TL;DR:

• We celebrate creativity because content creators give us a gift of knowledge, ideas, thoughts, and stories…a part of who they are. Creativity is a gift so we should thank content creators for sharing. Gratitude is meant to be shared.
• There are three reasons why celebrating creativity is an important gift: (1) uplift, encourage, and appreciate content creators (2) amplify voices for more people to learn as a community so we can be better (3) as we demonstrate kindness to others by celebrating creativity, we improve our well-being and others.
• Learn actionable steps to take to celebrate creativity!

On August 6, 2022, I had the greatest honor to share on Melissa Aveling’s Celebrating Creativity session along with four other great educators: Betzabé Orenos, Alex Isaacs, Ritika Tyagi, and David Peña. We each shared different ways that we celebrate creativity. Watch the full recording here! I start speaking at 42:15.

Who am I? Learning from others makes us who we are as people and educators. I am the person I am today because other people had the courage to share. I am passionate about learning so every day, I learn from others so I can evolve to become a better person. I’d love to share how celebrating creativity is a gift.

Content Creators…

They give. They make. 

We consume. We take. 

What do you like to consume to learn? Do you read books or blogs? Listen to podcasts? Subscribe to email newsletters? Watch YouTube videos?

My primary objective is this: We will learn to celebrate other people’s creativity more than we currently do.

Two Mindset Shifts

#1 Mindset shift: When someone shares what they create, it is like a gift of themselves – their thoughts, ideas, experiences, expertise, and stories. It’s a part of them they shared with you.

We receive a gift when others share a piece of their creativity.

Perspective: When we receive a tangible gift, we always say thank you (or we should) but when it’s not tangible (like intellectual, inspirational, emotional or someone’s creativity), people feel less “obligated” to express appreciation. Why?

How often do you celebrate and show appreciation for people’s creativity? Perhaps we don’t see it as a gift. 

#2 Mindset shift: Since someone’s creativity IS a gift, it is respectful to take time and make an effort to share gratitude.

Gratitude is meant to be shared. If we have appreciation in our heart, then it’s meant to be shared.

As a result of reaching out to celebrate creativity, I made many meaningful connections and valuable friendships that brought greater joy, provided me with unfathomable opportunities, and changed my life for the better.

Why Celebrating Creativity is an Important Gift – Reason #1

Many content creators crave and appreciate feedback. As an audience, we can give them a gift of words as an expression of our gratitude. It’s a great way to serve, encourage, and uplift others. Many like to know what part of their message resonated so they can better understand what is making an impact. The valuable feedback can be used to improve and hone their message and can be seen as encouragement.

HOW do we give a gift of words to content creators? 

• Step #1: Be explicit. Share what resonated. It deepens your understanding of what you just learned. For example, share something specific so you will remember it better because your brain has to analyze and evaluate the content to do so (Bloom’s taxonomy). Better yet, CREATE! I don’t do it ALL the time but I do try to regularly express appreciation with intention and details, either privately or publicly on social media. Sometimes I ADD to what is shared to deepen our collective understanding. 
• Step #2: Share gratitude to the creator for sharing their knowledge, idea, or story. Remember, their creativity is a gift and a piece of who they are AND gratitude is meant to be shared. (Mindset shift #1 and #2)

Why Celebrating Creativity is an Important Gift – Reason #2

When we share, we amplify voices for even more people to learn. We are like the branches of a tree spreading someone else’s message and honoring their creativity. This leads to a collective acceleration of ideas that helps us all be better so we can be better for students and our community. 

It is hard for some creators to feel comfortable to regularly share or market their own work. The number of times I learned something new because someone shared another person’s blog post, podcast, or message has been truly IMPACTFUL! 

I am the person I am today because of the frequency of people celebrating creativity. Don’t underestimate how much it means to creators! So when you learn something that makes an impact, then I encourage you to not just like the post, but retweet with your gift of words back to the creator, or share it to your followers in a way that promotes greater reach for greater impact. I recognize that it does take some time and effort but think about how long it took for the creator to create it. Remember, what they’ve given you is a gift because you learned something new AND gratitude is meant to be shared. (Mindset shift #1 and #2)

Why Celebrating Creativity is an Important Gift – Reason #3

By demonstrating kindness in this way, you also have an opportunity to increase endorphins (serotonin & dopamine) and feel happier emotionally, knowing you are brightening someone’s day by celebrating their creativity. It’s a win-win! The anticipation of their response also releases feel good hormones! 

Guess what? Every time I received a response back, it made me feel happy inside. You’d be surprised at how many well-known authors and inspirational international speakers take the time to thank me back for reaching out.

Overall, the act of taking the time to celebrate other’s creativity leads to improved well-being for yourself and them. Also, when people in your PLN witness your kindness, it improves their well-being too like emotional contagion.

The Impact of Celebrating Creativity

It’s all about relationships. As a result of reaching out to celebrate creativity, I made so many meaningful connections which resulted in valuable friendships that brought me greater joy, provided me with unfathomable opportunities, and changed my life for the better. Watch the recording for more details.

One of the biggest most impactful improvements I’ve made since the pandemic was to CELEBRATE CREATIVITY by uplifting others through love, kindness, and gratitude. One of my daily goals is to see every single atomic interaction as an opportunity to interact and to brighten someone’s day. When I see relationships and connections as gifts, then it is SO much easier to do. I gladly embrace atomic interactions and intentionally take action. You can do it too!

I previously wrote a blog post that spoke to this idea of reaching out to celebrate others: Podcast and PD Takeaways with a Plea.

It’s not just about celebrating creativity. It’s MORE about celebrating the creator and building a connection. Kindness to others is the best form of self-care.

Actionable Steps

• Consider the many ways you consume people’s creativity.
• Consider where you might best share what you learned.
• The next time you consume, make it a goal to tweet or respond in some way with gratitude and specifically share what resonated.
• Observe how that made you feel knowing you brightened someone’s day.
• Put time and effort into building a connection with content creators
• Celebrate creativity!

“It’s about the quality of connections rather than the quantity of connections. People look at views but it’s that one person that connects that means a lot.” – Jon Harper, as a guest on Dave Schmittou’s podcast Lasting Learning – episode 119.

Be that ONE person! Go celebrate others and make a connection!

I would absolutely love to connect with you to have a conversation or if you need support. Please feel free to share what resonated with you most. I am grateful you chose to give me the gift of your time to read my post. Please click here to let me know your thoughts, thank you!