How to Be More Creative: The War of Art

Everyone is creative. It makes me so sad when people say that they aren’t!

My husband, who is not your traditional creative type, once painted a portrait of me. I looked like Stifler’s mom and he shaded my jawline so much I appeared to be a five o’clock shadow, but I was actually extremely impressed. He committed, and the result was sick and hilarious.

I used to feel like I wasn’t creative enough for this kind of work. I do tend to have a lot of ideas, but sometimes it’s a major struggle to bring them to life exactly how I envisioned. But I discovered a book recently that completely changed the way I think about creating: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

“Your creativity is just as great as anybody else’s, but some people fight the fight more than others. ”

Here’s the gist: It’s supposed to be hard. This type of struggle is something every person faces. Isn’t that liberating? Your creativity is just as great as anybody else’s, but some people just dial in and fight the fight more than others.

If you want to be a painter, do you practice? Do you take tutorials and make room in your life to become better, or does the minutiae of your day get in the way? Do you struggle with self doubt? Do you give up right away, or compare yourself to others?

The path to increased creativity is simple - sit down for 30 minutes each day and open your mind to your muse. Write, or paint, or design something - whatever your medium of choice may be. Just try something. Schedule it in. Every. Single. Day. It will be weird some days, bad some days, inspiring some days and even awesome (occasionally).

The day after I finished this book, I sat down and made the Vanderpump Rules magnum opus that had been in my mind for weeks, and posted it to Instagram. A cast member shared it with her million fans (you’re my girl, Katie!), I gained a ton of followers overnight and received my first commission request! I was shocked - it really works, and the weirder the better, apparently.

If you are looking to bring more creativity into our life, read it and commit to the daily War of Art. I guarantee that with time, you’ll begin to feel the creative juices you never thought you’d have.