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Activating Your Creativity:
Lessons from John S. Couch
WHY IT’S CONSCIOUS: We are creative beings. Tapping into our innate creativity can make us happier, more self-realized, and inspired.
John S. Couch understands the challenges of authentic self-expression in a world often fixated on recognition, financial success, and KPIs. As former Head of Design at Hulu, he managed to cultivate his creativity in a corporate world while maintaining a multidisciplinary artistic practice. His repertoire is impressively diverse, spanning painting, sculpture, and writing.
John’s book, The Art of Creative Rebellion: A Survival Guide for the Creative Rebel, is a candid guide for young creatives navigating the complex world of modern business while staying true to their artistic calling.
As a creative by nature and by vocation, I was delighted to speak to John about his own creative practice and hear his wisdom on how to activate creativity:
Mindfulness
John emphasizes the importance of meditation and ritual in his creative process for accessing a state of creative flow. He shares, “In order to get into a state of creative flow, I have to meditate. And I meditate every morning just anyway. But before I’m actually painting or writing, I will sit down and do it for five minutes.” This brief meditation serves as a transitional space, allowing John to quiet his mind and shift gears from the noise of daily life to a more focused, creative mindset.
Commit To Your Practice
John suggests developing a consistent practice. Make a commitment to your craft and showing up regularly, even on days when you don’t produce anything tangible. “Sometimes I go into my art studio and all I do is I sweep it clean it, and that might be it. But I showed up in the space connected to it on some level.”
The more you create, the less attached you become to any single piece, allowing you to take risks, experiment, and grow without the fear of failure paralyzing you. This approach helps build resilience and confidence in your creative abilities over time.
Embracing Impermanence
John’s work often revolves around the concept of impermanence, which he believes can profoundly impact our creative process:
“We are here as a miracle for just this moment, and therefore you have nothing to fear in terms of creatively expressing yourself like what? Why? Why worry too much about what a handful of people think?”
By embracing the transient nature of existence, there’s no pressure to create something perfect or timeless. This awareness allows us to fully immerse ourselves in the creative process, finding joy in the act of creation itself.
Create FOr You
On that note, one of the most significant barriers to creativity is our own self-doubt and judgment. Instead of focusing on the end result or others’ opinions, concentrate on expressing your genuine self through your work. “I think the problem we have in our society is we think it’s not valued unless it’s making money or, famous from doing it,” John says, “It’s not important whether or not many people like it or not. It’s really important that it’s real for you.” This mindset shift can be incredibly liberating.
Trust Your Gut
With such a varied practice, John has learned to trust his gut on which project or idea to give his focus to. He’s learned to see the distinction between productive struggle and unfruitful effort: “If you’re grinding too much, it’s probably not the right thing. There are difficult times in any project you’re doing, but there’s a difference between trying hard with something that overall is in flow, and just going through a little bit of a rough patch, versus something which is just a grind from the beginning.” By attuning ourselves to this intuitive sense of flow versus struggle, we can make more informed decisions about which projects to pursue and when it might be time to let go and move on to new creative endeavors.
This article was written by co-founder + Creative Director, Kiki Falconer
