Creativity & Anxiety

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People have swung around the idea for a long time that art is a privilege; that rich kids have a sort of leg up in the world of creativity because they don’t have to worry about living. Their needs are met and, when given the choice to do whatever they want, they often want to do art. It’s compelling and a bit sad all at once. I’m pretty sure nobody dreams of growing up and being an accountant, or of driving an hour to work each day just to sit in a grey cubicle, or of earning a paltry salary in the name of making someone else exorbitantly rich, but I digress.

Jordan Peterson once said that creativity is the opposite expression of anxiety. It’s impossible to be creative if you’re living with crippling anxiety after all. In order to be truly creative, you have to feel free, open, and relaxed. That in itself is a privilege that a lot of people don’t have because a lot of people are struggling to get by. Anxiety over survival or bills or health can be all-consuming. Peterson also believes that living off one’s creative endeavor is nearly impossible. Instead, a creative person should find a way to earn a living and practice their creative craft on the side. Not bad advice, if one has the time to do both.

The idea of art-as-privilege is obvious, so I’m going to explore the anxiety vs. creativity dichotomy Peterson…