Creativity & Anxiety: Top 5 tips from The Brand Guy, Richard Sauerman.

Last week the Bench team attended Creative Mornings Sydney to hear Richard Sauerman speak on the theme of anxiety. It was a packed audience, which is a testament to the fact that everyone at some point in their lives has experienced fear and anxiety. Talking specifically about how we overcome this as creatives, the advice he gave can easily translate to other aspects of life. The following are just a few of the tips we took away from his talk.

1. Creativity happens outside the box.

The diagram above shows you, in your box. The box is your comfort zone, your normal everyday life. It’s your daily routine, your commute to work, your lunch break, the tv shows you watch, the places you go for dinner, the people you hang out with every day. The problem is that creativity happens outside this box. (Note in this example outside of the box is a photo of an Indian street, this is where the chaos happens, and I think it’s bloody inspirational for boosting creativity. But it doesn’t have to be India, so don’t get too caught up with this.) It’s when you step outside of the box (scroll down to read Bench tips for getting out of the box) that you often feel anxious or afraid. This leads us to…

2. It’s ok to be afraid, in fact, you should be.

Even the most extreme and out there people doing all kinds of crazy stuff still feel afraid. The example of this Sauerman used to explain this was a video of base jumpers. Midway through, one of them is asked “are you afraid?” and their response “of course we are afraid.” But as Sauerman points out, their fear doesn’t stop them. So instead of letting fears and anxiety prevent us from being creative, acknowledge it and work with it. This is obviously easier said than done, and I’m not recommending we all go out and try base-jumping. In fact, if you scroll down, you’ll come to some tips from the Bench team on what we do that helps us overcome anxiety.

Note this is not the video Sauerman shared, but if you want to try base jumping from the comfort and safety of your arse, here you go.

3. Don’t be a seven, be a ten.

The audience was then asked to rank their creativity on a scale from one to ten. The average in the room was seven, which apparently is always the average, no matter the group. But if you were looking to hire an employee, for example, you would look for a ten, not a seven. Yes, this plays into our tall poppy syndrome or imposter syndrome or whatever you want to call it. Don’t fall into this trap. Don’t be afraid of being a ten. And remember that some people will hate what you’re doing. Sorry to say that if you don’t have any haters, you’re not a ten yet. This doesn’t just apply to you as a person, but to your brand or business as well.

4. How to be a ten.

Write a list of the attributes of the person / business / brand that is a ten. Let’s use creativity for this example. Think about the top things that creative people are. Examples given in the room were things like; not being afraid to fail, courage, willingness to try new things & thinking differently to others. Use this list as a benchmark when making decisions. It’s a bit like the old saying “fake it till you make it.”

5. Turn up naked to a job interview.

If all else fails, turn up naked to a job interview. I don’t know if this story that Sauerman gave was total BS, but it proves an interesting point. Once upon a time, an agency was looking to recruit for a creative position. One candidate showed up to the interview naked. My gut reaction was like “what a lunatic – I would never hire that guy.” (I’m assuming it’s a he because a woman would never do that. Maybe I’m being sexist, so what? Deal with it.) But when you benchmark his actions against the list that we made earlier that defines the attributes of a creative person, he ticks every box. So maybe don’t actually turn up to a job interview in the nude, but think about what you can do that ticks the box you want to be in.

Bench tips for handling anxiety

“Sit down and draw while listening to music.” – Liana

“The main one for me is talking about it, not letting it get out of control in my head. I’ll talk to mates, get a different point of view. Dogs are a great help too, and dare I admit it… exercise! ” – Maddie

“Meditation first thing in the morning has been a good way to clear my mind and start the day fresh and relaxed. Taking time just to be quiet in your own space and not think about anything before overloading your senses for the rest of the day. I think doing something you enjoy is also pretty important; the ocean is always a good de-stresser for me. Something about the movement of the water and being in the sun is very therapeutic.” – Jarrad

“Breathe. Take time out to find another perspective. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it – I’ve found people have enormous reserves full of compassion. Or just get on with it, you might realise that it wasn’t that scary after all.” – Monica

Bench tips to inspire creativity:

“MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC!”
“Try and travel often, or change a repetitive routine.”
“Watch a Quentin Tarantino film (Usually, Kill Bill 1)” – Liana

“I collect a lot of images and in real life, I collect a lot of crap. I see something and get a random idea, however, I do get told off for bringing home too much old junk furniture or branches – our flat is filled with half-completed art projects. Being asked ‘what the hell is that?’ or ‘what are you doing?” is a common occurrence and to be honest most of these are complete failures but lots of fun.

(Slightly more sensible) Learning new skills is inspiring. School of Life so some good short videos on this stuff too.  – Maddie

“Try something new every week. It could be a different walking route or a new restaurant. The biggest one for me is to not fall into the trap of being lazy because it’s easy. Get off your butt. Go for a swim in the ocean.”  – Monica

Richard, aka “The Brand Guy” is a brand and communications strategist who is ranked #3 in the world’s Top 30 Branding Professionals. He has worked in global advertising agencies for over 20 years and was the strategic thinker and brand planner for some of the world’s most iconic brands including Cola-Cola, Microsoft, Vodafone, Campbell’s, Nescafe, Penfolds, Levis, Milo, Harper’s Bazaar and Toyota, just to name a few.

This blog was originally published on the Bench Creative Blog.