Creative Scarcity

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get a little… anxious about my creativity.

When I sit down to write, I like to make sure the environment is as idyllic as it can possibly be — a full cup of coffee or tea, freshly filled water carafe, a little dish of M&Ms, socks for my feet and a blanket for my lap if I’m cold, plenty of pencils & paper within reach, office door shut — so that not one drop of creativity will be wasted.

Can you spot the myth that I’m telling myself?

Back when I worked an office job full-time, I was always very careful with how I “spent” my creativity. I would set aside time in the evenings, from about 8-10 p.m., to work on my creative writing, and during work hours I would keep that top-of-mind — “Gotta save my creativity for writing tonight!”

I don’t know if this is something that you’ve ever struggled with, or if it’s a uniquely Sarah-esque neurosis. But I have some really, really good news for you today:

It’s impossible to run out of creativity.

Maya Angelou says it better that I ever could:

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Creativity isn’t a scarce dry good, like the last scoop of flour in the flour jar. It’s definitely not the last scrap of toilet paper on the roll. Creativity is the sourdough starter that doubles in size as you tend it. Creativity is a wellspring. It begets itself.

Now… what we can run out of is energy. And I’ve had firsthand experience with this. You probably have, too. Energy is our tether to the physical. Energy limits what our bodies can do and what our minds can produce.

And if we don’t take good care of ourselves — if we don’t rest and recharge and eat healthy and hydrate — then we won’t have the energy we need to create.

But the creativity will never run out, and it will never go away. Creativity is a paradox like love — the more you use, and the more you give, the more you have.

Words & warmth,

Sarah