For most creative mediums and forms of expression, there is some tangible way of measuring how much we create.

The value and quality of this output we often see as a secondary measure, believing it’s more important to write 5000 words of anything than 50 words of dazzling compellingly original prose.

There’s something about the bulk factor that soothes us, reassures that yes we are creative, more importantly we are ACTIVELY creative, we go to our creative workspace, create huge and create often.

If we were the business of making garments, this we might see as akin to producing the reams of raw cotton needed to make our clothes.

Now, don’t misunderstand, creating consistently is very valuable and of course to be encouraged. But what if all we ever created was reams of natural coloured cotton?

What if just produced the same type of creative work over and over, loading the same fabric time and time again on to the conveyer belt?

Here’s the problem:

Natural white cotton, as beautiful and as useful as it is, can only go so far.

To make our clothing more versatile, valuable, original, desirable, we need to colour the raw cotton in different shades and combine it with other materials.

And, at some point, to give it shape, function and meaning, we must stitch it all together into wearable clothing.

To do this, we need to create the “Invisible Threads” that hold it all together. What is a dressmaker without any thread? All they’ll have is a collection of odd shaped pieces of material, unconnected and unwearable.

So what are these “Invisible Threads” and how do we create them?

Well, they’re simple anything you do to support your creative work and your creative life, aside from the main creative work itself.

So one type of creative thread may be the word processor you use to type your manuscripts. Another may be the 30 minute time slot you set yourself each day to work on your latest projects.

Another may be the walks you take near the lake to refresh your mind and clear your head. Or the time you spend in your Creative Minds group each week sharing ideas. The inspiration you get from galleries you visit to see the works of familiar favourite artists, and new artists you’ve never experienced before. Or the comfort you get from reading the books of the writers you most admire.

All of these things, and hundreds of others, serve to thread together the cloth – the creative projects themselves – and give meaning, shape and structure to our creative lives.

Think about the Invisible Threads in your creative life, how strong and effective they are, and how well they are serving you.

What else can you do to strengthen and multiply these threads, and make YOUR creative life more consistent, more rewarding, more enjoyable?

Dan Goodwin
http://www.CoachCreative.com