I can still feel in my bones the moment I committed to creativity.

After becoming a coach, I attended a leadership program. In partners, we worked on identifying our personal core mission, that certain something that we were ready to be a stand for in this world. As a part of the exercise, I drew a simple figure and at the centre I put their creative fire.

My partner asked me why creativity was so important to me. Words tumbled out of my mouth as I tried to find the answer. In those ramblings, I discovered that it wasn’t just about the arts, though I love them dearly. For the first time I found my deep belief that when we create one thing, we foster in ourselves the belief that we can create other things – many things, maybe anything.

We begin to believe in our own creative magic.

I don’t use the term ‘magic’ lightly here. I use it to mean the process of transforming ideas, dreams and imaginings into something tangible and real in this world. When you wield this magic with your poems and your paints, your sewing machine and your songs, you nurture a growing belief in yourself and what you are capable of.

Before you know it, the magic spills over into your life. You start asking yourself, “What if?’ and making choices you never would have before. You start saving for grad school. You quit your obligatory committee and use that time to learn Italian. You take a road trip and move across country. You cut your hair and start dressing more like yourself. You say no to overtime. You say yes to dancing. You send that manuscript in.

And it doesn’t end there.

As you recognize the impact of creative magic in your life, you move differently in the world. Your “what if” questions expand beyond yourself. You believe in the possibility of positive change. You’ve not only experienced it, you’ve created it. You wonder, what else could get better? How might creative magic be of service to your community, to your loved ones, to the world? What is possible if we all bring our creative capacity to bear?

It’s no little thing when you show up for your art. It’s the spark that starts the magic, a magic fully capable of turning visions into reality – in creative work, in life and in the world.

Keep creating and encourage others to do the same.

Let’s defy the naysayers, the critics and the gatekeepers.

Let’s create and take our magic back.