I listened to a podcast by Liz Gilbert and she said something that really struck me. Referring to integrity, she likened it to a plane, flying with a rip in its side. It will crash, she said, the plane’s compromised integrity makes it impossible to do what it was designed to do. What it was engineered to do. She likened this compromise to people; If we have all these rips and tears, holes if you will, how can we possibly be integrous? Let’s look at creative integrity. I’m not talking about respecting copyright, I’m talking about being genuine to your own creativity.

What Is Creative Integrity?

What exactly do I mean by “creative integrity”? I mean, are you being genuine in your creative expression. If you’re a musician and you love rock and roll, but your paycheck requires that you play wedding music, that’s not integrity. I get that you need the paycheck, but it is vital that you’re giving your artist the rock and roll that it requires. That’s integrity.

Let’s say you have a job that doesn’t allow for expression at all. Maybe you’re answering phones in a customer service capacity. Are you making sure that your inner sculptor is getting enough clay and some time to mold it?

Are you a writer? Do you have a memoir inside you, but you feel that writing it will hurt people that you care about? Write what you’re called to write. Just because you write something, doesn’t mean you have to show it to anyone. Maybe you just want to write it for yourself. I used to (half jokingly) say that I’d write my story after everyone was dead. I don’t say that anymore. Now, I’m writing my story and I may or may not share it with the world. And I just might publish after everyone is dead – providing I outlive them all. Writing your truth is you having creative integrity.

So How Do We Keep Our ourselves Integrous?

The answer to this simple, but far from easy. In a world that celebrates “busy-ness”, sleep deprivation, and “working like a dog”, you need to make the time to play. And by “play”, I mean let your artist play. Do things that delight yourself, whether that’s playing with color, finger painting, listening to R&B while dancing around your living room. Keep that artist engaged. Don’t let the world strip you of your capacity to delight yourself.

Here are some ideas to spark your creativity and check out this article by a photographer writing about their own creative integrity: Creative Integrity – or, the Struggling Artist Myth Explained

What are your thoughts?