The question of what makes a life well lived is as old as the hills, but pursuing a passion and living a life of curiosity are aims for most people stuck in a workaday existence.
Elizabeth Gilbert, author of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' joined Sean Moncrieff in studio to discuss the importance of creativity in giving purpose to life.
'Eat, Pray, Love' is an account of the writer's travels across Italy, India and Indonesia, as she attempts to find peace with herself following the end of her marriage.
A runaway sensation, the book spent 178 weeks in the New York Times Best Seller list and was adapted to film, with Julia Roberts playing the part of Gilbert.
Her new book 'Big Magic: Creative living Beyond Fear' delves into the depths of creativity, what it means and how to achieve a balanced state of living.
It is now 12 years since 'Eat, Pray, Love' was published, and Gilbert says she is finally turning towards a subject she has been wanting to write about for some time.
By creativity, she says, "I mean the intersection of a human's labour with the mysteries of inspiration - taking nothing and making something out of that."
Our aim, says Gibert, should be to live a creative life, a life where decisions are routinely based on curiosity rather than fear.
Not everyone identifies as creative, but curiosity is something that comes natural to nearly everyone.
"You can look at yourself; most days you can find something in the world that you're interested in. See if it leads to another clue and another clue, and it might lead you to an interesting place."
Her advice is not for those who are enjoying their life, but for those who feel like something is missing.
She gives the example of a friend who took up figure skating in her 40s after realising the last time she felt light and free was when she was skating as a 15-year-old.
It didn't take a revolution - she didn't quit her job or leave her family - she simply set her alarm clock 90 minutes earlier to make the time to enjoy her passion before she began her workday.
Gilbert says her friend wanted to feel like she wasn't just "here to pay bills and die - not just an accumulation of tasks and obligations - not just in waiting room of death."
And often it's small acts like these that can make all the difference.
"Everybody's looking for the lighting strike of inspiration, but sometimes these things are a bit loser than you would imagine."
It's about refusing to be a passive cog in a consumerist culture and finding a creative way to push back instead.
And she doesn't accept that people don't have time to make small, meaningful changes, especially with the amount of time people dedicate to social media.
"We have to really hold our feet to the fire a little bit more on this".
Listen to the full interview below.
