The Surprising Creative Tool Everyone Needs to Be Using

Remember being a child, when all you needed to create an entire imaginative world was some sticks, mud, and a leaf? Yeah, those were the good days, because we looked at the simple things we had in hand and made use of them without question. We didn’t pay mind to the fact that we didn’t have X, Y, or Z. We hadn’t learned that kind of scarcity yet.

Let’s talk limitations.

Limitations can feel, well, pretty stifling. We feel like we could do better if only we had more time, more money, more people on our team, more ideas to work with. Before we even start running the race, we’re giving ourselves reasons to not put out best foot forward.

Limitations can be a great tool if you approach them with the right mindset, and they can spark immense creativity along the way.

Limitations point us towards the present.

It feels nice and easy to tell ourselves that life would be SO much better if we just had more money, more time, and more certainty. But would it actually be better? Or are those just excuses that pass the buck away from you? If you had more time, you’d still need to strategize how to use it. If you had more money, you might end up wasting it on expenses you could have avoided with a little creativity.

It is what it is. You have what you have. The imagined place where you have endless time, money, tools, etc. doesn’t exist. This reality does. What will you do with it?

Limitations encourage creativity.

In his book, “The Art of Direction” William Ball said, “That with which we are limited is that with which we are creative.” Essentially, work with what you’ve got in front of you and make it happen.

This is the best creative mindset to have when you’re heading into a project. Your budget is your budget. Your team is your team. There are endless opportunities ahead, you just need to pinpoint the ones that are worthwhile.

Limitations lead to resourcefulness.

And we’re back to making mud pies in the backyard. Oh, look, a rock! That can be the cherry on top. If you don’t have your first pick of what you want, look around you. There’s bound to be something that you can make use of if you are willing to try. Resourcefulness will never fail you!

Limitations help you practice abundance.

At first, it might seem like “limit” and “abundant” are stark opposites. But – instead of looking at what you don’t have, look at what you do. I guarantee there’s more of what you DO have, if you take a minute to make an honest assessment.

Let’s say you really only have bare bones to work with. Well, some might argue that the creativity increases! Imagine you’re handing a child a blanket, and give the instruction to transform it into as many things as possible. What could one object become? A cape? A boat? A flag, perhaps? Maybe a fort, a magic carpet, or a wizard’s robe. See what I mean?

When you refuse to let limitations confine you, you take ownership of possibility. Let this idea fuel you as you go forward, and you’ll begin to marvel at all you that you were missing out on.