3Discovering Yourself

Seeking a deeper understanding of his creativity, Fawzooz decided to follow an old piece of advice from one of the village elders: “To discover your talents, you must first know yourself.” Guided by these words, he decided to carry out a self-assessment to find his creative strengths.

Step one: reflecting on creative moments

“To discover your talents, you must first know yourself.”

Fawzooz sat beneath the same giant tree where his journey began, closed his eyes, and recalled three moments when he had felt truly creative.

Sculpting with clay and natural materials. His first moments shaping figures were full of joy and discovery, and he felt he could turn his ideas into something real that could be seen and touched.

An inventive meal for his friends. Cooking was not his main skill, but preparing a meal with limited ingredients pushed him to explore new flavours and unconventional techniques, and left him deeply satisfied.

Solving the village’s irrigation problem. When the village faced a problem with its irrigation system, he led an effort to design a new one from local resources, greatly easing the water troubles of the dry season.

Step two: analysing the patterns

After reflecting on these moments, he analysed what he had felt, thought and done in each. He noticed he was at his most creative when working on a concrete problem, or when he had the freedom to experiment without fear of failure. Freedom, and the need to innovate, were the two common factors that sparked his creativity.

Step three: building those conditions into daily life

Now that he understood the conditions that fed his creativity, he set aside time each day for small projects that called for creative thinking and fresh solutions, whether improving some part of the village, trying new cooking techniques, or refining his artistic designs.