Creative Practices for Your Creative Type

Cultivating healthy creative practices will help you avoid creative burnout, renew your creative energy, and collaborate with other creatives in healthy, energy-replenishing ways. Learn more about The Creative Enneagram and then find your own Creative Type with the free Creative Type Assessment.

Creative Habits of Purpose

“But what if the good life doesn’t come from having the ability to do what we want but from having the ability to do what we were made for?” – Justin Whitmel Early

Justin woke, sweating and shaking. His heart raced while his stomach flip-flopped endlessly. What was happening? The house was quiet; there didn’t seem to be a rational reason for his panic. His wife lay peacefully beside him, and he could hear his boys breathing quietly from down the hall. Was there a test he had forgotten about?

In law school, the long hours and endless studying made the days all seem to run together. But no, that wasn’t it. It was just… part of the new normal lately. The panicky feeling, the anxiety, the RPM’s of his mind whirring in overdrive; it seemed to be a physiological warning signal of some kind, his body throwing up a warning flag because his brain had missed something important. He felt maxed out, over-clocked and red-lining in a competitive law school life that prized a win-at-all-costs mentality in pursuit of 4.0 GPAs, big-name firm internships, and Supreme Court clerkships.

He closed his eyes tightly, willing himself to relax and go back to sleep, but he knew it would be another long night.

Something had to change.

In his book, The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, Justin begins his journey to healthy creative habits recounting this stressful season in his life, ultimately culminating with him ending up at the emergency room at three in the morning, hearing that he was exhibiting classic symptoms of clinical anxiety and panic attacks. The even more surprising part? The doctor assured him these were very common.

Rhythms of Work and Rest

In a society that prizes accomplishment, HUGE success, and winning at all costs, we often wear our busyness and workaholism as a badge of honor. But is this what our Creator intended? Is this how we use our creative giftings to create for change? If our omniscient and omnipotent Creator modeled a rhythm of work and rest, why do we think we can push ourselves 24/7?

The late-night anxiety and panic attacks were a wake-up call for Justin. “Being overwhelmed by ambition was a way of life in law school, so I went along with it… So, I was way too busy, totally overcommitted, and living with a chaotic, packed schedule. But I thought I was different because I had a calling… Only in retrospect did I realize that, while the house of my life was decorated with Christian content, the architecture of my habits was just like everyone else’s. And that life had been working for me—until it collapsed.” [1]

The road to healthy creative practices and habits that honored the rhythms of life did not come immediately for Justin. He recounts a long period of time needing either sleeping pills or alcohol just to calm his humming body enough to fall asleep. His sobering realization was that “I now see that my body had finally become converted to the anxiety and busyness I’d worshiped through my habits and routines. All the years of a schedule built on going nonstop to try to earn my place in the world had finally rubbed off on my heart. My head said one thing, that God loves me no matter what I do, but my habits said another, that I’d better keep striving in order to stay loved. In the end, I started to believe my habits—mind, body, and soul.”[2]

His habits were shaping his heart. All who desire to grow into the creative giftings God has entrusted us with must realize that formation begins with a framework of healthy habits. Identifying the creative practices uniquely suited for your Creative Type will help you build this framework and live out your creative calling.

Type One: The Visionary

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type One:

Healthy: You plan, then execute. Your (often rigid) schedule works for you, not against you. When you stay focused on your creative vision, and what it means for those it will impact, you manage to see the forest and the trees. You often have to force yourself to say out loud some version of, “It’s not perfect, but it never will be, and that’s okay. This is something we can be proud of, so let’s launch.” When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Seven, The Adventurer, learning and growing from multiple creative projects and experiences all at once. Your healthiest creative practice is to complete something that will help others. <

Unhealthy: You plan, then plan, then plan some more. It’s no secret that you tend to perfectionist tendencies, and your daily creative practices can either propel you forward or suck you deeper and deeper into the abyss that is “perfect art.” When you listen to the seductive siren song of perfection, you find yourself collapsing inward, spiraling endlessly into your work. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Four, The Innovator, shutting others out and becoming increasingly self-absorbed and self-conscious. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to work on the same project with no end in sight, never satisfied, and never able to say, it is finished.

Type Two: The Patron

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Two:

Healthy: You intentionally surround yourself with likeminded creatives willing to push you and each other toward creative excellence. Even though you relish being part of the maelstrom that is creative collaboration in community, you safeguard moments to yourself for your own creative rejuvenation. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Four, The Innovator, exhibiting unusual intuition, self-awareness, and self-expression. Your healthiest creative practice is to establish boundaries that nourish your creative energy.

Unhealthy: You let others control your schedule and your creative habits. Even though this can come from a good place—a desire to support the creative dreams of others and live in common creative purpose—your creative practices can be less a habit and more a reflection of the people around you. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Eight, The Change Agent, trampling others in pursuit of your creative goals, often in a rude, insensitive, and even ruthless way. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to have no creative practice at all, allowing yourself to be a chameleon who blends in with those around you.

Type Three: The Producer

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Three:

Healthy: Peak performers in any sport learn to relish the downtime; all the little habits and routines that can add up to excellence when the spotlight shines the brightest. You’ve instilled this message and build into your own daily routine all of the little things that make life better and richer. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Six, The Rebuilder, exhibiting loyalty to others in pursuit of large-scale creative efforts. Your healthiest creative practice is doing something each day for which there is no “score.”

Unhealthy: Creative practice, what is that? There is no practice, there’s only game time, all day, every day. But being always on will catch up with even the highest performers, and you know this. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Nine, The Collaborator, becoming passive and disengaged, checking out from working closely with others. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to treat everything as a level 11, full-speed pursuit, when often you may just look back on your life and find some of the greatest breakthroughs came in the stillest, quietest moments connecting to your Creator, and the world around you.

Type Four: The Innovator

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Four:

Healthy: You are at your best when you remember innovation is for something. Innovate or die might be your life motto, but if all that creative energy is continually directed inward then you will become even more self-absorbed, temperamental, and withdrawn. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type One, The Visionary, demonstrating disciplined and ordered cooperation. Your healthiest creative practice is to do something each day with your creative giftings that is wholly for someone else’s benefit (and you might just discover it’s you that has benefitted the most).

Unhealthy: You are a tortured artist, a creative prodigy, so of course no one else can really understand you, right? So, you shut others out, and spiral inward. Your creativity is truly awe-inspiring, but your power can turn on you if you are not careful. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Two, The Patron, allowing yourself to be manipulated in the service of others creative goals, sometimes even going so far as to deceive yourself that the unhealthy relationship is what you really want, or that it’s not really that unhealthy or lopsided. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to ignore the people around you whom God has placed in your life and treat your art as if it’s just your own special thing, instead of something God has given you to steward for the benefit of others.

Type Five: The Mastermind

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Five:

Healthy: You can live in your head the most of any Creative Type, and so getting your literal hands dirty in the temporal stuff God has placed around you will connect you and ground you. Cooking, woodworking, gardening, and the like are all outstanding habits you might consider. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Eight, The Change Agent, taking creative initiative with great self-confidence and a magnanimous attitude that involves others. Your healthiest creative practice is to stop abstracting away the details, roll up your sleeves, and get busy engaging your whole body in something creative.

Unhealthy: You zone out, almost frozen in place, your mind calculating scenarios and possibilities faster than the fastest supercomputer. But it’s all for naught if you are essentially just another equation processing machine. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Seven, The Adventurer, hyperactively bouncing from one creative project to another, never seeing things through to completion, and making decisions impulsively, sometimes just deciding to escape from it all and give up on both creative projects and on the people around you. Your unhealthiest creative practice is when you only engage your mind and neglect that God has made your body, soul, and spirit with multiple dimensions of spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental with which to engage in His creation.

Type Six: The Rebuilder

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Six:

Healthy: You try something totally new, even if you have no idea how it will turn out, or if you will even be any good at it. You like to see something that needs improving and make it better, but sometimes the best way to get your creative juices bubbling is to do something new and unexpected. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Nine, The Collaborator, working together with others to bring out their very best creative work, bonding with others and the group in a way that makes everyone better. Your healthiest creative practice is to take a creative risk and try something new.

Unhealthy: You can get stuck in the same old rut, working on the same old project, day after day after thankless day. You might squeeze out additional incremental improvements by sticking after that same old project, but often taking a break and doing something wholly different will add much needed perspective. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Three, The Producer, more focused on image than others, sometimes devolving into a cold and calculating, even narcissistic and exploitative mindset that views others only as a means to an end: making yourself look better. Your unhealthiest creative practice is when your creative routine ceases to serve you, but instead you become a slave to your creative routine.

Type Seven: The Adventurer

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Seven:

Healthy: Your varied and wide-ranging creative projects span the map. You have no problem picking up one thing right after another—or, right alongside another, because why not! You like to have a lot of different creative activities happening all around you, and at your best, they all cross-pollinate into a messy but overflowing creative impact. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Five, The Mastermind, curious and perceptive about what all the world and others has to offer, understanding how different people each can add important ingredients to your larger plan. Your healthiest creative practice is when you take the best parts from each of your activities to make each better and unique in a special way.

Unhealthy: You do a lot, and it, well, can be a lot! Overwhelmingly so. Bouncing from one creative project to the next can be invigorating and rejuvenating, but it can also be disjointed and lackadaisical. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type One, The Visionary, judgmental and self-righteous when working with others, holding everyone to higher standards than even you can meet. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to just do “whatever you feel like” all the time without any overarching purpose whatsoever.

Type Eight: The Change Agent

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Eight:

Healthy: You are at your best when you are working to change something in the world around you, and even your daily creative habits can fall into this category. But sometimes, creating just for the sake of creating can be purpose enough all on its own. Don’t ever lose your sense of purpose, because that is your calling, as it is for all of us, but enjoy the intrinsic benefit of what you create too. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Two, The Patron, working collaboratively with others to accomplish more than they ever thought possible, acting with genuine self-sacrifice and attention to what others need. Your healthiest creative practice is to think like a craftsman, taking pride in the craftsmanship of what you create, rather than only focusing on the effect it will have.

Unhealthy: You can steamroll others in pursuit of your goals more than any Creative Type. If you aren’t careful your daily creative habits will exclude others, even at detriment to your own progress. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Five, The Mastermind, isolating yourself and detaching emotionally from others, often getting stuck in endless theorizing and increasingly eccentric behavior that is a result of living in your mind instead of working closely with others. Your unhealthiest creative practice is to have tunnel vision on your creative goals without being open to input, feedback, and value from others.

Type Nine: The Collaborator

Creative habits for The Creative Enneagram Type Nine:

Healthy: You don’t just try to involve others in your creative pursuits, you wouldn’t even think of doing it any other way! You often get creative energy from others and so you plan things like writing groups, pair coding, jam sessions, and all other manner of creative collaborations. Those around you rely on you to spur their own creativity onward. When operating in healthy creative growth mode you take on healthy characteristics of Creative Type Three, The Producer, holding others to high standards of excellence, and pushing everyone to accomplish more than anyone thought possible. Your healthiest creative practice is to make sure creative work with others is a part of your life rhythms.

Unhealthy: You know you work better with others, and it’s something you ache for, but sometimes it’s just so uncomfortable to take that first step. Sometimes things happen organically, and sometimes they don’t, but if you let happenstance dictate your creative habits then your creative output and your creative energy will suffer. When operating in unhealthy creative stress mode you take on unhealthy characteristics of Creative Type Six, The Rebuilder, depending on others in unproductive and counterproductive ways that have an unhealthy dynamic for everyone involved, sometimes feeling a sense of creative inferiority that prevents you making decisions you know you need to make. Your unhealthiest creative practice is when you allow your fears to overcome your natural desire for creative collaboration.

Head, Heart, Gut

In the classic Enneagram typing system, each of the nine types belong to one of three triads: the Thinking (Head), Feeling (Heart), or Instinctual (Gut), which teaches us about how we habitually experience the world around us. Here, there is much we can learn about our Creative Types as well, and particularly how we relate to the world around us and build healthy creative practices that foster great art and make us into well-rounded, fully orbed little-c creators following our Creator’s call to create for change.

Thinking Triad (Head Center)

The Thinking Triad (Head Center) includes Creative Types Five, Six, and Seven. Those in the Thinking Triad filter life through an intellectual, and some would even say, overly intellectual lens. Driven by a deep need for security and “knowing”, those Creative Types with this Head Center can live in their own heads the most of any Creative Types and often be accused of not just thinking things through thoroughly (a good thing) but “over-thinking” things (a bad thing).

The point of healthy growth for Creative Types with a bent toward the intellectual is to constantly realize that God made us well-rounded and multi-dimensional human beings. Just because one might tend to experience the world through the Head Center (or any other Triad) does not mean that the other ways of experiencing the world are not valid and important.

Growing into healthy creative practices for the Thinking Triad Creative Types means recognizing that feelings and instincts from the other Triads have very real and valuable roles to play and by listening to them your creative work and even your life will be that much better for it.

Feeling Triad (Heart Center)

The Feeling Triad (Heart Center) includes Creative Types Two, Three, and Four. Those in the Feeling Triad filter life through an emotional lens. Getting in touch with your feelings and emotions has never been an issue for you. Like all humans, you deeply desire connection, intimacy, and love from others, but for those with the Heart Center, there is a unique intensity to this desire. You can certainly be a good and even deep thinker, but generally speaking, the most intense and richest depths to plumb in your life will be your feelings.

The point of healthy growth for Creative Types with this emotional lens through which they see the world is to realize that our heart and our feelings, though strong, can actually be deceitful and lead us astray. We would do well to think of our emotions as gauges, not guides.

Growing into healthy creative practices for the Feeling Triad Creative Types means recognizing that though feelings might be powerful, there are important insights to be gained by focusing intellectually and instinctually on our surroundings, and often a reframing habit that changes this perspective is just what we need.

Instinctual Triad (Gut Center)

The Instinctual Triad (Gut Center) includes Creatives Types Eight, Nine, and One. “Bowels of mercy” makes the most sense to you if you are in the Instinctual Triad because everything is visceral and filtered through the way your body experiences the world. You have a strong intuition and an anchored, centering connection to the world around you via your body. You strongly desire control and will lash out if you feel you are losing it. Your first response is a bodily one: action!

The point of healthy growth for Creative Types with this instinctual lens through which they experience the world is to realize that sometimes it’s best to slow down, take a deep breath, and allow the head and the heart to weigh in before acting rashly.

Growing into healthy creative practices for the Instinctual Triad Creative Types means realizing that though connecting to the world around you via your body and intuition, there is much wisdom, empathy, and understanding to be gained from the head and the heart that will deepen your art and your life if you will open yourself up to them.

Creative Burnout & Creative Renewal

Any discussion of healthy creative practices would not be complete without mentioning creative burnout. Surprisingly though, understanding one of the major causes of creative burnout can also give us insight into amazing creative renewal. And it all starts with how each of the Creative Types experience inflows, or outflows, of creative energy.

Everyone’s creative energy comes from different places, and different Creative Types draw energy from different creative practices. Conversely, different Creative Types experience a drain of energy from different places. While working closely with others for a weekend long in-person meetup and hackathon might be a source of immense and ongoing creative energy and creative renewal for a Creative Type Nine, it could very well be an extreme energy drain for a Creative Type Five.

No, this is not to say that any of us have an excuse to isolate ourselves forever, but it is a reminder that our Creator has made us different, and the way we experience inflows, or outflows, of energy is just one way understanding our Creative Type can help us build healthy daily creative practices.

How to Overcome Creative Burnout

Today, Justin has grown from an overworked, anxiety-ridden law school student to a well-adjusted, balanced, family man with his own “rule of life.” Only after realizing that it was each of the small habits of life—putting the phone down, meals with others, time with God in prayer and Scripture reading, and the like—that contributed toward organizing his life toward the big goal of life: to love God and love neighbor, did Justin begin to shape his daily habits and daily creative practices in the direction of his choosing. All too often, we end up reactively choosing our daily habits, and yet we find ourselves shaped all the same.

The danger to any self-reflection and self-assessment is that all of our nice, neat little labels can quickly turn into self-limiting beliefs and excuses for lack of growth. But if we insist on The Creative Enneagram functioning as a mirror, not a box, then peering into glimpses of our reflection often unlocks exciting possibilities. Often as much, learning about our tendencies for how we experience the world can allow us the self-knowledge needed to try something new and different.

If you are in the Thinking Triad and your default lens to experience the world is intellectual, why not intentionally take on a daily creative practice that is visceral like cooking or surfing, or maybe emotional like poetry or guitar? You might just find out something about yourself that surprises you, and ultimately that small reflection is yet another flash of reflected light bringing glory to our Creator.

Once you Understand Your Creative Calling, you are left with a weighty responsibility: Our Creative Type, our Creative Calling, and all that is propelling us along The Creator’s Journey is pointing us outside of ourselves. We have been prepared by our Creator, tested and tried along the journey in order to strengthen us for the immense task ahead: changing and shaping the world as His representatives to the culture around us.

But how do we do this exactly?

Be forewarned, there are dangers along this path as well. If we think it’s all about us, or if we try to force it under our own strength and our own plans, then our world-changing influence will be blunted.

But if you are ready to listen to your creative calling, use the unique God-given giftings of your Creative Type, and continue to live out your Creative Calling, then your Creator might just allow you to steward more influence than you ever imagined possible.

Are you ready?

[1] Justin Whitmel Early The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction IVP Books, 2019 p. 3

[2] Ibid.