathways and stop trying to justify my creativity. The joy I receive from creating will be justification enough.

The more I pursue this creativity challenge, the more I find justification for creativity. I am learning on a whole new level. I’m gaining wisdom and understanding about the creation process. And I love sharing what I’m learning. So, even though money may not be my justification, alas… I am still justifying. At least now my justification is the joy I find every day in my creativity.

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