Creativity is Imagination Dancing with Action

Sunlight and shadows playing on a rock by the sea, where imagination and action met.

Some years back, as a newbie coach and intentionally fresh out of corporate life, I gave myself permission to play with words again. I wanted to explore what I really enjoyed and might want to share with the world.

For many years I had not seen myself as a creative person. Slowly – and, I thought, irreversibly – my creativity had been buried under layers of fear of judgement and self-doubt, like treasure under sand. Who am I to be creative? I never became an artist, after all, and the carefree, playful childhood years are long gone. These were the stories I told myself on long walks in nature or at the beach, wondering and wandering.

After years in corporate communications, delivering loads of rather uninspiring stuff on tight deadlines, my creativity and playfulness were at their lowest point, and so was my health – but that’s a story for another time.

Then I came across a saying: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” It resonated instantly. So, what was fun for me? Words!

I started a regular micro-practice: writing my own quotes, short statements that sounded as if they came from a famous book and instead came from my lived experience. Occasionally I dared to share them on social media, expecting nothing in return, simply stretching myself to show up differently from the way ex-colleagues and bosses knew me. To my surprise, a couple of strangers left encouraging comments, which propelled me further. I slowly got out of my own way, and I’m honestly proud of some statements that arrived out of nowhere, like small epiphanies.

Here I want to focus on one: my definition of creativity. “Creativity is imagination dancing with action.” It’s not patented, and you’re welcome to quote me.

Where did my creativity go? Finding it again at the seaside, after corporate life…

I came up with it while designing a workshop on – what else? – creativity with my friend and “partner in crime”, coach Tânia Teixeira. And no, not in front of my laptop. If I remember well, I was at the seaside; swimming or watching the clouds, the birds, the fish. You may know the comic that contrasts office and shower: a stressed employee staring blankly at the screen on the left, and the same character having a “eureka” moment in the shower that night on the right. I can confirm it: my creative flow often finds me in water or while walking. Notice what happens when your mind relaxes and the subconscious starts making unexpected connections.

Now, the ingredients. Some people are more attuned to their imagination and use it intentionally to create rather than escape their reality. Steve Jobs did; no one asked him to create the iPhone. So did Nelson Mandela, in a different way, creating a movement that pivoted an entire country. It all starts with a dream, something important to you, followed by steps, even tiny and slow ones. Movement brings the spark into reality.

This is the decisive point: get back into your body. Take a step, move, dance, whatever you enjoy, and notice how the idea moves within you. This matters because in the realm of imagination your idea is safe, while out there, well, there is judgement. This is where the words: “Creativity takes courage” ring true, as Henri Matisse is said to have put it. Criticism abounds, while encouragement is scarce.

Having experienced a lot of judgement, personally and professionally, I feel you. Judgement, criticism and unsolicited advice often took a toll on my courage to try things and share my voice. Yet even in dark periods, a part of me wanted to come out. Through inner work, I came to accept that whatever you create, some will like it and others won’t; they may fight it or, at best, ignore it. The fear of judgement may still show up, even with this blog, because it’s part of being human, but its voice has grown much quieter.

Being creative, at work or in life, means taking a stance rather than staying reactive: a simple statement in a team meeting, a story that lights you up, something made with your hands. In this sense, creating means leading - taking back your agency and sending your idea or artifact into the unknown. So, I encourage you: have that conversation, make that move, express your truth, and see what happens outside your comfort zone. This is where the magic starts.

If you’d like to share what stops you from being creative, or to co-create a supportive micro-practice, I’m here to listen. I’d be happy to be your cheerleader or accountability partner.