I often use the word creative , and I know that might turn some people off . Somehow the world has conflated the words creative and artistic . But those two things are not synonyms .

Creative refers to the talent of innovative problem-solving .

Artistic refers to a talent in the arts .

Not everyone is artistic . Everyone is creative . We are all creating , all the time . We create dairy-free meals and vacation plans and holiday parties . We create stories about people we see on the street . We create homes and knitting patterns and lifelong friendships and family traditions and injokes . Our creations make up our world .

You may think that because you don ’ t make visual art , write , or perform , you are not creative . Or maybe you think creative people are kind of weird .

To which I say ...

If you are wondering what your Zone of Creative Genius is , answer these questions swiftly and without pondering :

1 . What ’ s the one thing I love doing , no matter what ?

2 . What ’ s something I ’ ve always been naturally good at ?

3 . What ’ s something that other people praise me for , but I think isn ’ t that big of a deal ?

4 . What ’ s something that , if someone woke me up at 3 a . m . and said , “ Hey , we ’ re going to go do XYZ right now ,” I would be up in a flash and looking for my shoes ?

5 . What ’ s something that I spend quite a bit of money and time on , and my family and friends think it ’ s a bit crazy ?

WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH