The Renaissance Person is back: Why “niching down” is bad for your Creative Health

CreativeRx: The science behind why we all need to be cross-training our creative brain + I'm trying to be a beginner again and want to hear from you!

CreativeRx is your dose of creative thinking in an exhausting, overwhelming world. Think of it like a peek into the brain of a Creative Health Scientist: the ideas I’m thinking about, data points I’m collecting, rabbit holes I’m exploring.

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YOU NEED TO BE EXPERIMENTING WITH MORE STUFF, NOT LESS 🧠

We’re living in The Age of the Expert.

I noticed this trend starting to take shape a few years ago, but it seems like we can no longer escape it - the era of “expertise” everywhere we turn 😵‍💫.

Pick any topic - from infectious disease to sourdough starters - and within minutes you’ll find someone who has built their identity around knowing it better than anyone else.

From a cultural lens, it makes sense: We live in a time of information density and globalized capitalism. In an effort to survive (literally and figuratively), we’ve been taught that the only path to success is to pick a topic, master it and commit your entire life to becoming The Best in that specific lane.

I won’t pretend here: I’m guilty of this on both sides. Not only do I find myself seeking out information from “experts” - but I’ve also spent my entire career building the (very niche 😅) field of Creative Health.

I know, I know. But, let me be the first to right my wrong and sound the alarm bell: There is a huge problem with this approach to life, creativity and so-called success. Our obsession with mastery isn’t only making us one-dimensional - but it’s deteriorating our creative brain.

Because, the more you “master” a topic, the less alive you feel inside of it.

Most of what we know scientifically about building long-term creative habits runs contrary to everything we’re taught about “creative success.”

This nuance came to me as I was writing our scientific Deep Dive last week about why we all need to turn our creativity into a habit, not a performance. I couldn’t stop thinking about one specific recommendation we covered: Even masters need to inject variety and novelty into their creative practice.

I’ll give you a high-level overview now; the scientific reason why is pretty simple. When we do the same creative activity over and over:

• Our brain gets efficient (you lose that motivational spark)

• We start judging our outputs (perfectionism creeps in)

• It becomes another thing we’re supposed to be good at (joy seeps out)

There’s actually a neuroscience term for this exact experience: It’s called hedonic adaptation. Even if we love the very thing we’re doing, after the thousandth time - our creative brain stops being surprised.

And, that surprise, that novelty, that spark? That is exactly what keeps us creatively engaged.

That’s in part why experts tend to get burned out by their craft at some point. It’s not only because of the pressure, but it’s also the monotony. Our creative brains are built to dabble. To explore. To play. To be curious about a lot of different things.

Unfortunately, we’ve convinced an entire generation of people (myself included) that all those random paths are just a waste of time.

Though, when we look across history, the most creatively vital people - the ones who stayed energized, inspired, and alive well into old age - weren’t just specialists.

We actually used to have a name for them: They were called Renaissance People.

Think about it: Leonardo da Vinci didn’t just paint; he studied anatomy, engineering, botany, music, architecture. Maya Angelou was a poet, dancer, singer, activist and a chef. Einstein dedicated as much time to his violin and daydreaming in the park as his scientific discoveries.

They didn’t stay solely obsessed with one lane. In fact, they refused to.

That’s because they knew rigid, one-dimensional expertise actually made them fragile (not hyper-focused, like some “experts” may say). These people valued experimentation, creative endeavors and the freedom to dabble just as much as they loved their craft.

So, from my view: It’s about damn time we all begin to reclaim the freedom of being a Renaissance Person.

Instead of opting for hyper-focused mastery – let’s start celebrating being pretty good at a lot of things. Let’s stay open to experimentation. To play - even within our craft. To being allowed to quit and trying something new.

This approach to life is not only essential for our creative “success” and the longevity of our Creative Health – but it’s also a small form of pushback against a system that flattens us. That tells us we are only capable of being one dimensional.

One way you can get started right now? Do something I call: cross-training your creative brain. Give yourself permission to start fresh in your area of expertise, your creative habits, your curious approach to life. Basically, rebel and be a beginner again.

Because, remember: Renaissance periods begin after long stretches of darkness.

I’m insisting that we enter ours - and that will start with reclaiming our capacity to play, create and dabble whenever and however we choose 🧠🫶🏽

From my brain to yours,

Katina, Creative Health Scientist & Daydreamers’ Co-founder + Chief Science Officer

Tell me what you think: Did this resonate? Comment below or hit reply - I read every response 🫶🏽

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In Case You Missed It: How To Turn Your Creativity Into A Workout, Not A Performance

→ Our Deep Dive that dropped this Thursday covered one of my absolute favorite topics in the world of Creative Health – and frankly, why I got into this work in the first place. We dissected the latest scientific research behind the case for turning creativity into a habit, not a hobby or performance (and double clicked on the research papers behind the “Creator’s Runner’s High). We also unpacked the 3-pillar formula for building creative habits in everyday life, elements that go against the consensus and you honestly won’t hear elsewhere.

*Plus, don’t forget: Deep Dive members get access to our first Open Studio next week: A live session with me to create, think and experiment with a Creative Health exercises together.

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A RENAISSANCE GOLD MEDALIST’S APPROACH TO…QUITTING 🔥

“The decision reflects the new Liu, less concerned with conforming to norms and more focused on following her inner compass. She is skating not necessarily for points or medals, but simply because she missed it so much…’I don’t think anything is going to be hard about the Olympics,” Liu says. ‘What is there to lose? Every second you are there, you are gaining something.’”

-”What is there to lose?” Alyssa Liu on making an Olympic Comeback

→ I couldn’t think of a person who represents the Renaissance approach to creativity, mastery and life better than Alyssa Liu, the figure skater who just broke the U.S. 26-year Gold medal drought after spending years dabbling in experiences other than her craft. After competing in the Beijing Olympics, Liu retired to try other things: college, climbing to Everest base camp, going on roadtrips. As I watched her beautiful performance, you could just feel creative freedom oozing through the screen. To me, that is the power of dabbling - it injects novelty, joy and passion back into your craft.

REALIZING HOW MUCH WE CAN “LOVE + ADMIRE OUR SPECIES”

-The last email Steve Jobs sent to himself, September 2010

→ I came across this email Steve Jobs wrote to himself (and fascinating archive site) earlier this week and can’t stop thinking about it. It demonstrates how dabbling in a lot of creative endeavors not only expands our own creative openness, but also increases our appreciation for our community, our species and the world writ large. It gives us access to something called Interconnectedness: the capacity to recognize both how integral we are as individuals, but how very small our place in the world can be. This is Creative Health in a nutshell. And, just like Steve said: It’s also our job to put something worthwhile back. What will your contribution be? 🧠

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IN HONOR OF ADOPTING A BEGINNER’S MIND: I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 📢

This section of CreativeRx will look different than normal - because, this week’s focus really got me thinking about what we’re building at Creative Health and our growing community here 🥹 As “experts” it’s easy to get tunnel vision while in building-mode.

So, I’m taking my own advice and approaching my creative vocation as a beginner again.

I would love to hear from you. I want to know: What about Creative Health feels like it’s resonating? What do you want to know more about? What structure feels is working - or not?

As a huge data nerd, I can’t wait to analyze the results and report back! And honestly, taking this survey is a reflection on your own creative health, too.

If you’re open to it, fill out the survey below or just hit reply and let me know your thoughts on any (or all) of these. I read and respond to every single one 🫶🏽

One last (creative) question 🙃: One thing I wish you knew about my creative life is…[respond to me with your thoughts].